Desk in Gray Matters

I met a very nice couple a few months back.  They were cleaning out a relative's home (always a hard and tedious job) and I ended up with a few great pieces of furniture from them.  Remember I told you about the rule I had for myself (the one where I don't buy it unless I absolutely love it)?  Well, I broke it on this little desk.  I saw it and didn't love it, but it was a solid piece in great condition and the price was very right.  I just couldn't say no to it. 

And, I ended up loving it when it was done so, technically, I didn't break my rule at all! :)

BEFORE

It's pretty run of the mill.  I had to buy it just to rip the hardware off, lol.  It is solid wood with dovetail drawers. 

**You'll have to excuse me a moment.  I'm listening to my neighbor bellow at his dogs.  This happens regularly and it cracks me up.  Obviously, the dogs don't have any idea what he's hollering about and if they do they absolutely don't care. :)

 AFTER

I chose Gray Matters from SW.  It's a medium, true gray.  Very neutral and I think it's suitable for any age, any gender. 

  I've had these library pulls hanging around for a while and I thought they fit this piece very well.

So cute! :)

I changed out the knobs on the middle drawer.  I decided to leave it wood because I had to paint the top.  It's so hard for me to paint a piece of furniture all one color.  I'm not sure why.  I just like the contrast of something natural or organic against the paint. 

 Pretty simple redo but I really like how it turned out. 

Vintage Buffet in Iron Ore

A friend contacted me about buying this buffet from her.  I knew right away I couldn't pass it up.  I love that it's smaller and it's simple lines.  I didn't like the pulls on the drawers and the doors, but I knew that was an easy fix.  I also am not in love with waterfall style furniture but I wanted to give this one a modern twist. 

 I had my original idea for this one and then, all the sudden, I was unsure.  I went back and forth in my head about what to do and the more I thought about the less sure I was.  So, I asked my hubby what he thought and he said, "Slate gray."  Well, he doesn't offer up his opinion very often and I was thrilled he spoke up (and it was one of the colors I was already considering) so I decided to run with it (for him ya know). ;)

 BEFORE

She had refinished it once so the finish was in excellent condition.  Thank you Julie! :)

AFTER

I love the moody feel of this piece now.  It's not too feminine and not too masculine.  And, I'm thinking this graphite color is one of my new faves!

It had a gorgeous cherry top.  Tweet twoo!

 The drawer bottoms were a little iffy so I lined them with paper.  

*Tip: Seal them with Modge Podge for easy cleaning!

 I. Absolutely. Love. These. Knobs.!!

 These too!  I used gild creme to highlight them. 

He said he really likes it so I'm a very happy girl! 

Antique Wardrobe in Iron Ore (SW)

I got this from the same woman as the vanity I showed you last week. It was in pretty rough shape, too.  Even though the vanity was lovely the woman I bought this from said she had a soft spot for this wardrobe.  She had wanted to refinish it for the longest time so she could use it, but just never got around to it.  She said, "It's just such a neat piece of furniture!"  

I agree!  While the veneer was in rough shape on the top and one of the sides the wardrobe itself was in great condition.  The finish on this piece was very rough, too.  But, I knew I wanted to use that to my advantage.  

I usually try to keep the "feel" of a piece while painting it.  I absolutely adore the vintage"ness" of it.  I wanted the finish to look worn (but, still be beautiful, of course) and I wanted to showcase all the great texture you can only get from the passage of time.  It was so much work, but I can't stop staring at it now! :)

BEFORE

The old finish was bumpy and I couldn't help but run my hands over it (a lot).  It also had lots of scratches and dings (as you can tell from the front) and I left all, but the deepest, alone. 

 AFTER

I seriously could look at it all day.  I want it for myself. Oh God, please give me a bigger house! 

I will take you through a step by step for this piece. 

1.  Peeled all the loose veneer using an iron, a wet rag, and a chisel

2.  Sanded it all down with 150 to smooth it out.  I left the imperfections because I wanted them to show in the final finish. 

3.  Gave the whole thing 2 coats of Shellac to seal it

4.  Used  a latex and added baking soda to make my own chalk paint.  The color is Iron Ore from Sherwin Williams and it's gorgeous. I did 2/3 paint to 1/3 baking soda and then thinned it a little with water.

5.  Did two coats of my base color. 

6.  Mixed 1/2 and 1/2 French Linen with water and then used a wet rage to "wash" the surface,  I did the corner first and then just went up and down, in section, with my rag. 

7.  Gave it a light sanding with 220

8.  Clear waxed it

9. Dark waxed it

10.  Used Gilt creme to accent the corners, the hinges, the knobs, and the beading. 

Stood back and smiled from ear to ear! 

Thankfully all the beading was intact on this one!  I used a craft paper for the inside of the beading, gave it a wash of gray, and then dark waxed it.  I used the gilt creme to highlight the beading. 

I love how the back piece looks now!!

I made sure to highlight the edges of the raised detail so it would stand out against the dark color. 

 I tried changing out the knobs but decided I like the originals the best.  The were just more fitting with the final look.  I used gilt creme to highlight them. Look at the amazing texture on this piece!

 You know how I feel about legs!  So amazing!

 Even though the paint has so much texture it's as smooth as a baby's hiney.  I love the soft sheen waxing gives.  It's so beautiful!

 I hemmed and hawed about painting the inside.  But, after cleaning it I decided I loved the way the wood looked with the graphite paint color.  I opted to paper the drawer fronts and am so happy I did.

 Aren't they so sweet?

Of course, the drawer bottoms had to be done, too!

 So pretty!

 Here's a close up of what the gilt creme looks like in the corners.  I had so much fun playing with it and layering it.

After giving it a good sanding I stained the top with Special Walnut from Minwax.  I love the wood color with the paint color and all the imperfections in the wood just add to its charm! 

 **sigh**

Here are the waxes and creme I used. 

Antique Lowboy in Seagull Gray

Another great find by my CL friend, Sandy.  I love lowboys!  Especially the curvy ones!  What's not to love about this cute piece of furniture?

I don't do gray very often which is sad because I absolutely adore it.  It's neutral, sophisticated, and soft.   I couldn't help but use General Finishes Seagull Gray on this little cutie.  Once I got it in my head I couldn't think of anything else for it. 

I've done one very similar to this in the past and the veneers were like paper and very fragile.  Most of them had to be removed.  I was so glad to see this did not have that issue.  It's in beautiful condition.  It just had horrendously ugly pulls. ;)

*Side note:  Did I ever share with you the fact that I am trying my hardest not to totally freak out that I will have a Senior in 2 months and that means he is less than a year away from leaving home?  No, I didn't tell you because it is totally freaking me out.  I mean like I-can't-even-think-about-it-because-it-will-make-me-bawl-my-eyes-out-like-a-freaking-baby freaking me out.
We'll talk more about that later. 

BEFORE

Nice, but completely anemic.

Oh, that's something else I have to tell you.  All my hair was breaking off and freaking me out (do you see a common theme here?), so I finally went to the doctor and found out I was severely anemic and have been for years (yes, they diagnosed me with it 4 years ago and I didn't take it seriously until the whole middle of my head was 1/2 inch long, yikes!).  I am now on mass doses of iron until my blood work comes back normal again, so that's fun (No, no it's not, it's terrible.  My poor tummy.).  I hope my hair starts growing back soon!  Moral of the story, you're hair really can tell you a lot about your health!

 AFTER

It really is so cute!

The color is Seagull Gray from General Finishes.  It's a light true gray and I am so happy with it!

The top was in very good condition so I carefully sanded it down and gave it one coat of Java Gel.  I love the dark top contrasted with this beautiful gray. 

The drawers were kind of icky on the inside so I sanded them out and gave them two coats of Persian Blue from General Finishes. 

I hemmed and hawed over the hardware for 10 minutes before finally deciding on these pretty glass knobs.  I was a little worried about them until I got them on and then fell in love with them.  They are feminine without being too delicate and paired with the antique brass cup pulls they are absolutely perfect. 

I also did a stencil in bright white on the top drawer fronts and then really sanded it back so it was a lot more subtle.  It adds a little something without being too overpowering. 

Reproduction Music Table

I was "kind of" "talked into" buying this unique table (thanks Sandy!) ;).

I didn't really know how I felt about it.  Neither here nor there, I guess.  It's very unique but the whole cherry/gold thing was throwing me off, along with the base and the gold feet.  I guess I was just thinking, "It's really not my thing."  But, no matter, she gave it to me for a good price and I was happy to take it off her hands for her.  

I thought I knew what I was going to do with it right up until I got my paint out.  Then I totally changed my mind and went in the complete opposite direction.  AND, am so glad I did! 

Btw, this is just a reproduction so I didn't have any qualms about painting it (as if I ever do, ha!).

BEFORE

I was going to do it antique white, with a dark top, and do the feet and "strings" in ORB, but decided I wanted it to look a little moodier. 

 AFTER

I ended up mixing what I had left of my Ash from Fusion Mineral Paints with my stock black from SW.  It turned out to be a very dark graphite, which I am loving more and more. It's not as stark as black which I'm liking. 

I did prime it in black though, so when I distressed there would be some variation in the color.  It was still lacking a little something so I got out my gilding cream!  It's hard not to go crazy with this stuff!  I love how it glides on and how you can manipulate it with dark or clear wax.  I just played with it until I had the look I wanted. 

You can see the contrast of the gilding creme on the middle here and then on the base below. 

I sanded the drawer fronts down to the bare wood, then dark and clear waxed them.  I love the grain in cherry and I absolutely love the contrast with these awesome library pulls from D Lawless Hardware.  You really should check them out if you haven't yet.  They have a wide selection at really good prices.