French Linen for a French Dresser

When a client came over to pick up a desk and chair, she mentioned also needing a dresser for her bedroom.  I asked for forgiveness as I took her into my very messy shop.  I lifted the blanket off of this nine drawer dresser made by Dixie:

It was a little tired, but she felt confident that an "RPK Relove" could transform it.  Her vision was the same technique I used on this vanity which was mostly Paris Gray.

As I got into it, the Paris Gray on this piece started to look like a battleship....so the layering began.

Here is a picture of the one of the drawers before any top coats or glazes:

It's Old Ochre, Paris Gray, French Linen and then Old White.

The top stripped beautifully....original hardware....and here it is:

Although I started with one plan for this piece, the transformation evolved as I started to see it come to life.  The softening of the Paris Gray with French Linen and Old White really helped create a the final piece.

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Miss Mustardseed

Vintage Side Tables

When I spotted this pair of vintage side tables (at the right price), I knew they would find a loving home soon after an RPK Relove.  

 I had already started the prep when the light bulb went off "Don't forget to take a Before Pic!"  Tada!

A little stripping and sanding of the top revealed another beautiful wood grain just screaming to be stained.

I used General Finished Java Gel Stain, with several coats of their High Performance Satin Poly.

A little light distressing....

Love the rungs....such pretty details with these older pieces...

And one small surprise as I put on the finishing touches...What slight difference do you see in these two pieces?

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking at:

Elizabeth & Co

Savvy Southern Style

MissMustardseed

More Antique White Furniture

I really do love playing with color, mixing colors, layering colors, and just generally experimenting!  But for some reason, Antique White has been occupying my color palette these days.  This lovely 3 piece set from National Mt Airy, late 1950s era, was decidedly going to be soft whites...especially when the tops stripped so beautifully.

For this set, I tried a few new things....The stain on the tops is General Finishes Brown Mahogany.  It is a beautiful warm brown...not as dark as Minwax Dark Walnut and definitely not as dark at General Finishes Java Gel.  

I'm really enjoying their stains and will do another post at a later time about using them, and the pros & cons of their gel stains.  I finished the top with 4 coats of their High Performance Satin Poly.  The satin provides a soft sheen...not a glossy finish.

The pieces received a very light coat of Van Dyke glaze...which I've found a little tricky to use.  I put the flat high performance poly on the base, lightly sanded, applied another coat of poly, lightly sanded and then the glaze.  With a damp cloth in one hand, and a small artist's brush in the other, I applied the glaze, and then immediately wiped it off....allowing it to settle into the grooved areas.

The structure of the drawers was interesting in that there appeared to be 12 drawers, when in reality there were only 8 drawers.  All of the pieces had the original hardware.

If you are a regular follower, you know I have an obsession about the interiors of drawers...and these were no different.  They cleaned up beautifully....

A very lovely woman saw the dresser posted on my Facebook Page and decided the three pieces needed to come live with her!  :)  That always warms my heart!

As I write this post, all of my lovely blue hydrangeas have begun to turn brown....so sad to know summer is winding down.  But for now, I'm thankful for every day that is not freezing, sleeting and snowing!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Finding Silver Pennies

Elizabeth & Co

Savvy Southern Style

Miss Mustardseed

Vintage Buffet from Spiegel

This depression era buffet is handsome and lovely.  It had been handed down from grandmother to grandchild, who was retiring to Florida!

Refinished top, General Finishes Antique White, some light distressing and General Finishes flat and satin high performance top coats.  Simple, but elegant....

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Elizabeth & Co

Poor Man's Terracotta Tile - No More!

15 years ago we bought a house that was in very poor shape.  It had been a rental home for the previous 15 years to various types of renters, including college students!  

We had 10 days to remodel a bathroom, replace every door, paint the entire house, refinish the floors, and have some structural work done in the crawl space.  When the contractors removed the awful laminate in the kitchen, it revealed a sub floor of pine.  We had it sanded, but it was not salvageable...too many dark, black stains.  Our budget was stretched thin and there were no dollars to lay new hardwood floors.  

I had always longed for a terracotta tile floor in the kitchen!  Remember, this was in 1999 and I loved the look of a rustic Country French kitchen, with tile floors and Pierre Deux fabrics on the chairs and windows.  I'll paint it!  After some planning, and 60 hours of back breaking work, I had my poor man's version of a terracotta tile floor!

