A Tall Frenchman in Green

This dapper dresser was in dire need of some love when I picked him up. 

He belonged to a young girl who had a fascination with graffiti, named Brittany.  I know this, because she practiced those graffiti skills all over this poor dresser. My powers of deduction tell me Brittany liked The Back Street Boys, was in love with a boy named Brandon, and the stickers plastered all over the side indicate she enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 Needless to say, a lot of prep work was involved in making a blank canvas and undoing some of Brittany’s, (ahem), art skills. 

 I had mentioned in my previous post that I wanted to paint in green.  I custom mixed up this colour and admit that I tweaked it a bit with each additional coat to get a shade I was happy with. It was a bit of an evolving process to get the tone just right (not too bright, not too rustic) It reminds me a little bit of ASCP 'Florence'.

I topped with a touch of black glaze and did a light distressing because I felt it needed to be ‘aged’ up just a touch.

Here is a glimpse of just some of the creative flair young Brittany possessed.

Little bit o'mint

This is the third piece from the French Baronet set.  I really loved the way my previous mint and white dresser (here) turned out, so I decided to go for the same combination again.

I primed the dresser first with primer tinted a mint colour. I then painted on my dulux satin sheen in mint (two coats).  I distressed back revealing some of the original white finish and some of the wood beneath. 

I also painted the recessed trim with white to add some visual interest, and I painted out the hardware white on this one as well.

I topped it all with an oil based poly, and voila!  A cute little piece of French goodness!

I think she would look great as a little entry-hall catch all, or in a nursery too.

The shot below captures the colour really well.  It is a lovely soft mint with just a touch of vibrancy.

Stay tuned for my next piece..Im trying my hand at something red for the first time!

French Baronet in Charcoal

I picked up an adorable solid wood Baronet french style set the other day.  And it was FREE.  Yay!  It was painted in that off white that would have looked adorable in a little girls room 40 years ago.

I picked up a tall 4-drawer dresser, a nightstand, and a six drawer dresser.  I thought about repainting them white and keeping with the little girls theme.  But I just didn't feel like it.  Nope, I wanted to do it in a deep charcoal.

Well, I did the nightstand and the tall dresser in charcoal, but I did the six-drawer in mint and white (pics to come soon). I had low expectations of what was going to lie beneath that old white finish, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it was solid wood!  Nice!

I left the inside of the nightstand white to add a little contrast with the charcoal gray.

I painted out the hardware white, it was originally a two-toned white/gold finish, and I didn't mind it, but I wanted the contrast of the white.  

This charcoal gray I used is a flat paint, and it just doesn't accept wax well.  The wax doesn't absorb into it the way it does chalk paint.  I knew I wanted to top coat with wax on this piece, not poly, so I did two coats of my regular gray flat paint, and the third coat I turned into DIY chalkpaint using PoP.  I worked perfectly!

After the chalkpaint coat dried, I sanded it down to smooth out the roughness and applied the wax. The lustre is perfect, a great hand-rubbed sheen.

Here is the pair of them together.  Aren't they handsome!

Here are a couple of before pics.  Although they look like they are in great condition, the finish was chipping and scratched.  In short, they looked their age (and not in a good way).

French Bedroom Set in White

I have been busy this week!  I picked up an absolutely beautiful French Bowfront Bedroom Set.  It is vintage Dixie furniture and truly gorgeous with its curvy lines and detailed trim.

Initially I wanted to paint each piece individually and not keep it as a set.  But in the end, I opted to keep it simple and 'matchy matchy' and went for pure white.

I did inject a bit of personality into the insides of the cupboards though, where I added some lovely silver/blue peacock inspired paper.  It gives it that little bit of 'wow' factor that it needs.

The pictures are less than average, I know.  Given the size and quantity of pieces, I had no choice but to snap them outside and in the garage. 

 The Armoir is probably my favorite piece.  The lines are so elegant and romantic, and I love how great the paper looks on the inside.  Such a great surprise when you open it up.

There is me peeking out in the mirror.  It looks like Im proudly holding the broom.

Don't you feel so lucky when you come across gorgeous furniture.  It hardly takes any effort at all!  (Well maybe just a bit: sanding, 2 coats of primer, 4 coats of paint, and a topcoat)...Its worth it in the end though and when you see the finished results.

ASCP Florence and Mint French Dresser

I was originally going to go for a charcoal and white combination for this french dresser, but I am really feeling colour at the moment and so I decided to go with this emerald/mint combination.  The body is Annie Sloan Florence and the drawer fronts are a custom mix. 

I did some light distressing to age the piece.  I also painted some white underneath the mint colour on the drawers to provide a romantic layered look to the finish.

I gave the original pulls a small blast of gold spray paint because I love the way emerald and gold go together.

This colour scheme gave me the perfect excuse to use this vintage wallpaper I found at an op-shop.  It was from Eaton's and the original sticker price was $2.99 for the roll.  Bargain.

 I usually wax the top of my pieces, but I decided to try a poly this time.   I sanded back and then put a coat of wax on top of the poly.  The result is a soft sheen, and is very durable!

Here is a before shot

Diamonds are a girl's best friend

I loved doing this piece.  I had a vision that of a muted grey with a lovely diamond (harlequin) top.  I was inspired to use the diamond top by Crystal at THESHABBIESTCHICK and am so happy with the results.  

It has found its way as a feature piece in an expectant mother's nursery which makes me very happy.

I customed mixed the grey and used white ASCP for the diamonds.  I then gave everything a good distressing and a coat of clear wax.