Year: 2014

I know others have a lot of success re-painting an already painted piece of furniture, but I really try to avoid it.  I don’t like stripping paint, I find it time consuming and messy.  I also don’t like painting over latex with milk paint.  It can be done, but it gets even more unpredictable than usual.  I’m also kind of picky about the color of an undercoat that is sure to show through whatever I put on top of it, at least on the distressed edges.  So, keeping all of those factors in mind, I usually pass on already painted pieces.

However, last winter after probably one too many cocktails in Las Vegas, I texted Mr. Q and sent him off to pick up a dresser/nightstand combo while I was off visiting my mom.  They were already painted white.  But I thought I could work with the white.

Here is what they looked like when I got them.

They came as a pair, so I was stuck with the chunky nightstand, even though it obviously doesn’t really match the dresser and it’s not something I would normally grab.  As for the dresser,  the hardware was all wrong, the existing white paint job was poorly done and, you can’t see it here, but there is a coat of garish green under the white.

Upon returning from Las Vegas I took a look at them, and then promptly stored them in nnK’s garage for several months and forgot all about them (sorry nnK).

I brought them back over to my place earlier this summer though, and still couldn’t find the motivation to work on them.  Finally, I told myself that I had to get these done before my sale.  Nothing like a deadline to get my mojo going.  I decided to work with the white by freshening it up with a coat of American Paint Company’s mineral/chalk paint in Navajo White.  The next step was to add a stripe to the drawer fronts using Annie Sloan’s Louis Blue.

I started with the night stand.  I used yellow Frog tape (the one for delicate surfaces), taped off some stripes on the drawer front, painted the blue, and pulled off the tape.  Ack!  The tape pulled the paint off right down the to wood.  I am guessing this is because the original paint used on this piece was probably latex.  And it didn’t stick.  In the end, I just touched up the paint, added some Louis Blue to the top, added a vintage glass knob and called it good.

It has a sort of beachy vibe, don’t you think?

Definitely not my best work ever, but hopefully someone out there will want a beachy keen nightstand.

Meanwhile, there was no way I was going to try using tape on the dresser, so I went back to the drawing board.  It then occurred to me that I should get out my stencils.  Duh.  Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

And voila!  The finished dresser.

Seriously, isn’t it amazing what a fresh coat of chalk paint, some stenciling, and some new hardware can do for a dresser?

Here is a peek at the inside.

I’m thinking maybe I should have numbered those interior drawers.

What do you think?  Should I add numbers?

You may have caught a glimpse of this tiny dresser that I used for staging …

Yes, my addiction to tiny furniture continues.  I plan to paint this one too … but maybe after the Carriage House sale!

Remember the whole ‘my computer died and I haven’t been able to retrieve my photos yet’ thing?  Yeah, well, I haven’t made that a priority.  With my sale coming up, I am mainly focusing on getting furniture done.  This is further exacerbated by the fact that fall is in the air here in Minnesota.  I know I only have another month or so before my summer workshop in the Carriage House is closed up for the winter.  I’ll have plenty of time after the snow flies to concentrate on indoor projects … like figuring out how to retrieve my photos from an external hard drive (snore.)  And cleaning.

Meanwhile though, that means I don’t have a ‘before’ picture of this project for you.  Let me try to paint a picture.  One afternoon my pal Cathy texted me and said “I have a piece of furniture for you, I’ll drop it off.”  She came by with a little washstand in her car and a tall tale about how she wrangled that thing into the back seat all by herself.  You see, she saw it at the curb with a “FREE” sign on it.  It was in a sad state of affairs.  It had the most hideous replacement hardware ever, one caster was missing, the veneer on the top drawer was totally buckled.

But, Cathy saw through all of that and she knew this little cupboard could be salvaged!  So she manhandled it into her car and brought it to me.  The furniture whisperer.

Where do I even start with this one?  First of all, the hardware that came with it went right into the trash.  This is practically unheard of for me, but seriously, this stuff was butt ugly.  Bad, bad, bad 70’s hardware.  I felt that it was my responsibility to protect humanity from ever having to lay eyes on such a hideous sight ever again.  Fortunately, I had these vintage glass pulls and knob on hand to use as replacements.  Ahhhhh, so much better.

Once the hardware was gone, I made the decision that the top drawer was beyond salvage.  Or at least not worth the trouble.  Instead, I had Ken put a shelf in that spot.  He also cut a hole at the back for electrical cords, thus making this piece functional as a TV stand.

I actually kind of loved the wood top on this one.  It was pretty beat up, and the veneer is buckling on top too.  But I kind of dig the aged, beat up look.  I had to strip the top because it had some paint drips and splats on it from it’s previous life.  Once stripped, I gave it a quick sand and a coat of dark wax.

