BLUE DRESSER

I LUCKED OUT WITH THIS DRESSER! A FRIEND OF MINE WAS GETTING RID OF IT SO I GOT A GREAT DEAL! I TOOK ONE LOOK AT IT AND KNEW THAT I WOULD HAVE TO CHOOSE A BOLD-ISH COLOR AND SINCE THE WOOD COLOR WAS LIGHT, DISTRESSING WAS NOT A OPTION FOR ME! I LIKE THE WOOD TO BE A LOT DARKER, JUST LOOKS BETTER WHEN YOU DISTRESS! 

THE BEFORE! 

I CHOOSE TO USE ANNIE SLOAN'S AUBUSSON BLUE!   I ALREADY HAD IT ON HAND SO IT WAS AN EASY CHOICE.  IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SLATE BLUISH COLOR!

I CHOOSE TO ANTIQUE IT WITH DARK WAX, A LOT OF DARK WAX! IT STILL DIDN'T LOOK QUITE AS ANTIQUED AS I WANTED SO I USED SOME DARK STAIN TO ENHANCE IT EVEN MORE! 

THE AFTER! WHAT A TRANSFORMATION!!

THE HARDWARE IS THE ORIGINAL.  THEY WERE A PEWTER COLOR BUT I WANTED TO HAVE MORE OF A ANTIQUE BRASS LOOK.  THAT LOOK IS IN RIGHT NOW AND IT LOOKS GREAT WITH THIS BLUE.  👏

GOLD GILDING WAX WAS PERFECT TO ACHIEVE THIS LOOK. JUST WIPE A LITTLE ON AND BUFF IT! THAT WASN'T ENOUGH THOUGH, I HAD SOME TURQUOISE WAX ALSO.  I JUST APPLIED A LITTLE IN RANDOM SPOTS TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE IT HAS AN OLD PATINA ON THEM!

SCORE!! 

OH I FORGOT TO MENTION WHAT I DID TO THE TOP... JUST SANDED IT DOWN AND APPPLIED SOME DARK WALNUT GEL STAIN! 

↣SEALED AND READY FOR SOMEONE TO SNATCH THIS UP!↢

Ornate small desk!

I purchased this fabulous little desk for a  who was looking for something small! I sent her a picture of this one and it was perfect for what she wanted!! There is so much detail and some serious spindled legs which I love! A pain to paint but the end result is always worth it!! 

The before pic... 

 

My customer wanted a black desk with turquoise showing through! After some painting, distressing, and waxing, here it is... Beautiful!!!

It came so nice and the customer LOVED it! I also replaced the existing knob with a pretty glass knob!

I love two toned pieces, it gives it a little something extra! 

Thanks for reading and happy painting!! 

~Amy 

I love Glaze!!!

I am working on a coffee table today with a lot of detail so I thought it would be the perfect piece to show how to glaze!

 If you are using chalk paint, you would apply the glaze after clear waxing just like if you were using dark wax. 

If you are using latex paint or milk paint, you can glaze away without needing a clear coat first. Then after you are all glazed and dried, you should seal your piece! 

I painted 2 coats of a shade of white I bought at Lowes. Distressed all the edges! 

One of my favorite products is Valspar's Antiquing glaze in black. I paint it on using a chip brush working in small sections. 

Using a clean rag or paper towel, start wiping! The nice thing about glaze is that it's workable for a little while. If you don't like it or not enough is coming off after you've wiped, use a damp cloth. That will take it almost all off! Apply more if needed and repeat the process! 

After it's all done, it will change the entire look of your piece! It will give it a nice aged look with lots of texture and depth! 

Good luck! 

~Amy 

Bombay accent table-from drab to FAB!!

I sometimes forget to take a before picture. I hate when that happens since you won't be able to fully appreciate the transformation!! 

I started out by thinking I wanted to do something simple and "safe". I painted 2 coats of General Finishes Milk paint in Millstone. It just wasn't doing it for me. It was lacking something... Some oomph!!! 

I bought some Annie Sloan Old Violet a little while ago and remember seeing a piece painted with it and couldn't believe that it was that color! 

Problem solved... I painted one thick coat on. The thing about the chalk paint is that  it's comes out so different once you apply clear wax and definitely the dark wax. What once was a purple-blue color is now a smoky gray/violet! Absolutely beautiful!!!

Let me back up... After before I applied the old violet, I sanded my piece using 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out nicely. I've learned you get way better results when you sand in between coats!  

Sand all the edges and where you would normally have wear! Some areas are sanded down to the wood underneath and some areas show the 1st color! It's to totally random! That's how I like it!! 

Once you are happy with the amount of distressing, you need to seal your piece for protection! I've been using Annie Sloan's clear and dark wax but Johnson's paste wax or minwax furniture wax will work too! The dark wax is what gives you the texture and aging look you want! For that I do get the AS dark wax. 

