Versailles Vintage Wall Shelf

This rounded, vintage wall shelf came from an estate sale.  It is Syroco style and not made out of real wood, but it is sturdy and cute.

Before

After

I painted the shelf with the lovely, pale green hue of Versailles Chalk Paint. Then, I distressed all the edges, so the dark, faux wood underneath was visible. Next, I dry brushed Old White Chalk Paint over all the trim and applied clear wax, followed by dark wax, for an antiqued finish.  

The shelf is perfectly charming now and looks adorable hung on the wall!

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

French Blue Wall Shelves

I loved this little, vintage, wall shelf when I spotted it at a yard sale recently.  

The scrolling detail at the top is beautiful, even if it is made from some type of plastic or resin.  Once painted, it is almost impossible to tell it is not real wood.  This piece can either be hung on a wall or set on top of a piece of furniture.

I painted the whole thing with Louis Blue Chalk Paint and went over the edges and top piece with a coat of Old White.

I lightly distressed it all over for a time-worn look and then used my favorite Chalk Paint wash color: Coco to soften the blue and white.  

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

Two-Toned Hutch Makeover

I finished this hutch the night before our sale, this past weekend.  I waited until the last minute because I was anticipating the arrival of my order of Pure White Chalk Paint in the mail.  I was excited to try the new Chalk Paint color and I thought it would be the perfect color for transforming this farmhouse hutch.  

When I got the hutch it was outdated with an orange finish and gold hardware. Nancy suggested that I take the doors off and I think it was a wonderful idea.  The doors made the piece look heavy and contributed to the outdated look of the hutch.  

I mixed Duck Egg Blue Chalk Paint with gray latex paint to create the subtle, beautiful shade of blue.  The gray paint had green undertones, so the color came out a pretty mix between pale blue and green.  I love the look of the new Pure White paint against the soft, greenish-blue background.

This hutch was a beast to paint because of all the shelves and angles.  I really thought it would never end! 

I replaced the drawer hardware with some simple, metal flower knobs that I took from a dresser I am working on.  I painted the metal knobs with a mixture of 50-50 water and Pure White Chalk Paint.  I kept the existing door pulls on the bottom cabinet doors and gave them a coat of whitewash too.  One of the pulls was broken, so I patched the hole and left it off the middle, faux door.  I originally wanted to replace the hardware, but hardware is just too expensive, so I decided to work with what I already had. 

This post is linked to the parties on my sidebar.

Tutorial Tuesday: Wall Cabinet From Drab to Fab

The shape of this vintage wall cabinet caught my eye at a large rummage sale a few months ago.  I love the scalloped edge at the top and the little, vintage knob.  The finish was a typical 1970's orange-ish brown and the inside was lined with cute, but outdated, red fabric with tiny flowers.  

Step 1: find an old cabinet in need of a little love.

Step 2: sand off the old finish and apply primer.

After primer, I painted one coat of creamy white (swiss coffee) and then sanded and distressed the edges.  The white was kind of stark, so I applied a glaze (ralph Lauren - smoke) over the top.

Step 3: Cover up the inside of the cabinet with scrapbook paper.  To do this, cut the paper to fit inside the cabinet, paint the backside of the paper with Modge Podge, and press the paper into place, smoothing out any bubbles.  After it has dried completely, apply two more coats of Modge Podge over the paper for protection.

I found this beautiful, pale greenish-blue, damask paper at my local craft store.  It was in the clearance pile of scrapbook paper and was only a quarter.

What an improvement!

I may add some chicken wire to the front of my cabinet door, but I kind of like it as is with the open shelving.

This post is linked to:

  

Turquoise Faux Rococo Shelf

This little shelf came from a yard sale where everytime I asked the woman, "how much?", she would say one dollar. Some of the stuff was probably worth a buck, but some of the things were worth a lot more. It did not matter to her because as far as she was concerned, it was all a dollar. It was like the dollar store of yard sales!

I painted the shelf with a couple of coats of turquoise craft paint.

This is what it looked like after two coats of paint. Better than before, yes, but still boring and doing nothing to bring out the scrolling details.

I turned to my old favorites, Ralph Lauren tobacco glaze and antique gold Rub 'n Buff, to bring out the details and add a little interest and depth to this piece. I think they worked their magic!

A shelf worthy of its (faux) Rococo title!

This post is linked to:

Painting Vintage Syroco

Did I mention that I have found quite a few vintage Syroco items at garage sales lately? This mirror is really unique with three parts connected by hinges, so it can be hung on a wall or stood up on a dresser. It came with a matching wood shelf that has, the signature Syroco, scrolling plastic underneath.




First I primered, then I painted and lightly distressed them. This is how they turned out.







It is amazing how much Syroco looks like wood when it is painted. Even in person, it is hard to tell it is plastic.

This post is linked to:

Click on the buttons for more great ideas!