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. 

Antique Lowboy w/ Mirror

 

While I was trying to figure out what I was going to do this winter (because I totally didn't want to work in my garage with a propane heater again) I had decided I was done taking furniture.  But, you know how that goes. As soon as I decide that then someone tags me on FB and I am faced with a moral dilemma.  Ok, so maybe it's not a moral dilemma.... but a dilemma nonetheless. It sure is hard to say no to some things!  I told myself just one more piece wouldn't hurt, and as soon as I justified purchasing this sweet little lowboy I was in hubby's truck, son in tow, to go pick it up.

 

I'm glad I didn't say no. ;)

 

Btw, did I mention that I have THE BEST HUBBY in the world?!  I know I've said it before but I'm going to say it again because it's so true!  He said he had to go run an errand the other day and came back with a pellet stove for the garage!  So, now I don't have to paint in stinky propane fumes and have a cozy fire to work by to boot!  How lucky am I?  I truly don't deserve that man.

 

 

 Before

 

Isn't she so sweet?  I love the curvy top drawers.

 

I just finished two red dressers so it was time to go a little softer again.  I'm STILL in love with soft turquoises and I have a ton of left over paint, so I decided to mix my own again.  I can't get enough of a grayed out turquoise that's a little on the green side (which for some reason never shows very well in pics, so you'll have to trust me).

 

 

 

 After

 

 

There isn't anything I don't love about this one.  The color, the hardware, the distressing, the wood top, the keyhole, the details...

This one was tiger oak but the veneers were in pretty rough shape, cracked and peeling.  I had to remove the veneer from the top and fortunately there was nice wood for the sub.  I sanded it smooth, stained it with Java Gel for good coverage, and then sealed it with Minwax Polycrylic.  Now that my gallon is gone I will probably switch back to Varathane or General Finishes top coat. 

 These antiqued pewter knobs are still one of my faves and I love them with this washed out color.

 

 

 

This piece has just the right amount of detailing and I wanted to highlight it.

 

It's funny because when I first started painting I didn't really think I had a "style".  Now, as I look at my pics I can definitely see my style and I'm glad it's morphed into something of my very own. 

I've never wanted someone to be able to say of me that I've copied their work and I can see how my work is MY work.  I don't know if that makes sense to you, but it does in my head so we'll just go with it. :)

 

 

 

 Detail on the top of the mirror.

 I still love these cup pulls too.  I never get tired of a cup pull!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage Lowboy in Tuscan Red

 

 Pure luck is what brought this vintage lowboy and I together.  My hubby asked if I wanted it and I said (with an extremely confused look on my face because I can't believe after all this time he would even think he needed to ask), "Uh, yeah!"  (Duh, honey.)

 

He said it was ugly and I almost kicked him out of my garage.  Ugly?  Pphttt!

 

I have a super soft spot for lowboys. It's bad.  It doesn't really  matter what they look like, I love em.  This one was an empire AND curvy!!  The lowboy of my dreams!  I drooled all over it and then made myself finish up my custom work before I got my little hands on it.

 

And, I had another fabulous piece of luck.  I love General Finishes products, but I can only get the Gel Stain close to me.  And, if you haven't figured it out by now I'm kind of a cheapskate, so I shy away from ordering paint products online unless I just absolutely can't live without it. 

 

I was in contact with Tara from GF about the recent dresser I refinished with the wood drawer fronts.  She asked if I had ever used their milk paint(which is not a true milk paint, but an acrylic) line and I hung my head in shame as I told her, no, I hadn't.  Well, guess what showed up in the mail a week later?!  You guessed it!  A box full of goodies.  I was so thrilled and ripped that sucker gently opened the box to see what was inside.  There were three cans of paint and a topcoat.  Oh boy!  One of the colors was Tuscan Red and I knew immediately that fate had intervened for my little lowboy.  A perfect combination!

 

I know, I know.  You want to see the pics.  Just hold your horses cuz I have to tell you about this paint.  The consistency is perfect.  Now, I've heard amazing things about GF paint, but I wanted to test it myself so I whipped out my brush and brushed the drawers of this lowboy.  I still sanded between coats, but I'm not sure I even needed to.  It levels beautifully and covers like a dream.  If you have been on my FB page I posted a pic of the drawer fronts and ppl were asking me if I sprayed them.  It's that good!   I'm dead serious when I tell you I only did 2 coats on most of the dresser.  Two coats!  For red!!  If you've ever painted with red you know two coats is unheard of. 

 

Bottom line.  I love LOVE it!  Big, huge, ginormous shout out to General Finishes and you can find them on FB  here.  If you haven't tried their products you are definitely missing out!!

 

 

 

 

Before

After

That is one sexy piece of furniture I tell ya!  (sorry mom)

 

 I bought these knobs as a "just in case" for the white vanity I recently finished and was so glad I decided not to use them because they are so perfect against this deep red. 

 

 

 

This is the finish I was talking about.  AmAzInG, right?!!  Like silk. They recommend to sand with 220 between coats, which is what I always do anyway.  I promise you, you WILL notice a difference in your finish if you sand, sand, sand!!  It's a dirty job but your furniture will thank you for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So many times I get pieces where the keyholes are there but the covers are missing.  I was so happy to see they were all there! I simply popped them off (be careful doing this), painted, and then put them back on.  I also loved these simple, flat black knobs for the smaller drawers.

 

 

 

 The grain in this top is amazing and I definitely did not want to paint it.  It's a hardwood so didn't take stain as well as a softer wood would, but Java Gel from General Finishes didn't let me down.  It's a beautiful piece of wood.

 

 

 

 

This piece is

SOLD!!