Grey-Washed, Oak Chest of Drawers

I found this solid oak dresser at the Santa Cruz Flea Market recently.  It had a worn, orange finish, but beautiful hardware and lovely details.

I love painting oak furniture with Chalk Paint® because its open grain looks beautiful peaking through the paint. The technique I used on this piece is called dry brushing.  I applied one light coat of French Linen Chalk Paint with one of Annie Sloan's fabulous, natural bristle, oval brushes. Using very little paint, I worked it in and blended it with the brush to get a very thin coat, allowing the wood grain to show through.  In the past, I have used Chalk Paint® thinned with water (a wash), to get this effect, but I prefer dry brushing because sometimes the wash is uneven and does not adhere as well to furniture with a shiny finish.

One Coat of French Linen, Before Waxing

After letting the paint dry, I applied Annie Sloan's Clear Wax and then Dark Wax to enrich the color.

After Applying Clear and Dark Waxes

I also dry brushed all the hardware and applied dark wax over them for a beautiful patina.  The paint and wax really brought out the details on the drawer pulls.

This finish is easy to achieve, and although simple, it really accentuates the beautiful craftsmanship of this well-built piece of furniture.

Florence Dresser

 

Florence is a fun, vibrant color and this plain dresser needed a little vibrancy in its boring life.

 

The existing hardware was not helping the situation. In my mind I pictured some kind of bin pulls with labels for the drawers.  Putting my vision into reality is often a challenge and the hardware search proved to be no exception.  I scoured ebay for days looking for the right pulls to dress up the drawers.  I finally found these amazing, vintage, ex-card catalog pulls for a fantastic price.  I patched the old knob holes and attached the new card catalog pulls, which added so much character to this previously drab piece of furniture.

 

 

I used a dry brush technique to apply the one coat of Florence Chalk Paint®, allowing the dark wood finish to show through the paint.  Then I used a damp cloth to wipe off extra paint along the edges, before it dried completely, leaving a naturally aged looking finish. 

 



I love the way the Florence looks with the vintage, brass pulls.  This was such a simple fix up, but it made a drastic difference. 

Vintage Cane Back Dining Chair Set

 

 

This is the third set of vintage cane back chairs that I have given a makeover.  There were six chairs in this set and the caning was all still in excellent condition.

 



 

The chairs were really dingy and dirty and one of them was painted bright blue.  I sold the two arm chairs to a Loot customer who wanted them painted in Emperor's Silk Chalk Paint® and upholstered in a natural linen.

 

I kept the rest of the set simple and neutral.

 

I painted the chairs with two coats of Pure White Chalk Paint® followed by a wash of Coco Chalk Paint®, made by watering down the paint. 

 

 

 The Coco wash subtly aged and softened the bright white paint and the paint on the edges of the chairs naturally crackled giving them an authentic looking patina.

 

 

I have a thing for stripes, so I chose an elegant, wide-striped, pale, cream and aqua linen to reupholster the seat cushions.

 

Old Dresser and Night Stand Coming up Roses

 

At a recent yard sale I picked up this vintage dresser and night stand set with lovely, turned leg details on the side. 

 

 

This was a beast of a dresser before; big, boxy, and masculine.  I wanted this set to get in touch with its feminine side.

 

I painted them with Cream Chalk Paint® and the spindle legs with Old White. I removed the chunky, wooden knobs and replaced them with these darling, ceramic rose knobs that we sell at Loot. 

 

 

I love the charming combination of the pale yellow and white paired with the delicate roses.  This is the first time I have used the Cream color Chalk Paint® on a piece of furniture and I am now in love with this alluring, buttermilk yellow hue. 

 

 

The finish on the little night stand was scratched up and the veneer was peeling up on all the edges on top.

 

 

I glued and clamped until the veneer was again adhered to where it belonged.

 

 

What a pretty pair!

 

 

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Farmhouse Cabinet

I was lucky to find this unique, farmhouse cabinet at a yard sale recently.  This cabinet would be the perfect piece in a farmhouse style kitchen, for extra storage or as a  pantry.

