Tricycle Red Wardrobe Makeover

Time flies when you are having fun, right?  Well, I must be having a blast. ;)

I'm going to do a little catching up on pieces that I've painted the last couple of months that I've yet to post about.  So let's start with this antique wardrobe.

It had good bones, but the finish was less than stellar.  The veneer was starting to bubble and lift in several places and that had to be removed.  We have tried many of the tricks out there to remove veneer, and we find that using a heat gun with a scraper is the easiest way.

The client wanted this piece painted with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Tricycle red with lots of chippiness and some of the natural wood showing.

This piece is so old and the wood was so dry, that even with a Hemp Oil resist, I got very little chipping.

I did a light distressing on all the places that would receive the usual wear and tear from daily use.

I finished the piece in Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint Furniture Wax and Antiquing Wax.  The drawers and the tops are stained in Minwax Dark Walnut and sealed with Wipe-On Poly.

The bright red really make this a statement piece in a room.  I also love that it still has the original key.  

Are you a fan of a two-toned finish or do you prefer a solid color?

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Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Luckett's Green

This is just a quick post to show off a piece that I recently finished using Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Luckett's Green.  

When I purchased this piece, it was covered in two different colors of spray paint.  A bright blue was covered with black and then distressed with the blue showing through.  Definitely not my style.  

I knew I wanted to try to stain the top if at all possible.  My husband set to work trying to strip the old paint off with a heat gun.  Usually the paint hardens and chips right off.  This time it was a gummy, sticky mess. Yuck!  So we busted out the Zinsser Magic Strip Citrus Action.  Hands-down the best stripper out there!

I stained the top with Minwax Dark Walnut and finished it with several coats of wipe-on poly.  I painted the base of the table with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Luckett's Green.  I wanted this piece to have some natural distressing, so I did NOT use the bonding agent when I mixed it up.  I finished it off with Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil.

Isn't this just a lovely color?  It reminds me of Spring and we surely need a little Spring weather around here.

Do you like a chippy, distressed look or do prefer a solid finish?

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Aubusson Blue Vanity

I picked up this vanity last summer.  My husband was a little grumbly about it.  I had recently hit an estate sale and we were pretty overloaded with furniture at that point.  He did not want to bring home yet another piece.  But it had good bones and was structurally sound.  No repairs were needed.  I had to have it!

Yet, I had no thoughts or ideas as to how I would refinish it.  The finish was VERY orange in color and I knew right away that it had to go.  I sat on this piece for a long time waiting for inspiration to hit me.

One day I just randomly grabbed a can of paint from the shelf and started painting.  The color I chose was Annie Sloan's Aubusson Blue.  I liked this color, but I had never used it on anything before.  As I began to paint, I decided that I wanted to see wood against the Aubusson Blue.  I stained the drawers and the vanity top in Minwax Dark Walnut.  Dark Walnut is one of my favorite stains and I use it quite often.  

This piece is lightly distressed and finished in clear wax.  I replaced the large wooden drawer pulls with distressed bronze knobs and pulls.

I have to say, I am thrilled with the results.  I love all of the little details and character in this piece.  It has become one of my favorite pieces.  So without further ado, here is the final result!

Are you a fan of two-toned furniture or would you rather see the piece completely painted?

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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?

Craigslist Wine Rack Update

So it's only taken me 7 months to finally finish my wine rack. We had a busy fall with Mini DIY starting preschool and then all the illnesses that come along with preschool germs.

A couple weekends ago, I decided enough was enough and I was going to finish my wine rack. I needed to get the wine out of my cabinets and my hubby needed the wine rack out of the shed. Now that it is finished, I've determined I have too much wine and need a bigger rack. Or I could just drink it. :)

If you remember, the wine rack was in pretty sad shape. Lots of dust, mildew, and some missing screws. Since it was only $10, I figured I could do something with it. After a good cleaning, repairing and sanding, I finally decided on a color: Valspar's Lake Country #5003-5C.

I'm really loving all the aqua and turquoise that I'm seeing out in blogland these days. It's quite a stretch from my typical decorating style. A style that I'm slowly but surely changing. I grabbed a million paint chips and spent a good hour pouring over them in the Lowes paint department...like I do everytime I decide to paint something. I picked Lake Country on a whim and I love it!

I painted one coat of Kilz primer and 2 coats of Lake Country on. I hit the edges and a few other places with the palm sander to distress it. After the paint had dried, I rubbed on a Valspar Antiquing Glaze all over. I think it toned down the paint color and gave it a nice rustic finish.

I didn't take any pictures of the painting and staining of the wine rack. I figure that is pretty self-explanatory.

The top that Mr. DIY cut for me is stained with a couple coats of Minwax Special Walnut. I decided that it wasn't really dark enough for me so after the Special Walnut dried, I went back over it with a couple coats of Minwax Dark Walnut.

So without further ado, here is my new wine rack.

And just a reminder of what it looked like before: