Union Jack: The Sequel

Round two!  My other union jack dresser was pretty rustic and vintage inspired.  I went for a different feel with this one.  I wanted it to feel a little playful, a little retro, a little 'Andy Warhol pop culture'.

I used a lighter shade of blue, almost a duck egg, but combined that with the bold red.  Instead of painting the whole body of the dresser blue, I opted for white to keep it light and fresh.

  

The hardware is shiny silver.  I love the retro feel the little knobs give.  

Its pretty neat how you can work one flag so many ways!  Ive seen so many cool renditions of the Union Jack in Blogland.

linking up to savvysouthernstyle

Traditional Union Jack

For this Union Jack dresser, I decided to go for a traditional colour scheme, opting for a darker blue.  I began by painting the entire body of the dresser white.  Then I taped off the blue and red sections.

I painted the top the same blue as the front, and then I washed a dark glaze over it to further age it.  I used custom chalk paint for this.  Actually a combo - ASCP in Pure White, and Reetiqued chalk paint in dark blue and deep red.  :)   I used the grout recipe.

UPDATE: I have since bought a big box of DAP plaster of paris and I can say hands down that it gives a smoother finish than my grout did.

I used regular painters tape for my lines.  Taping the dresser out definitely takes the loooongest amount of time.  Fortunately I was painting in my kitchen (Mr. Chuckles LOVES when I do that!)  so my pal, the tv, was able to keep me amused during the dry times. 

I did get some bleedthrough, but I use little sharp edged artists brushes to tidy everything up.

I decided to keep the hardware, as it was so aged and burnished that it gave the piece a really rustic vibe which I think suits these dressers. Im not sure I could have cleaned it up even if I wanted to!

Overall I'm pretty happy with it! And so is the 12 year old One Direction fan who's room in now resides in.  Just below their hearthrobby poster!