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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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.

Waterfall dressing table & Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I have many irons in the fire right now.  However, I wanted to take a minute and show you a piece I recently completed.

I purchased this waterfall dressing table from one of my favorite pickers, Gail, of Blue's Junk & Primitives.  She finds the best "rusty junk".  

This piece was in great shape structurally, but the finish left little to be desired.  A light sanding to knock off the flaking finish and some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to the rescue!  

 I chose Paris Grey and Old White for the dressing table.

The handles are some type of metal that had a brass-type overlay.  They also had a little surface rust to them.  I gave them a good cleaning and they just weren't very pretty.  So I decided to paint them in Paris Grey and give them a white-washed look with Old White.  I finished them in Soft Wax and a very light coat of Dark Wax.

I gave it some light distressing to give it that well-loved and worn feel.

 I used a stencil on each end just to give it a little extra "bling".

And here she is in all her lovely chalk paint glory!  

She's come a long way from her old neglected self.  I think she would be great as a table behind someone's sofa, a great little laptop desk, or as a dressing table in a little girl's room.

So what do you think of this piece?  Would you have chosen these colors?

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