I painted the entire floor in a Benjamin Moore Porch and Floor paint...in a medium shade of tan.  This undercoat was to be the color or my 'grout' lines.

I taped off the squares with a 1/4" masking tape.  With a sponge, cheesecloth and 3 different shades of orange glazes, I began the faux finishing stage.  

I added two coats of a water based poly for protection.  This was to be a temporary solution to hold us over until we had the funds to install a new hardwood floor.

15 years later, I finally got my hardwood floors!  I must say the "faux" floors held up quite well.  

This is the most trafficked area of the kitchen.  You can see the raise of the grain of the wood starting to peak through...

Here's a close up of that area:

Now that's patina!  Ha!

The new floors went in this week.  I'll be repainting the kitchen cabinets within the next few weeks (hopefully) and will have some glamour shots of the completed project.

In the meantime, we are a family of four...my children were 12 & 10 when we moved into this house.  The floor held up much better than I ever imagined.  So if you are in need of a 'quick' fix, paint and poly will surely get you over the hump until you are ready for your dream floors!

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Finding Silver Pennies

Toning Down Bright Colors

I picked up a great set of Kling solid hard rock maple bedroom furniture, which included a chest, vanity, stool and mirror.  I didn't want this to be refinished as a 'set' so I painted the vanity, mirror and stool together.  I'll show you the 'relove' of the chest in a later post.  Here's the picture of the vanity....

I loved the legs, fluting on the sides, quality construction, but wasn't crazy about the knobs.  As always, I stripped the top and although it was maple, it was in good shape and decided to stain it.

I've been enjoying using the Milk Paints from General Finishes.  I love the silky smooth way it goes on, and easy clean up.  So Halcyon Blue was my vision for this piece.  I applied one coat of ASCP Old Ochre and then a coat of the Halcyon Blue.  Ug!  The Halcyon Blue is way brighter than what I envisioned!  What to do?  I'm thinking a wash of a toned down blue would soften the look...so let's test it out on my trusty paper plate.

Yep!  I'm liking the look of the ASCP Duck Egg Blue as a wash over the Halcyon.

I had a couple of options for the fabric on the stool & knobs for the drawers..  The fabric on the pillow pictured here was one option along with the knobs pictured here....

But my Facebook family voted on a paisley fabric (thanks, Mary & to everyone else who weighed in!).

And the customer who adopted the vanity voted on glass knobs:

They didn't need the stool or mirror, so I still have those two pieces....but they loved the color, fluting detail and refinished top.  Their floors are hardwood and they had been looking for a blue desk with wood top.  I used the Minwax Dark Walnut stain, and the entire piece received the General Finishes High Performance Poly Top Coats.  I really like that product!

So there you have it....a wash in a softer, more muted shade was perfect for toning down the brightness of the original blue.

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Elizabeth & Co.

Finding Silver Pennies

Miss Mustard Seed

Redoux Interiors

Provence & Gold = Gorgeous

If you're wondering what has happened to me and my blog...well, it's my photography!  It's giving me a fit...I want my pictures to be pretty.  Figuring out settings, lighting and editing just don't come easily for me.  To find some acceptable pictures and then write about it is becoming a chore.  Anyway, I still love painting and if I can write a post every now and then that is helpful to at least one person, then the 'chore' is so worth it!  

I found a pretty little table in a thrift store.  Unfortunately, I forgot the 'before' pics...but it was brown and tired!  I haven't done much with layering lately or painted anything in Provence, so let's get this party started!

I first painted the entire piece in ASCP Old Ochre and then a coat of ASCP Provence.

This is the first picture of the 'in progess".  It also shows a little ASCP Old White in the curves and crevices and some slight distressing. This was my original vision at this stage...but I just wasn't feeling it.  It just needed a little something else.

How about a little gold gilding wax on the high points...and maybe some General Finishes glaze to deepen the color value a bit?

I love how the chalk paint creates some texture for the the glaze to take hold of.  And hints of Old White in the crevices helps to emphasize the beautiful curves of this lovely table.

I added just a smidge of the gold gilding wax on the very edge of the table top...

And here she is in her entirety!

I regret not having a 'before' picture.  I am still amazed at how paint can transform a piece!

Thanks for stopping by!

Robin

Linking up at:

Miss Mustard Seed

Finding Silver Pennies

Elizabeth & Co.