End Table Rehab

Original Cherry Wood end tables with a sanded and varnished top. I choose Dixie Belle Paint as I feel it is equal to and much more reasonable than Annie Sloan.  My color choice was Rebel Yellow.  Dixie Belle paint does not need to be sealed if allowed to cure for 30 days.  If I do use a wax to seal it, it can be done immediately after the paint dries.  On my end tables, I did not stress the color with wax but instead, I gave them a coat of Gator Hide made by Dixie Belle for protection.  Gator Hide is a poly-acrylic that repels water and protects tabletops and cabinets.  

  

Armoire Project

I am sorry I did not take a before picture of this armoire as it was brown and had elephants all over it.  My choice of colors were three from Dixie Belle.  Putty, Rustic Red, and Palmetto.  I did not dark wax but sanded portions so the original colors would show through.  Finished with Dixie Belle Gator Hide. 

Formal Buffet Project

This was a buffet that belonged to my husband and his late wife.  It was very dark mahogany and while it was perfect for that time in history, it was a bit too dark for the tiny space where I needed to put it.  I began to research some colors that would work, and I decided on Dixie Belle chalk paint rather than Annie Sloane for no reason.  I happened to see it in a store and liked the color.   It did not have a buffet top at the time.  The hutch top was added at a later date by a dear friend who made it from lumber found at the Home Depot.    

 

I began this project as I do all my chalk painting projects thoroughly cleaning whatever project you are working on with mineral spirits to remove all the dirt and wax so you are working on a clean palette.  

On this piece, I switched to Dixie Belle paint.  The color was Burlap.  I painted it all over with two coats.  Then, I went back over it with medium grade sandpaper and sanded it wherever I wanted the appearance of a distressed piece.  You may sand either before or after you wax.  I prefer sanding before waxing but it doesn't matter.  Just make certain to get all the particles removed from the sanding process.  I use my hand vacuum.  

I then took approximately 2 Tbsp. of Annie Sloan dark wax and mixed with 4 Tbsp. of white wax.  The reason I do this is that you can always go back and make it darker but it's much more difficult to go lighter.  I use a large round waxing brush to apply the wax.  Do a section at a time and then use a soft cloth to shine your wax.  You can also use Johnson paste wax and achieve the same result without any added aging.  For my polishing cloths, I cut up my husband's old tee-shirts.  When the piece was all waxed and finished, I used a coat of Dixie Belle Gatorhide to ensure a hard finish.

Now, getting the hutch top that was attached a year later to match was a challenge; however, I am never turned away by a good challenge.  This was raw hardwood with no finish so I first applied a coat of Kiehl's sealer paint on to seal the wood.  Next, I made it dark mahogany with a dark stain.  Funny back story...while I was staining the underneath, I laid my head in the varnish, of course by mistake.  (I have silver hair) and for the next two hours, I was a victim to a rag soaked in turpentine while my sweet husband asked "Why on earth would you do that?" But being the sweetheart he is, he tried his best to remove it and in the end, he couldn't remember the word for the color of hair I had so he commented, "Well, it looks as though you spent a lot of money on 'that' hair."  I was hoping the word was balayage.  That was definitely it for the day, but not for the project that I was determined to complete.  Wine was definitely in order as I toasted my new hair color whatever it was called. 

After the stain was applied to the hutch, I let it dry for 24 hours.  Then I followed with two coats of Dixie Belle Burlap paint.  When dried, I sanded and waxed as above followed by the Dixie Belle Gatorhide.  The match was perfect as you can see from the picture. 

By the way, the hair returned to normal after a few months and some creative hair cuts.

Refurbished Buffet Table

Another rainy day project that just took a weekend from start to finish.   The buffet below was a thrift store find for only $35.00.  It was very dark mahogany in need of a facelift to fit into my Country French collection of furniture.  I stated, as usual, cleaning the entire buffet with mineral spirits to take off any grease, dirt, or grime.  That is the beauty of chalk paint as that's the only preparation you need. 

Step 1  I used crackle paint by Annie Sloan and painted the entire piece.  Let it completely dry.  Normally you put crackle paint on top of your first coat of paint to show that color thru the second coat of paint; however, I wanted the wood to show thru the layer of paint so doing the crackle first was an experiment and it worked to achieve the result I was looking for.  Crackling techniques 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBuvy4RfN0M

Step 2  I put Annie Sloan Duck egg blue, Paris Gray and French Linen, and olive on a paper plate(do not mix)  I put my brush in all three colors at once and began painting.  This creates a mixture of colors.  I let this dry completely.  As it began to dry, it crackled and the wood showed thru which created a very distressed look.

Step 3  I painted the sides and bottom of the buffet with the same procedure as step two only using Country Gray and Old World.  They crackled as well.   All by Annie Sloan.

Step 4  I used a technique called Frottage only on the drawers. I painted the olive on the dresser drawers and while it was still wet, I crumpled a brown paper bag good and tight and unfolded it and just gently worked it into the wet paint.  It creates a look like a drawing on your paint.  Dry completely.

Step 5  I always mix dark wax with white wax.  The reason behind: you can always make your wax darker but it is much more difficult to go lighter.  I put the wax on with a good wax brush and then buff it to a nice finish.  I cut my husband's old white tee shirts to use as my polish cloth. You can also use just Johnson and Johnson wax; however, it will not achieve that distressed look.   This sets everything.  Add a coat of varnish if you wish for added protection.  I find Gator Hide by Dixie Belle to be an excellent product and if I do not want the look of waxing to create an old look, I just finish with the gator Hide.  

https://www.blueskydesignsupply.com/how-to-frottage-with-chalk-paint/

If you have any questions, please comment below, as I have a lot of tips and short cuts for you.

Darling Dressing Table Makeover

Here is an old dressing table that was once a warm gold.  Definitely not appealing to the eye.  Annie Sloan once again to the rescue.  I taped off the drawers where I did not want to paint and did the rest of the table in Duck Egg Blue and finished with Dixie Belle Gator Hide for endurance. 

Maple Dresser Makeover

This dresser originally belonged to my husband's late wife.  I wanted to update the look to be more shabby chic so I grabbed some Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue and got to work.  This time I was a bit more creative and decided to do a frottage technique.  Never tried it? Check out this video to learn more.  I feel the overall result is just what I was looking for.

This is a close up of the technique of frottage 

Upcycled Chairs Project

When we still lived in North Carolina I found these adorable chairs at the Tobacco Barn in Asheville, but they needed a bit of updating. The original wood on these chairs was a dark brown, maybe mahogany, but it didn't go with my decor. The original fabric was green, orange, and brown... ick! Despite all that, I could still see the potential beauty in these chairs. New fabric and Annie Sloan chalk paint to the rescue!!

As with any project, you need to clean them with mineral spirits to get any old dirt, residue, and grease off the existing surface. That is the only preparation you need when chalk painting. You don't need to strip any of the existing paint or finish off. I used Annie Sloan sage green chalk paint, finished with dark wax.