The old latex paint was peeling and dirty, but this cabinet had great bones.  I did not plan on leaving it bare wood, but as Mr. Rubbish started sanding the paint off, I loved the look of the rustic, natural wood that was being exposed. 

The only part of the cabinet that did not have nice looking wood was the center of the door, which was a cheap plywood. To cover it up, I painted it with three coats of Graphite Chalk Paint to make it into a chalkboard.  I used Annie Sloan clear wax over the rest of the cabinet to protect the bare wood.

I love the little bit of green paint left on the edges of the door.

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Arles Chalk Paint Buffet

One of my customers at Loot told me to keep an eye out for a buffet for her new home.  A couple weeks later, I found this long dresser at an estate sale and I though it would make a perfect buffet for my customer.

Before

 It is a solid maple piece with tons of drawers and storage space.  I figured that if my customer did not like it, it would be easy to paint it and sell it at the shop. I pictured this piece painted with Arles Chalk Paint and I was excited because I have not used this vibrant yellow color yet.  Coincidentally, when the customer came by to see her future buffet, she told Nancy that she would like it painted with Arles.  This dresser's fate was decided!

After

 After two coats of Arles, I used Annie Sloan's clear wax to protect the finish and the dark wax to antique it. I love the dark wax over the Arles Chalk Paint; it looks like a fine dijon mustard.

I had just enough oil rubbed bronze bin pulls in stock for all the drawers and I painted the existing knobs with Graphite Chalk Paint and a little dark wax to match the pulls.  I love the contrast of the dark hardware against the bright yellow.

I distressed all the edges lightly, before waxing and made sure the dark wax stuck in the grooves.

My customer was so excited when she picked up her new buffet and she told me that it was just what she had pictured in her head.

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Vintage Dresser and Bed Set

I picked this vintage dresser and bed up at a yard sale in Sacramento.  

The set had been covered in a red enamel that was cracking and peeling in places.  I did not want to strip the entire surface, so I peeled off the red paint, in the places it was flaking off, and filled it in with wood filler.  After sanding the wood filler to level it, I was ready to start painting.

I did not get a before picture of the dresser, but I did snap a blurry picture, with my phone, half-way through painting the headboard.

I painted the drawers, top, and sides with Old Ochre Chalk Paint and the trim and knobs with Old White.  

I finished the little dresser with Annie Sloan's clear wax.

Look at the lovely, curved foot board on this bed!

I love the monochromatic combination of Old Ochre and Old White together.

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Leather Topped Table: Chalk Paint Makeover

We have had this leather topped table at Loot for a while.  Several months ago, Nancy set a hot tea pot on top of the table, which left burn marks on the leather inset on the top of the table.  One of the reasons I love Chalk Paint so much is that it sticks to everything, including leather.

Before

After

I love this round table with its new look and I can picture it in its imaginary new home, in the center of a grand foyer, with a floral arrangement on top.

 Even without the burn marks on top, I still prefer the painted version to the original, but that is not surprising. After all, I am a woman that loves painted furniture!

I painted the top of the table with Graphite Chalk Paint and the base with Old Ochre.  I used Annie Sloan clear and dark wax over the Old Ochre, and a dark wax glaze on the top to deepen the Graphite. 

The Chalk Paint adhered and covered the leather table top flawlessly.

I have used this color combination before, and I always think it makes the piece of furniture look elegant and sophisticated.  I also love the way the Old Ochre Chalk Paint looks with dark wax over it.

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Vintage Cabinet Find

Sometimes I get lucky and find a piece of furniture that requires no work.  I found this vintage cabinet at a yard sale and all I had to do was move it to Loot.

The woman I bought it from said that she and her boyfriend fixed up the old cabinet themselves and I think they did a wonderful job.  They painted the cabinet white and used a pretty wood stain on the top and drawer fronts.

I wanted to replace the knobs with bin pulls, but the cabinet sold the first week I displayed it at Loot, before the bin pulls arrived in the mail. 

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