I will have to post a separate tutorial on the waxes soon!! 

You can see the difference in the color on the top and the back leg. The back leg only has the clear wax! Dark wax was applied everywhere else. What a difference, right?!

A close up look at the distressing and the different colors coming through! 

Happy painting! 

Amy

Hardware-easy transformation

If you have some old brass hardware on your piece of furniture, a quick fix to brighten up your piece is to change the hardware!!  If you like the hardware itself, then a change in color will make a huge difference!!  A lot of the old drawer pulls are a little wider with the holes than newer hardware making it hard to find a replacement so painting them is the only option! 

I was painting a whole bedroom suite light gray and had a hard time figuring out what color the hardware would be... I wanted to do black but thought it would be too much of a stark contrast against this warm light gray. So I experimented! 

After cleaning all the hardware, I painted the them using my favorite spray paint, rustoleum's satin black. This spray paint   has primer in it making it extra durable!  Let dry overnight.  

My next favorite product is Briwax liming wax! It's white and is just so pretty when it's used! Using a small short brush, like a  chip brush, apply a small amount of wax everywhere, paying close attention to any crevices ( that's where you want the wax to sit).  After a minute, wipe off and see the beauty! If you wiped off too much, repeat the process! 

It is a learning process so be patient. Once you have the technique down, the possibilities are endless! You'll be waxing everything! 

Happy painting and waxing!! 

Chair makeover!!

I am painting these beautiful rattan chairs a burnt orange color called Copper Harbor by Sherwin Williams . First I cleaned and primed these chairs. After letting them dry for a few hours, I turned to my handy dandy paint sprayer! I turned the chairs over and sprayed underneath first, then did the rest! I let them dry overnight and applied and second coat! The paint I used was Sherwin Williams Proclassic, the same as I use for cabinets! It's a water based paint but acts like a oil based! The paint levels very nicely and leaves no spray marks or paint strokes! LOVE THAT!!! 

Check out the before and after....

Aldyn's kitchen

I've started another cabinet job and this one is desperately needed! Very dark wood, dark floors, dark wood moldings! We are gonna lighten the cabinets up with some antique white and brown glaze for a antiqued look! The room is already lightened up with just the primer!!  

THE WALLPAPER IS ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REMOVED!!

Prep work is the most important step...without it your paint will NOT stick!  SO be sure to properly clean to remove all grease and grime! Paint won't stick to that!  Sand surfaces to scuff them up a bit, or use a deglosser.  Choose a good primer. I tend to use a oil based primer or a shellac based primer to assure your paint adheres!! After priming is dried, you have to sand them down again lightly just to smooth them out.  You don't want rough surfaces, so the key is to SAND, SAND, SAND!!!

Now I am ready to paint!

Below is the cabinets just about done! All the doors are attached and the glazing complete!  Beadboard is being added to the ends of the cabinets to give it a more custom look!! Those will be glazed as well! Sorry about the quality of these pics... they were taken with my phone.  Better pics will be posted.  I was just excited about this transformation!  And as you can see, the wallpaper is down! woohoo! I can't wait to see this kitchen after the walls are painted.  

check out the before and after!!! 

Products I used...

old entertainment center rescued!!!

I found this old UGLY entertainment and knew that I could make it so much better! Anything is better than the red, crackle paint that covered this thing, RIGHT?! 

A coat of primer is a must before doing ANYTHING! I am using chalk paint for this piece so it does not need primer but I wanted to make sure the red was covered! After much contemplating about what to do with this piece, I have decided to make this into a ONE OF KIND BAR! WHAT??!!  That's right, this is gonna make a FABULOUS bar! 

Annie Sloan chalk paint at its best, yet again!!  Old White covered the outside with Duck Egg on the inside.  I'm gonna add a beadboard backing to make it look even better!  

So here is the final product!  The beadboard has been added, painted Duck Egg, then glazed with Valspar's Antiquing Glaze in black.  It looks phenomenal! I bought the "Wine Tasting" sign at Bed Bath and Beyond and it is PERFECT for this! 

I also added 2 wine glass racks the to middle section and it can hold up to 24 wine glasses!  A small puck LED light also adds a cool little touch! 

You can really see the black glaze on the beadboard.  It looks so cool, giving it an awesome antiqued look!  It definitely makes a difference. 

There is plenty of storage in this piece for ALL your bar essentials!

A ONE OF A KIND BAR

**FOR SALE**  $650.00 

Price reduced to $499.00 OBO!

PORTFOLIO!

A QUICK LOOK AT SOME OF THE THINGS I'VE DONE!!

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hanging in my daughters room

window boxes (made from old windows)

bathroom vanity

half bath vanity

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*SOLD*

*SOLD*

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*SOLD*

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*SOLD*

*FOR SALE*  $75.00  after I get new hardware!