Next came the paint.  I had picked up a quart of Annie Sloan’s Aubusson while my sister was here visiting.  I’ll be honest, when I first opened that can of paint I thought “what was I thinking?  why in the world did I buy this color?”  But I realized that I must have seen it on something in the store, and I must have loved it.  I decided to go for it.  Two coats of paint, followed by a coat of dark wax.

Sidebar.  When I say ‘dark wax’ I am referring to my own concocted mix of Johnson’s Paste Wax and Briwax in Dark Brown.  When I first purchased the Briwax, I didn’t realize how really, really dark it would be.  I toned it down by mixing it with clear paste wax.  I ended up loving this combo.  Plus it is a great way to stretch the more expensive Briwax with the really cheap Johnson’s (about $6 a can).  However, FYI, the Johnson’s is very stinky.  I never use it indoors.

Anyway, guess what?  I do love Aubusson.  It’s a nice, rich blue.

As a last final touch, I lined the bottom of the cupboard with some vintage wallpaper that matched perfectly.

 I think I will save this little cupboard for my upcoming Carriage House sale.  Hopefully someone there will want to give it a new home.

You gotta love a two for one.  In this case, two dressers, one trip.  I saw the first dresser on craigslist and when Mr. Q and I went to pick it up, the buyer just happened to say “you know, I do have another dresser that I want to get rid of.”  I love when people say that.  Usually it’s a good thing … and in this case it definitely was.

I honestly liked the 2nd dresser even better than the one I drove out for.  But I purchased both of them, naturally.

I started with dresser no. 1.  Mr. Q prepped it for me by removing the hardware, sanding it down and cleaning it.  Then I painted it with a custom mix of MMSMP 2 parts Trophy to 1 part Grain Sack.  Now, I could fib here and say I planned this color, but in reality this was the last bit of Trophy I had on hand with a little Grain Sack mixed in to make it stretch for the entire dresser.  In the end, I think it worked well for me.  The grey is gorgeous.

As I was digging through my stencils the other day, I came across this damask stencil.  I had forgotten all about it!  I just knew it would be perfect for an overall stencil on the drawer fronts of this dresser.  The pattern of the stencil almost mirrors the design on the backboard perfectly.

I used Martha Stewart craft paint in Lake Fog to do the stenciling.  It might just be my own opinion, but I think this sort of stencil looks best as an overall pattern filling in all of the space on the drawer fronts from edge to edge rather than just a centered pattern down the middle.  I feel the same way about the french poem stencil that I have.  In fact … I might just be bringing that one out of semi-retirement soon.

Once the stencil was complete and dry, I sanded everything lightly and finished with hemp oil.

I had planned to keep the original hardware, which is actually quite lovely.  But once I saw the results of the stenciling I knew that I needed some hardware that didn’t visually compete.  These clear knobs do the job perfectly.  They are nearly invisible in fact.  I’ll save the other hardware for another dresser.

 In some of these close up photos, you can see that this was another crackled milk paint finish.  I am starting think my theory about humidity might be right.  It was quite humid when I painted this one.  Have any of you had any experience with MMSMP giving you more of a crackled finish when you paint in humid conditions?

This dresser is more petite than it looks in pictures by itself.  I paired it up with my cane back chair to give you an idea of the size.

This dresser would work well next to a tall bed as an alternative to a traditional nightstand.  Or wouldn’t it be lovely in a baby’s room?  There are so many options for a versatile dresser like this one.

So how about it?  Anyone out there need a lovely little stenciled dresser?  This one is for sale, if interested email me for the particulars.

Meanwhile, stay tuned to find out what I did with dresser no. 2!

It’s official.  I’m addicted to vintage wallpaper.  There is just something about it.  The colors.  The texture.  The very vintage-ness of it.

As soon as I saw this dresser on craigslist, I knew it would be perfect for wallpapering.  I had a bit of this Lily of the Valley wallpaper left, so I painted the dresser using MMSMP in Eulalie’s Sky, which I knew would work well with the background color of the wallpaper.

This dresser has the most charming hardware.

And some fab detail on the mirror base.

I staged the dresser with a vase full of Vanilla Strawberry hydrangea, an old family wedding photo, and my fab new clock.

I don’t know who the wedding couple is in this photo, but the farmhouse behind them belonged to my great grandparents in Arlington, South Dakota.

Anyway, this lovely dresser has already gone up to the Round Barn in Andover.  Pricetag:  $298.  Stop in and see it in person, and take some time to look around at all of the other fabulous things that Lori has in her shop.  I swear, every time I go in there I find some fun little thing to bring home with me.  This time it was Maple Pumpkin Butter.  Yum!  I also stocked up on Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Trophy, Grain Sack, Apron Strings and Linen.  Stay tuned to see what I paint next!