my new favorite neutral.

Published on by Quandie

Remember the antique washstand that I brought home from the Nokomis neighborhood sale?

Well, I’ve been working on it for weeks!  Somehow it always seems like there is something else I need to focus on first.  But I’ve been chipping away at it, a little at a time, and it’s finally done.

I started with a few repairs that involved gluing some joints.  I also had to thoroughly scrub this one inside and out because it was filthy.  Next I stripped the top.  It took a couple of applications of CitriStrip to get that dark stain off.  Once it was gone, I sanded the top smooth and then stained it with Varathane’s Sunbleached wood stain.

I’ve used this stain a few times on various pieces and always love the way it turns out.

If you’re a fan of the sun-bleached look of raw wood, but you don’t like how adding back a topcoat darkens the wood back up again, then you may want to try this stain.

After letting the stain dry for 24 hours, I added two coats of Dixie Belle’s flat clear coat over it to protect the top.

As much as I know that people are loving the raw wood look these days, and that top looked fabulous, I just couldn’t bring myself to tackle stripping the entire piece.  There is just so much elbow grease involved no matter how you do it.

So instead I decided to ‘neutralize’ the base with some of Dixie Belle’s Dried Sage.

Step aside Drop Cloth, this color is slowly becoming my new favorite neutral.

Last year I used it on my potting shed floor (as I mentioned in Wednesday’s post), then I used it on Annie’s dresser …

and then I used it on the Farmers Market bookcase …

And of course I used it on the trunk on my front porch.

And now I’ve used it on this washstand.

I love that this color has a little more depth than the Drop Cloth (although, don’t worry, I do have another piece that I’m going to paint with Drop Cloth soon).

I opted to swap out the round knob that was on the door for a wooden one, which I also painted.  Then I also went ahead and painted the drawer pulls.

Since I was aiming for a more neutral sort of look, I wanted to blend those pulls in with the body a bit.

Next up I lined the two lower drawers, and the cupboard area, with some scrapbook paper.  Since scrapbook paper is 12″ x 12″, it works out great if your drawer/cupboard is that size or smaller.

I doesn’t work so well if your drawer is quite a bit wider, and also has a curvy front, though.  So instead of lining the top drawer, I freshened it up with a coat of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta.

Finally, I couldn’t just leave this piece totally plain.  So I added a small stencil to the cupboard door.

This is one of the small 8″ x 8″ German Grain Sack stencils from ellen j goods, and it fit the opening perfectly.

I have to tell you that I initially stenciled it using Drop Cloth, but found that was too much of a contrast.  I wanted a far more subtle look so I sanded that down, repainted the door, and then tried again using some more Dried Sage that I lighted up a tad with Drop Cloth.

Perfect!

I top-coated the painted areas of the washstand with Big Mama’s Butta from Dixie Belle.

I have to say, I definitely lightened this one up.

What do you think?  Do you prefer the lighter version?  Leave a comment and let me know.

This piece is for sale locally, so be sure to check out my ‘available for local sale‘ page if interested.

 

 

20 thoughts on “my new favorite neutral.”

  1. It is so funny how styles and tastes change! I remember a phase where I loved dark furniture and my whole house was that dark finish. Now I just love this lighter look! Feels so fresh and clean. What a lovely transformation. This color is a winner for sure.

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      1. Linda, this turned out fabulous! How amazing you were able to totally erase all traces of that dark stain. My mom had two matching cherry end tables, stained a very dark, red cherry, in a MCM style I love. Inspired by talented people like you (well, really it was just you!) I jumped in headfirst, thinking I could strip them, maybe leave part a very natural color and paint the rest … sigh. Now I have one that is mostly stripped and one I am afraid to even start on! Do you think I could use something like Dixie BOSS on both of them, in their very different states, paint on top of that, and have them end up looking like a more or less matching set?I would probably end up painting them Gravel Road, or maybe one of those pretty MCM navies you´ve featured a few times. But man, I don’t want to finish the stripping!!I know you can’t possibly respond to all the requests for tips you must get, but if you have any, I sure appreciate it! ~ Valerie

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      2. Yes, absolutely! I would be sure to use B.O.S.S. on them first to both keep any remaining red stain from bleeding through, and also to make sure that both pieces have a similar texture under the paint. I totally get where you’re coming from, stripping is a lot of work! And P.S., I do try to respond to all of the questions I get, but I especially would make time for my high school bff 😉

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  3. I love how it turned out. The lighter color top is great. To me it looks so much better with that dark stain off. A job well done!
    Smiles, alice

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  5. We are cleaning our my mother’s house near Como and I know I’ve seen you redo stepstools.  Are you interested in any of these items?  Free. If so,  I’ll send the address and have someone put them outside.Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device

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  6. It’s beautiful! I definitely prefer the lighter color. Dried sage is turning out to be a lovely neutral.

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  7. I love your makeover of the washstand! That dark stain was just dragging it down. I like the lighter color much better.

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