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...

Kitchen Cabinet MAKEOVER

I HAVE BEEN DYING TO PAINT MY KITCHEN CABINETS SINCE I MOVED INTO MY NEW HOUSE!  

I've finally gotten up the nerve to DO IT!  Quit talking about it and start already, is what I told myself! So I did.  The cabinets are a light maple and would otherwise be ok.  They were just plain, though.  I wanted some character on them!  My kitchen doesn't get much natural light so I wanted to lighten them up!  My hardwood floors are more of a honey gold, the maple cabinets were yellowy (is that a word, I don't care, you get the point!) and the walls are yellow.  WAY TOO MUCH YELLOW! 

I have always liked the off white with brown glaze in the all the corners look.  I went to Sherwin Williams and talked with the guy there about my project.  He suggested using SW Proclassic Acrylic/Alkyd semi-gloss paint.  I had originally thought I would use the Benjamin Moore Advance paint, which is very similiar, but the customer service at SW was great so I decided to use them!! I decided on Dover White.  I already had some glaze that I've use on EVERY project, which is Valpar's tintable glaze in Mudslide!

Here are some before pics...

See what I mean... YELLOW everywhere.  I am gonna paint the walls too so that will help too!  

I started this BIG project by doing it stages.  I tackled the bottom cabinets first.  I decided to prime with the cabinet doors still attached, using my trusted B-I-N Zinnser Shellac based Primer.  It's odor blocker, stain blocker, and provides great coverage.  And it sands beautifully!  Always sand after you prime to smooth everything out!  This primer takes a little getting used it.  It is really thin when you start but thickens up really fast.  It is NOT very workable so once you paint in on you can only spread it out with a few strokes then move on to the next section.  It dries VERY quickly so don't go over it too many times.  

I let the primer sit over night then started first thing the next morning with the sanding.  I took off all the doors and brought them to the garage. I sanded everything with a fine grit sandpaper-  320 grit.  220 grit works well if you have a lot of thick areas or drip marks.  

I kept the drawers in because honestly, I was being a little lazy and didn't want to empty everything out of them!  

I didn't tape off anything, I just went slow and steady around the edges!   I used a big canvas to cover the floor. The kitchen was A MESS for the weekend but it was well worth it! And I didn't take any pics of the mess but I should have.  It probably took me ALL day Saturday and Sunday with some breaks throughout the day when I was waiting for things to dry.  

 I set up shop in the garage.  2 folding table were used along with some pieces of wood going horizontal to place the doors on.  After sanding, I used a shop vac to suck up all the dust, then used a damp cloth to really get them good and clean.  Paint will not stick to DUST! 

I used my handy-dandy paint sprayer and went to town!  I did go over them twice to make sure I had good coverage!  The paint dries really fast too so I applied the 2nd coat later in the day. I sanded in between each coat too.  There is a LOT of sanding involved but if you want that nice smooth finish, it is neccessary!

 I painted the base of the cabinets and drawers with a paint brush. A good quality paint brush is a must... I use Purdy brushes.  They are not too stiff and not too soft!

I left the drawers open for a couple days to prevent them from sticking. 

I started priming the upper doors while I was waiting for the lowers to dry. I only did a few then took a much needed break. 

Did I mention that this was a HUGE, TIME CONSUMING project?!

So to recap so far... 1 day to clean, prime, and sand.  

1 day to apply 2 coats ( with a sprayer) and drying time

1 day to glaze and dry time, cabinet doors put back on late on the 3rd day after dry

The glazing is VERY tedious and has taken me A LOT of practice at getting this right.  There are several different ways to apply the glaze depending on the look you want.  I didn't want the glaze over the whole thing just in the crevices.  I used a small brush and went very slowly!   This takes PRACTICE!!!

Doesn't this look FABULOUS??!!  I'm thrilled on how this turned out!  It totally changes the look of the cabinets, since I was thinking that the cabinets looked a little too white.  Once I applied the glaze, it was perfect!

 I didn't do the drawers yet but they will be done when the kids are in school! And the little pieces of trim underneath will be done last! 

Stay tuned for the rest of the reveal...

AHHH.... no more YELLOW!  

This project came out absolutely beautiful! What a HUGE difference some paint makes! 

Painting the walls is next! 

