Just sharing some photos of last weekend's project!
I repainted a chest of drawers that my
grandmother left me that was in her bedroom.
Here's the before - so dark and sad...
I decided to use what I had left of Annie Sloan's "Old White" chalk paint. I had already painted an entertainment center last fall with most of the quart.
I did end up traveling to Henry's of Bolingbroke for another quart.
I used a combo of old white ASCP and carribbean blue craft paint to paint the hardware and I
distressed and waxed the pulls.
(I stole this idea from another blogger last week! - so much cheaper than going and buying glass knobs!)
As long as I had to empty out all the drawers, I purged some things for Goodwill and I cut some vintage shelf paper for my drawer lining.
Here is my pretty, happy, finished chest of drawers with some of the adorable vintage things I've collected for my bedroom.
Now, I'm really excited to work on the matching vanity and mirror and seat soon!
I painted another little table that my grandfather used to keep his paperback novels on in his room.
I don't have a before picture, but it was too dark and it's charming curves and carvings needed highlighting.
I don't have a before picture, but it was too dark and it's charming curves and carvings needed highlighting.
Interesting fact! My grandparents had separate bedrooms!
He was a writer (novelist, newspaper editor and columnist) who needed his privacy to work, I guess. He practiced law too!
He went to bed right after supper and got up super early! He grew up on a farm.
His table now holds my head vases, my vintage jewelry and my vintage evening bags!
Here is my pink craft paint/old white bedside table.
I simply used old white on the pull and waxed over that.
While I am on the subject of painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, let me just say that I painted an entertainment center with it last year and didn't exactly enjoy that experience.
The majority of the job involved painting wide and long areas. The paint dried fast and was not forgiving. You have to move really fast in order to keep it from drying before you finish coating and smoothing the area with your brush or you end up with visible strokes and marks where you went back through drying areas.
In other words, you have to apply a great deal of paint and work very fast!
Maybe
the entertainment center was not the best first ASCP project for me. I
ended up coating it twice with the paint but it wasn't perfect and I
felt I was doing something wrong because it was really difficult to
apply the second coat it needed.
I can't seem to get a perfectly smooth, like new
finish from ASCP and sanding is messy.
I had a better experience with the chest and I love the way it turned out. I ended up with is an old piece that looks like it was painted many years ago, so I really like that!
I also added another coat of paint after I had waxed the small top drawers and there was not any more bleed through from the old dark brown finish. I will probably go over the lower drawers with another coat of paint and wax
I plan to use my quart of Pure White on my dining room chairs and table soon.
ASCP is expensive, $36.00 for a quart, but it is cheaper than paying someone else to paint or refinish or buying new furniture. It saves time because you do not have to prime or sand.
If you prime, you will use less ASCP... So, it certainly can't hurt to sand and prime, if you want.
One more tip. My furniture is old (1920's) and years of hands and furniture polish had coated it with a dark patina (dirt!). I used a barely damp cloth and got as much of that off as I could. The old finish bled through anyway, but maybe the bleed through was not as bad without the additional dirt.
In other news,
I am officially an "empty-nester"! It had been my plan to get my son on his way soon. I had to give him a major push out of the nest though!
He seems to be liking his work at Kroger and doing well. It's up to him now. He'll decide whether he makes a career there or goes to school to prepare for a different career.
A mom can only give advice or financial support to an adult kid for so long. When the advice falls on deaf ears, and they think they know it all, it's time to let the kid go!
I plan to have more blogging time, more project time, more time for friends, more money for myself (ha!ha!) and maybe a little more peace!
I hope you have a marvelous week!
Pray for rain! We really need it!
xoxo,
Jennifer
Joining up with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday!
