More Annie Sloan!

 

 

With the addition of my new china cabinet I have been changing things around.  I was not sure where the cabinet was going to go, but I did manage to find the perfect spot!  A few other things had to go to make it work!

 

 

I got this little table from Kirklands years ago!  I have always liked this table.  My sister Kim says it looks like it should walk away.  Ever since she said that I picture that table on stage in Beauty and the Beast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyways, I decided to paint it.  I have wanted to paint it for awhile, the wood color was making it look dated.  I just was not sure what color.  Now since it was getting a new spot in my home I wanted to get it done!  I went to Carter's Cottage and started looking at all the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint colors.  I have quite a collection here, but I wanted a new color!

 

I decided on French Linen.

 

 

French Linen
A cool neutral khaki grey inspired by bleached deep neutral of old pieces of French and Italian furniture. It works beautifully with golds and a range of rich and bright colours such as Emile and Emperor's Silk

 

 

I skipped taking pictures of the painting process.  I do this when I get on a painting kick.  I just go and forget to stop along the way!  With this piece I wanted to try something new.  I was told to sand after painting and before waxing.  I have never done this because it scares me!  I started to sand once and it seemed to take off the paint and make it look flat so I stopped. ( I often sand to distress a piece but this sanding is different)   After talking to the owner of Carter's Cottage she explained how she did it,  and all her pieces are so smooth!

 

I applied two coats of ASCP in French Linen.  (I mixed a small amount of Old White in with the French Linen to make it abit lighter)

 

Once the second coat was dry I used fine sand paper and sanded away.  This really does change the paint.  Before sanding the surface is chalky (makes sense!)  After sanding it lightens in color a little and is soooo smooth! It actually makes it less chalky looking and much more shiny!  A fine dust of paint comes off but it is not too messy. 

 

I vacuumed off the dust and wiped the table down.  Then coated it with ASCP clear wax.  I used very small amount of the dark wax on it as well. 

 

 

 

I love how this table feels!  :)

 

 

 

 

I love the color too!  It is not too gray, it is a neutral light gray just as described.  It is a very pretty color!

 

 

 

 

 

I moved this guy into our office/den.  It is perfect in this room! 

 

 

Before:

 

 

 

 

After:

 

 

 

 

 

This was a fun project!  I like the color French Linen so much I am looking something else to paint this color!  :)

Painting a hutch

 

 

All I can say is painting a hutch is a lot of work!  Much much more than I anticipated!  Most of my projects I can get done in a few hours, not this one!  The end result though made it so worth all the work!

 

 

 This is the china hutch.  I found it at the Kane County Flea Market.  I fell in love with it the minute I saw it.  It was alittle rough, but still so beautiful! 

 

The cabinet sat in my garage for a few weeks.  I was not too excited to get started because I knew it may take awhile.  Little did I know!  :)
 

 

 

Here it is in my painting spot in the middle of my kitchen.  My family loves that!!

 

 

 

 

I knew the back had some water damage, but it was worse than I thought.  I decided to take the entire back off and make a new one.  TJ helped me with this, although it was not too difficult.  I had some leftover beadboard in the garage so decided that would work for the back.  I did not take a picture of that step, but we cut two pieces to fit the top and the bottom.  Then I painted them both with ASCP in Old White which is the color I chose for the cabinet.  Having the back off helped me paint in all the nooks and crannies!

 

 

 

 

 

Here is it with no back on.  This job was getting messy, I should have done this part in the garage! 

 

 

 

 

The bottom shelf also had some water type damage and was warped so we took that out too.  We used the beadboard and just put it in upside down so the flat side was up.  Perfect!

 

This was already more prep work than I thought it would be.  After we re-built these parts I cleaned it really good.

 

 

 

Then came my favorite part.  Painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I decided to go with Old White since I wanted it simple and clean looking. 

 

When I say this is my favorite part, I have never painted an old antique china cabinet before!  There is a lot to paint!!

 

 

When I started painting I noticed that the paint was turning pink!  This was only on the existing wood.  You can see that on the bottom shelf the paint is fine.  This is the new shelf we put in.  I have never heard of this happening before so kept on painting.  Big mistake!  I ended up going through an entire can of ASCP.  I have never used one can on a project before.  It would not cover the pink so I kept adding more. 

 

I finally decided to google what was going on.  For as much wood furniture I have painted I have never had this happen before.  This cabinet must be mahogany, and when you paint over old mahogany it bleeds though pink!  I should have looked this up before I did 3 coats of paint!!

 

I called Carter's Cottage where I buy my ASCP and she confirmed this. It also has something to do with the old varnish they used in the 30's and 40's over the wood.  My next step would be covering the entire cabinet in a layer of Shellac.  This will seal it and prevent the pink from coming through!  UGH!!!!!

