Bookshelf/Media Center

 Before

 After

This piece was originally the hutch that sat on top of an entertainment center.  At first, I thought it might be neat with some baskets below and books above.  My husband thought you could also use it to store assorted balls that often collect on the floor of a little boy's room.  Since it does have the holes for wires, I see this piece as being very versatile to suit a variety of furniture needs.  The color is Valspar's Filoli Morning Glory.  It is a wonderfully vibrant blue.  For the finish, I decided to try something new.  Normally with a paint this bright, I like the contrast of using a black glaze.  I decided to try a tobacco glaze for this piece.  I quickly changed my mind again when I thought about dealing with the oil based walnut stain that I usually mix with the glaze to  create tobacco.  So, I decided to mix up a new glaze just for kicks.  I took some light brown paint that I had lying around and added that with my glaze mix.  The result is what I call "nude glaze".  It reminds me very much of those nude panty hose that were popular when I was growing up!  As you can see, I think it was really perfect for this piece.  I hope that it finds a home soon!

 

Coffee Table

This maple coffee table belonged to my aunt at one time.  She was giving it away, and of course I could not say no to free furniture.  For this project I used cream in my coffee- ha ha!  Perfect color for this table.  I let my husband sand this one down.  He always goes a little bit farther than I envision for the piece at the time, but it always looks great in the end.  I have to tease him some times about who's business this really is!  Anyway, back to the recipe...for the finish I whipped up some tobacco colored glaze by adding a little dark walnut stain with the mixing glaze.  I topped it all off with a coat of semi-gloss polycrylic.  I have been loving this stain lately.