Antique Drum Table in Florence

My husband picked up this lovely little table at a local estate sale.  I kind of have a "thing" for drum tables.  This little lady had great details!

She had good bones, but her finish was a little worse for wear.  The apron was really dry and had chipped in a few spots and there were water rings on the top.

  

I sanded and stained the top in Minwax Dark Walnut.  One of my favorite stains!  Then put two coats of wipe-on poly to seal it.  The base of the table received two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ in Florence.  I lightly distressed and finished it with clear and dark waxes.

And another before and after picture!

I'm really loving the color Florence lately.  Can you see this color in your house?

Long time no post...

Do you ever feel like I'm always telling you how busy I am and I'm always apologizing for the lack of posts?  Well, I'm doing it again.

I did have a very busy Fall preparing for Blue's Fall Gathering, the Murphysboro Fall Walk, and I've been just overwhelmed with commissioned pieces.  In fact, I hoped to be finished with commissioned pieces for the year by December 1st and they just keep coming in.

There will also be some new and exciting changes here at The Painted Chest in the new year.  I can't wait for the details to be hammered out so I can share them with you.

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing many before and afters of the pieces that I've been working on for the last couple of months.  So be sure to stop back by!

Antique End Table

The new owner of the antique empire wardrobe picked up a neat little end table and asked me to refinish it for her.  It had previously been painted red with a heavy dark stain on top of it.

My client wanted the red paint removed and to have it repainted in Old White with some distressing.  I decided to try something a little different this time.  Instead of using a chemical stripper, I used the Wagner Heat Gun.  It was such a time saver and definitely less messy.  It does come with its own quirks though.  You need a lot of ventilation (outside is best) because the smell of burning paint is not pleasant at all.  You also need to keep the heat on the paint as you are scraping.  Now this isn't too hard on a flat surface, but it was a little tricky on those legs.

Here is a video of the heat gun in action!

And this is what the little table looked like after I removed all of the paint.  The top was pretty rough.  It had a good sized split and lots of bumps and bruises.  But those legs...those legs were just gorgeous!!

Old White chalk paint is a little tricky to use.  It is a little thin and I'm going to say 90% of the time you will have bleed-through when using it.  Something about the chalk paint really pulls the tannins out of the wood.  It makes your paint look like it has a pink fungus growing out of it.  So before I put even thought about painting this table, I put a coat of poly on it.  Poly is the only thing that will block the tannins from leaking through.

I still ended up using 3 coats of Old White on this piece.  I painted the inside of the drawer in Antibes green.  Then I finished this piece off with a new to me wax, CeCe Caldwells clear wax.  It is made of all natural ingredients and safe for the environment.

 I just love the way it turned out.  Old made old again!

What great pieces have you found lately?

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Are you following The Painted Chest on Bloglovin'?  Well get to clickin' so you can keep up with all the things happening around here!

I've got another big show coming up in October and you don't want to miss all of the great pieces I will be working on!

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Antique Empire Wardrobe

I recently finished a piece for a client.  She was looking for a neat older piece to house her craft supplies.  I had just the perfect piece for her.  An antique empire wardrobe!

Cosmetically, it was in sad shape.  After all, it was made in 1919.  The old wood veneer was chipping and peeling off and someone had painted a white latex paint on it without using any primer.  Normally with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® there is no prep work required.  However, the latex was peeling badly all over so that required stripping and scraping this piece.

Pretty scary, huh?

I call this piece "The Beast" because it is so big and heavy and required so much work.  The wood was fairly damaged under the paint. We did our best to sand and fill what we could.  I painted with a lot of texture in an attempt to camouflage all of its bumps and bruises.

My client chose Paris Grey for the exterior and Provence for the interior.  It was finished in a clear wax without distressing.

Per the client's request, we added shelves to the wardrobe compartment.  She is going to have tons of storage space between the shelves and all of those drawers!

So what do you think?  Do you like the grey and turquoise combo?  I always love a fun color on the insides of a piece!

This post was featured at Redoux Interiors!

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SASS

Today I'm doing something a little different here on the blog.  I'm joining my friend, Melissa, in a new blog meme that she has started called SASS. Melissa is a wife, a mom of 4 and a Shaklee Independent Distributor. Somewhere in the mix of running kids to dance practice, band performances, and running her home-based business, Melissa kind of lost herself.  She decided it was time to do a little something for herself each week and she is encouraging other busy moms to do the same.

SASS doesn't have to be something big.  It could be getting a pedicure or spending an hour alone reading a book, or buying that new fingernail polish that just came out.  How many times do we moms forego something simple for ourselves and treat our children to something instead?  Now is the time to treat yourself!  After all, we deserve a little treat from time to time too.

My SASS for the week is a new mirror for my bedroom.  My bedroom is probably the most neglected room in the house.  I painted the walls about 4 years ago and haven't done anything since.  While strolling through Lowes the other day, I just had to stop and check out the clearance cart.  You just never know what you will find that you can repurpose.

Well lucky me, I found this mirror.  Even better, it was only $10!!

I just love walking down the hallway and catching a glimpse of it as I walk by.

So tell me, what will your SASS be this week?  What are you doing just for you?

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Adoring the Simple

Duncan Phyfe Chair Makeover

I have a problem.  I am obsessed with Duncan Phyfe and pressed back chairs.  I'm drawn to them like a moth to a flame.  I don't know if it is those great curvy legs, the lovely design carved into the seat backs, or the endless fabric options for the seat cushions.  I just know that I LOVE them!

I recently finished a Duncan Phyfe chair for a very special cause.  A local family recently lost 4 of their children, their home, and all of their belongings in a tragic fire.  The community has really rallied around this family and they are having a huge fundraising benefit for them this weekend.

I refinished this chair to donate to the silent auction.  I'm hoping the trendy chevron and the yellow and grey combo will attract many bidders.  This chair was painted in Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan in Paris Grey.

I just love all of the detail in this piece.  From the fun swirls in the back to the channels down the fronts of the legs.

A light distressing and a fun yellow chevron print fabric make this piece new again without forgetting where she came from.

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Our thoughts and prayers go to the Owen family during this very difficult time.

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Waterfall Dressing Table/Vanity

I wanted to take a moment and share more pictures of the waterfall dressing table that I had completed.  The pictures in the original blog post were taken in my office/painting room and the lighting was very poor.

Have another look at this beautiful piece!

This piece was painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the colors Paris Grey, Old White, and Arles.

Blue's Spring Gathering 2013

Phew! I can finally breathe again!

I have been super busy preparing for my first big show.  It was Saturday, April 27th, in Creal Springs, Illinois.  I can guarantee that you all have never heard of Creal Springs, but the Blue family puts on one heck of an outdoor vintage/antique/primitive market twice a year...right on their front lawn!

There was more than 85 vendors and over 2,000 shoppers despite the chilly, rainy weather.  A great time was had by all!  The Gathering even made the local evening news.

Sale in Creal Springs bring in Big Crowd

I met many wonderful people and I'd like to welcome you all to my blog and to my Facebook page.  For those who were unable to attend, I thought I would share some pictures of my booth.  Forgive my cell phone pictures.

The crowds were lined up early to get in the gate.

And pictures of my booth.

I had a great first show!  Nearly all of my pieces sold and I received many compliments on my work.  It was just the ego boost I needed to feel like I'm doing the right thing by starting this little business.

Be sure to stop by and show a little love to Blue's Junk & Primitives and tell Gail I sent you!