 

 

I bought a can of Shellac in clear and went to work.  This is like day 3 or 4 by now!  I also did this step in the house, probably should have stayed in the garage!  I put one coat of the Shellac on in all areas except the new shelf and the new backing. I let it dry overnight.

 

Then I headed back to Carter's Cottage for another can of ASCP in Old White.  I was at the point of just wanting this done and out of my kitchen!!!
 

 

 

If you look at the bottom the cabinet it is missing the trim piece.  I was going to live with this, but decided I wanted this done right.  I went to Home Depot and found a piece of trim in a remnant bin.  It turned out to be the exact size I needed, and it was FREE!  I found a little wood decoration to put on it.
 

 

 

I nailed on the trim piece and glued on the little wood swirly thing.   

After I shellaced the entire cabinet and let it dry overnight I painted it again.  This time it only took two coats and it covered pretty well.  After the two coats of ASCP I covered it in a layer of clear wax and then alittle dark wax. 

Here it is.......

Here you can see the new bottom shelf and the beadboard backing.

My homemade trim piece!

Before

After

I love this cabinet for so many reasons.  For one it has my blood, sweat & tears in it.  (literally!)  I also think it is just beautiful and very functional! 

When I finally finished this project I still had my original problem.  Where to put it!  I found a spot, but it opened up a huge can of worms and now I am re arranging my entire living room!  Love when that happens, it my favorite part about decorating!  :)

 

Chair re do!

Remember these little antique chairs I bought from Carter's Cottage? I could not wait to paint them with Annie Sloan chalk paint in Graphite. I have not used this color before and I thought it was a perfect chair kind of color.

 

 

 

Here is Graphite:
 

Graphite
Graphite is a soft black made with purplish blues and brown and is not completely black. When waxed it becomes a beautiful black like dark slate.

 

It does not look that dark out of the can.  Once dry it almost looks like a chalk board black.  Using the dark wax gives it a blacker look or a slate look as Annie Sloan says.

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to give the chairs a thin coat of Duck Egg Blue first.  I have never used this color either.  I thought it would look good under the Graphite.  I bought the paint in one of the little sample pots and still have over half left after doing the two chairs. These pots are the perfect way to try out a color!

Duck Egg Blue
A greenish soft blue reminiscent of Rococo French and Swedish interiors. It looks wonderful and fresh with Old White, used over Chateau Grey and Aubusson Blue.



 

 

 

After the Duck Egg Blue dried I used the Graphite.  I love this color!  I used two coats of the Graphite,  I wanted to be sure these chairs were tough enough for daily use.  After the paint dried I used a scotch bright pad and distressed them. After distressing I coated the chairs in a layer of clear wax and then added some of the dark wax.  The dark wax looks amazing with the Graphite!  Then I buffed them to a nice shine.

 

 

 

Here is a close up of the distressing.  You can see both the original wood and the Duck Egg Blue underneath.

 

I also replaced the old cracked leather seat fabric.  I found this gray chevron fabric at Hobby Lobby.  It was $4.00!  I love how it looks with the Graphite and I have been wanting to give chevron a try somewhere in my home!

 

 





Before

 



 

After


Two re finished antique chairs for under $45.00.  Not bad! 

I am still having a chair dilemma.  I have been searching for the perfect chairs for both my kitchen and my dining room table.  I am almost there, but not quite!  More on that soon!!!!

~Debbie




 

On a chair hunt.....

 

Do you ever notice that one project can snowball in to many many more projects?? That is basically the story of my life!  I guess that is why I named my blog my ever changing home! 

 

After I re finished my kitchen table I decided to mix up the chairs a bit.  The first thing I did was post my old chairs on craigslist.  In the past I would have just bought new ones, but the new me is trying to do things the smarter less wasteful way. 

 

I started off by listing the 4 black leather chairs around the table and they sold the next day!  Now I just listed the black leather bar stools.  I decided to just start fresh!  I also listed another 6 chairs I had in our basement that were sitting there doing absolutely nothing! 

 

 

 

In the meantime I took a trip to Carter's Cottage. I went for paint and came home with these.

 

 

 

There was just something about these little antique chairs!  Most of the furniture in Carter's Cottage is painted in Annie Sloan paint, so when I saw these chairs just screaming to be re done I had to get them.  I paid only $35.00 for the pair! 

 

I also got my paint.....

 

First I bought Graphite...

 

 

 

Graphite
Graphite is a soft black made with purplish blues and brown and is not completely black. When waxed it becomes a beautiful black like dark slate.