WINDOW FRAME MAKEOVER!

I bought about 5 of these HUGE window frames from someone on Craigslist who used them to display ornaments at the Christmas Show!

They have been sitting at my mom's house waiting for me to think of something to do with them!

After having a conversation with someone about decorating their mantel for christmas, I thought of these!  She has a huge stone fireplace and needed some decorating ideas! She needed something BIG that would stand out.  I immediately thought that THIS would be perfect!  After deciding on the color, I got to work!

I scraped and sanded a lot of the old paint off.  I didn't completely get it all off since I wanted an old, distressed look.  I wanted you to be able to see that there was some paint underneath.  The original latch was still in place as well as a sash on one side!  

There were some glass panes missing but I thought that just added to the character of this piece!

I used a antique white paint by Valspar and applied 2 coats.  After that dried, I went to work with sanding edges and corners.  I even scraped some of the paint back off in random areas.  This really gave it special touch!

To give it an even more distressed, old look, I used some glaze to fill in areas of scrapes and dents in the wood.  Glazing also catches in the corners and any grooves there are!  I love using this stuff.  You can get this at your local paint store.  I bought my mine at Lowes, and just choose the brown I wanted.  Basically, it's just watered down paint, which I might have to try and make myself next!  All you have to do is paint the glaze on, then using a clean, dry cloth, wipe off. Be careful not to wipe off completely in the corners or any of the places you want it to stick.  The glaze with "stain" the paint a little and give it a great look!

Valspar Signature
Tintable Glaze

I let the glaze sit for 24 hours then coated it with Polycrylic.

(I always have this on hand!)

The finished product after cleaning the glass, and decorating it up a little! I might just have to make one of these for me!!!

Salvation Army Rescue

I am so excited about my rescue from Salvation Army!!  I got this steal for only $40!  It was actually a real pretty piece as is, but the top needed a little help and the hardware had to go!  My intention all along was to paint it, but I had to figure out where in the house this would go because that would determine the color.  I didn't want to do black because I've already done that a few times and I wanted to try something different.  I wanted to try Annie Sloan's chalk paint since I've heard so many great things about it.  NO SANDING, NO PRIMING!!  That had me sold on trying it! 

I found a vendor that sold the good stuff and decided on my color.  I'm keeping this piece in my office where the walls are brown.  I have a rug that's brown with blue, gray swirls in it so I wanted a bluish color for the project! I chose the Duck Egg blue and bought both the clear and dark wax.  

           

THE BEFORE...

2 COATS OF DUCK EGG CHALK PAINT

SIDE VIEW- love the beadboard and scrolls on the side! 

As you may recall from the original photo, the two doors on the front have tin on them.  The paint just went right on and covered it beautifully!  No worries there.  This stuff sticks to ANYTHING!

The paint dries really fast, making this paint even better! 

I applied the clear wax in sections, using a clean, lint free cloth.  Apply in circles, just like waxing a car.  Once you do a small section, go back and buff the area.  That produces the nice sheen look!  It does take a while to do this step and you will get a arm, shoulder, and upper back workout as you do it!  BONUS!  

Apply the clear wax first then once that dries (24 hours later)  apply the dark wax.  The clear wax underneath makes the dark wax more workable.  Apply the dark wax in small sections as well, paying close attention to the little imperfections and dents in the wood.  The dark wax will make those areas more visible making it look more aged!  I love that!  I applied with dark wax with a small paint brush and just brushed it into the corners and across the surface. I used a little more in the corners to make it stand out. Using a clean, lint free cloth, wipe off the excess.   

If you have applied too much dark wax and it won't come off easily, use a little of the clear wax to "erase" it.  I did this on some of the flat surfaces like the top and fronts of the drawers.  I would recommend paying more attention to the corners and barely brushing across the flat surfaces.  You will brush the dark wax on then kind of spread it out with the cloth,  leaving more or less depending on the look you want!

 


After the dark wax had dried, ( a few hours) go back and buff all the surfaces with clean, dry cloth again, to make it a little shiny!  It will be beautiful.   

Now I have to find just the right hardware!!!
Happy Painting :-)

please feel free to comment with any questions you may have!  

I posted a link to Annie Sloan's website for a list of colors!
http://www.anniesloan.com/acatalog/paints.html