Beachy Blue Sideboard

When I posted this sideboard on my Facebook page, it was a big hit...with lots of lovely comments.  I thought maybe you would enjoy reading my process for transforming this one.  

Let's start with the before:

Pretty piece, gorgeous fluted legs and very beat up top.

After some stripping and sanding, the gorgeous mahogany is revealed.  

I moved forward with my vision....stained top, but what color?  Hmmmm..It had been a long, cold winter in Southeast Virginia, so I thought a bit of a bright, springy blue would be perfect.

It's a combination of General Finishes Persian Blue, and Annie Sloan Louis Blue.

We live near the beach in this part of the country, so I thought some clear, updated pulls might be a nice change from the original, oval brass pulls.

Quite a bit of 'shabbying' on the legs and fluted areas....

The top got a custom mix of General Finishes gel stains.  I mix a little Antique Walnut and Java....and use it as a stain.  I apply it and wipe it back.  I'm not looking to cover up the grain, but to bring out its beauty.  I think some folks apply Java on thickly to cover over a very flawed top?  I've not tried that technique yet.  Maybe one day...but for now, I'm looking to see the gorgeous wood grain~

And the picture below is why I don't blog very often.  The camera is NOT my friend.  Look at those legs....Don't they look wonky?  They really aren't crooked, I promise!  I know it must be the angle, or lense....but I took over 100 pictures of this one piece...and could not get a decent straight on shot without the legs looking crazy!  Oh well....

So here she is all done...and from a side view, no wonky legs!

As it turned out, she's going to be living in a beach house at the Outer Banks in North Carolina!  Looks like my color name of Beachy Blue was spot on!

Thanks for stopping by....

Robin

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