 

I am so excited to try this color.  This is what I have planned for those two little chairs.

 

Carter's Cottage is now selling ascp in smaller 4 oz pots for $14.95 each.   Perfect way to try out a color!

 

So....since I have been wanting to try Barcelona Orange since the day it came out this was the perfect way to do it!

 

 

Barcelona Orange
Think of a large ripe orange and this is the colour of Barcelona Orange. Apply dark wax and the colour becomes a luscious burnt orange. Its warmth and vivacity is a great accompaniment to neutral tones such as our greeny sludge colour, Chateau Grey or to the cool silveriness of Paris Grey as well as Aubusson Blue, its deep complementary partner. It is perfect for many interiors but particularly with the 1960s vintage look

 

 

 

I also love Duck Egg Blue and I am not sure why I have not purchased it before.  It is a beautiful color.  I am thinking of working it in with the Graphite on the chairs somehow.

 

 

 

 

Duck Egg BlueA greenish soft blue reminiscent of Rococo French and Swedish interiors. It looks wonderful and fresh with Old White, used over Chateau Grey and Aubusson Blue

 

 

So now I have two new (old) chairs to work on, some fun paint to try out, and a kitchen table with no chairs. 

 

In my mind I am seeing a mix of industrial and vintage??  Two of my favorite looks!  Stay tuned.... :)

 

 



Refinishing an oak table-part II

 

Happy Sunday!  We are having absolutely beautiful weather today.  70 degrees and sunny!  Just perfect!  Smells like fall too!

 

We had a busy weekend with football games, baseball games, more sleepovers, haunted houses, church, and today I snuck away and went to Carter's Cottage.  I needed more paint!  I got some great colors that I can not wait to try. I will share them soon!

 

Anyways here is my finished table....

 

  I painted the pedestal base with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre.  I added water to the paint before the 2nd coat and it went on so nicely.  I have never tried that before.  I was running low on paint so wanted to make it last. I was told that because the paint is thick watering down the second layer is suggested.  I never knew that!  It really worked great.  After two coats of ASCP I did a layer of clear wax. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here is the finished table.  (sorry about the bright sun!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am thrilled with how it turned out. I love that I was able to repurpose a table that was very special to us!  I was really nervous for awhile at how it was turning out. What is nice about wood is you can just re sand and start over if you need to.  Although that makes for a much larger project!

 

Notice something missing in the pictures?  Chairs!  I decided to switch up the chairs a bit.  I want to do something different but just have not quite figured it out yet. 

 

I found two awesome antique chairs today that I am going to re do and add to some other chairs.  Just not sure which ones yet...... :)

 

 

 

More on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint....

I started painting my dining room chairs last night.  I decided on
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre.  This is how Old Ochre is described:

Old Ochre:

A soft warm neutral that can be dark waxed to make the colour of old French painted woodwork. For a sophisticated paring, use Old White for carved details.

I love this color.  I have used it on a few pieces and was running low on it when I started the dining room chairs last night.  With a little over 1/4 can left I almost finished 6 chairs! 

So this morning I headed out to Carter's Cottage to pick up some paint.  I have to say I love this shop!  Christie is the owner and she has made this a very comfortable and beautiful place to shop.  Here are a few things I saw today.....

 

 Beautiful things!  I could walk around this store all day and never get tired of looking!  What is so great is many of the pieces are painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint so you can actually see it on furniture!

And now for my favorite part........

This is where it gets difficult for me!  I knew I wanted Old Ochre and clear soft wax, but I also wanted to try a new color. I really could buy a can of each, there is not a color I do not like!

Christie is a Certified Trainer for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  She knows a lot!  The Carters Cottage website has tons of great tips too!!  After talking with her about what color I should try I decided on....

 

Château Grey:

An elegant greyed green when left un-waxed or clear waxed. A beautiful medium olive color when dark waxed. The colour often found in French woodwork.

 

I am so excited to try this color!!  It goes great with Old Ochre!

The nice part about shopping for paint here is all the colors are painted on little pieces of wood.  She has an entire basket full of colors and different color combinations as well. 

I also bought a new paint brush.  My old one has lasted over a year and is still going strong.  For $4.95 I decided to get another for a back up!  I also got a piece of ripple cloth. This cloth is great for buffing after you wax. 

I highly recommend Carter's Cottage.  You can also buy Annie Sloan Chalk Paint online on their website.

www.carterscottageinteriors.com

Looks like I will be making many more visits to this lovely store!  I  have been collecting beautiful pieces of furniture over the year and have decided to start finishing them to sell!  I can only fit so much stuff in my home!!! I am soooo excited about this new venture.  Stay tuned for more details!  :)