First Try at Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Well finally broke down and bought some chalk paint. I purchased a can of paris gray and a can of old white. The paint is good paint, covers really well, etc. I am goin to give an honest opinion on the paint. The price of the paint is a big negative for me. I can get 5-6 gallons of mistint paint for what 1 quart costs me of this. I have become lazy and really like my sprayer and the finish I get from it. Painting an entire piece with a brush takes forever!!  I am glad  I went ahead and tried it though. Here is my first piece:

Once again no before pics. Painted all hardware oil rubbed bronze. I do like how you can highlight with the chalk paint. Here are a couple more pics:

I gave it 2 thin coats of wax. Wax changed the color a bit for me for the better. The top is stained in dark walnut. Not bad for a piece from Goodwill!!

Overall the chalk paint is good but not cost effective for me. Its cool but I think I am a mistint type of guy :) !

Everyone be safe! East coast earthquakes and hurricanes this week!!

-Nick

Where are the before pics?

I have been horrible lately with taking before pics. This post will be one of the same. I found this dresser on craigslist. It came with a huge mirror which had to weigh 50+ pounds. The piece that holds the mirror broke during transport so I am selling just the dresser. I sanded it down and used a gray spray primer. I then painted it with a Behr mistint white. The top is stained with Minwax dark walnut.

I was able to go into my old hardware pile and pull out the four drawer pulls for the top drawers. Any ideas what my bottom larger knobs are from? I like the larger knob on the botton drawers!

Let me know what you think? Should I have went with the usual boring knob? Go big or go home? Right?

Cheers!

-Nick



Finally some updates!

Finally I have an update! It has been a long time. I have no before pics because I am here at work. Both pieces were your typical run of the mill stuff though. I lightly sanded down both pieces and then primed and painted. The first was a dark cream with red highlights french provincial chest. It was UGLY and had a smell. I sanded and sanded then wiped everything down with Murphy's oil soap. I had to lay down 2 coats of primer. The paint was mistint Behr paint. I painted the hardware in a spray aqua! This one actually had a manufacture date of Sept. 1955!

This chest has found a new home in a little girls room here in Raleigh.

This piece was one I did for my sister. She liked one of the dresser's I had previously done so I recreated it for her. I have had tons of interest in the pieces I have painted this mistint blue/gray color from Home Depot. I am going to have to get them to do a color match. It's Behr premium exterior, which this is about $38 a gallon, is harsh but not as bad as the chalk paint! :) I stainded the top in Minwax Provincial and used a satin polyurethane. The outside was glazed over with classic black stain. She liked the large red pumpkin knobs so we went with it. I really liked how it turned out. Sorry for the dark pic, but its what I have to work with here @ work.

Have a good rest to your week! Thanks

-Nick

                                                                                                                                      

NC is so HOT!!!

It has been a long time since I posted. I am sorry. The heat and humidity here in NC has been unbearable! I have a couple furniture makeovers coming next week. Please keep a look out.

Enjoy your weekend!

-Nick

Estate Sale Chest

Picked up this chest from an estate sale here in Raleigh. I got it on a Sunday which was 50% off day. I think I paid $25 for it. I am thinking it is minimum 75-80 years old. All the drawers have all peg construction. The chest has the original hardware which are wood. I thought they were cool so I kept them. Here it is the day I got it.

I sanded it down and painted it with my favorite blue gray Behr paint. I used classic black stain to glaze this piece. The black got in all the grooves and highlighted all the details. I really like how it turned out. Has not been online a full day and I have gotten numerous emails to purchase it !! :)

Happy July 4th everyone!!

-Nick





Frenchy White Dresser

Another Craigslist score! Its your typical French Provincial dresser. It has solid wood drawers but a laminate top. I was a little disappointed, but everything was in good working order. I picked this up for $25. It does have all the original goldish hardware which was quickly sanded, primed, and painted. Here is the before:

I did a quick once over with my orbital sander and 220 grit sandpaper and then a wipe down. I used a white spray primer and let it set overnight. I sprayed the dresser in Behr ultra premium white. I can get the actual color for you. This is great paint...great. I will try the chalk paint soon but it is so expensive!! Here is the finished piece:

A closeup of the drawers and hardware:

Sorry for the bad pics, but you get the idea. Thanks to ally my readers, have a great rest of your week.
                                                                            -Nick

Distressed Blue Buffet Chest

This was a craigslist find. Its in really good shape just was super ugly! I like when there is no repair work. I used my favorite Rustoleum spray primer. It really is so much easier and really convenient. The home depot here in NC has lowered the price to $2.98 a can. I can get one dark big piece or a couple smaller pieces per can. Here is what I started :

After primer I sprayed the chest with a semigloss Behr blue/gray mistint. I like the coverage and hardness I get out of the Behr paint. It was exterior paint so that may have helped. The original hardware was cool but one was broken so I decided to go another route. I save all my old hardware, you never know when you could use it. Here is my finished piece:

Not really staged but at least its out of the garage! :) I decided to distress this piece then went over the entire chest with black stain. I used large red pumpkin knobs from hobby lobby. I think they add character. The black stain really gives the details a good pop! I am really happy how it all came together.
Here is a side pic showing some detail.

Let me know what your think! All comments are appreciated! I hope everyone is having a great week!

-Nick