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Fresh New Drawers

Monday, April 15th, 2013

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Over the years, we have accumulated a few old dressers along the way:

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I have thought about painting, but I really like their history and character. Do you see the keyholes in the drawers? Pretty cool and unique:

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Remember the post I wrote here wondering if I should paint or not paint this piece? I decided not to paint over. Once it is done, there is no going back and it really is unique and beautiful:

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But one thing I do not like about the old chests is the old, musty smell in the drawers. I might care about the history of the outside of the dressers, but I do not want to know the history of what was in those drawers before:

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I tried drawer sachets and pretty lined paper:

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But that does not work. And since I have been going through paint withdrawals(no painting projects lately!), I decided one way to get rid of that musty smell would be to paint the inside of the drawers. Yay paint project!

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Using a pretty paint color leftover from another painting project, I choose the color Ben Moore Riviera Azure for a beautiful surprise every time I opened up the drawer:

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I had this blue left over from painting the guest room a few years ago:

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I did not sand or prime, just wiped out the drawer clean before painting:

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Now I have pretty, fresh smelling drawers!

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That was my fun and easy project for this past weekend. Did you work on any projects?

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Posted in Bedrooms, Before & After Pictures, ben moore, color, Decorating Hints & Tips, DIY Projects, Interior Decorating, Painted Furniture | 5 Responses »
Tags: bedroom, ben moore, blue, color, decorating, Decorating ideas, painting, painting furniture, painting inside drawers, Riviera Azure, update

To Paint Or Not To Paint?

Monday, September 17th, 2012

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I have been debating about this project for quite a while now. I was going to write this post to ask your opinion, “To paint or not to paint?” But I think have already answered my own question.

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As I was taking these photos of all of the furniture details, I made up my mind that I can not paint over this piece of furniture.

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This armoire is one piece of four large pieces of bedroom furniture. It was originally my husband’s father’s father. It is still in very good condition.

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Here is another piece from this set:

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Pretty cool vanity, don’t you think? Look at the detail up close:

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I love it but I do not know what to do with it. This piece is not in the best shape:

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But it is just the top and that will be easy enough to sand and stain. Does anyone know the history of these pieces? I would love to learn more about this furniture. I was going to ask you if you thought I should paint them over in a beautiful, soft color or leave as is. But I do not think I would be able to paint over this finish and never be able to get back to the original again.

So, why was I thinking of painting it over?!:

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That is why I consider painting everything! So beautiful and unique.

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See! Now I am starting to change my mind again! When I see these pictures, I feel weak!

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Ok, let’s take a look:

Original:

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Or painted?:

What would you do?

If you need help decorating your home, contact me today.

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Posted in Interior Decorating | 31 Responses »
Tags: painting furniture, should I paint my furniture?

Antibes Mirror Makeover

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

The first time I saw the color Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color Antibes Green, I immediately knew I wanted to use it somehow, somewhere:

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work by Annie Sloan photo credit Christopher Drake

Isn’t the green beautiful? I knew I wanted to paint it on something! When I saw this boring old mirror in my bedroom, I knew I had found my willing subject!:

This mirror is probably over ten years old that I had picked up from Bombay. I loved the size, shape and color but it is really heavy! My hubby said he will not hang it. :( I could only find somewhere to lean it.

It just sat it up there on my dresser because I did not want to just get rid of it because it looked outdated. It just needed a little love and paint. So Antibes project here we go!

My wonderful friend Nancy at Sea Rose Cottage had supplied me with a sample jar to try and I knew it would be plenty enough to give two coats of paint to the mirror. First I wiped everything on the mirror down and then painted it with a quick coat:

One of the things I loved about the mirror when I bought it, was all the different grooves and designs etched into it:

So after painting, I sanded off some of the paint in areas so the detail of the etchings were more visible. I sanded it a bit with a piece of fine sandpaper until I liked the look:

After sanding, I wiped it down with a wet rag and after it was dry, I painted on another coat, then sanded again when dry. The sanding really put the personality into the piece:

Now it was time to wax. I have learned when using the dark wax, you only need a tiny drop of dark wax mixed with the clear wax:

You could always add more dark wax if needed. After I finished waxing with my mix, I took just a small dab of the dark wax and wiped it on here and there for darker highlights. Wait to dry a few hours, then it is ready to buff! I just used an old t-shirt and shined it up.

TaDa!:

What do you think? It actually looks slightly darker than the photo shows. I love painting projects. Especially when they do not cost anything! Have you painted anything interesting lately?

If you need help decorating your home, contact me today.

Look what I saw when I was driving down the road in NH:

“Hello, is anyone home?”

Unbelievable! Glad I was sitting in the car! I don’t know if the people were home or not. It just walked off into the woods after that. I hope those people are not feeding it! Did you notice the yellow sign in the first picture? It says ‘Bear Crossing.’

And The Winners Are…..

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

The two winners of the Sea Rose Cottage Sample Deck Giveaway are:

Carol Brouillette and Linda Holt

Congratulations Carol and Linda!! Thank you to all that entered!

Carol & Linda please send your mailing addresses to Nancy at Sea Rose Cottage so she can send you your new fan deck. Sorry everyone could not win!

A special thank you to Nancy Chace, owner of Sea Rose Cottage and ASCP extraordinaire, for donating two of the Sample Fan Decks to my readers! Thank you Nancy!!

All this talk about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint has me wanting to look at beautiful photos of painted furniture on Pinterest! Not all of the furniture below was painted using ASCP products but great to look at for inspiration and ideas that can be used with a great variety of Annie Sloan colors. Would you like to see a few of my favorites?