Gray Furniture Set

I think I'm really falling in love with this milk paint color galvanized.This precious gray furniture is going in a little girl's room. The set has been in my friend's family for a long time. They were originally a cream color with a gold trim as you can see in the before picture. My friend wanted to keep the gold and decided on galvanized gray for the new color. I didn't distress the pieces that much at all and finished them with a clear wax. I think it's going to be super sweet in her little girl's room!

Chalkboard & Pallet Shelf

I have been wanting to make a chalkboard for awhile. I finally decided to take and old picture frame under my bed and turn it into the chalkboard I've been wanting. I painted the frame using milk paint in the color galvanized. I sanded it down to distress it and finished it off with a clear paste wax. My husband painted the board behind it with chalkboard paint and even created the message design on the board. His skills with font are much better than mine, I must say!

The pallet shelf was put together by my husband. We had a hole in our bathroom wall, so we needed something to cover up that spot. For this piece, I painted it in milk paint creamy. We added rusty knobs we found in a very old house that used to be on the property of my husband's family. I'm glad we were able to snag them before the house was torn down. They are perfect for this piece. This was our first pallet creation, and I'm really excited about doing more projects with pallets.

Turquoise Dresser

Before

After

I think I have found my favorite turquoise color. This piece is painted in reflection pool  by Lowe's Valspar paint collection. I used this color a few years ago on some coffee tables, and I just fell in love with the color. I am not really into red anymore, so when I saw this dresser, I immediately saw it as a green turquoise color. This piece is FOR SALE so if you or someone you know is interested, you can message me or email.

Bedroom Furniture Redo

 These two pieces were both mahogany red...but thankfully not anymore.  I have been wanting to take on this project for awhile.  I do not care for mahogany at all and my bedroom was just feeling too dark.  I wanted to bring in some fun colors that were peaceful and fun at the same time.  I saw a picture of yellow and blue furniture side by side and thought that they complimented each other really well.  I knew I wanted to use morning glory blue for the dresser.  I had used it before on a bookshelf and fell in love with this vibrant color.  This was my first time to go with a yellow color so I was really nervous about how it would turn out.  I never in a million years I thought I would have a yellow piece of furniture in my house, so I definitely wanted to get the shade right.  I decided to go with amber yellow by Valspar.  It is a perfect buttery yellow that adds that ray of sunshine warmth to the room.  Both of these pieces were primed using a brown tinted primer and painted with semi-gloss paint.  For the dresser, I used a black glaze and clear coated it with polycrylic like I normally do. The vanity was also distressed and glazed with a tobacco brown glaze.  For the clear coat finish, I had to use a regular fast drying polyurethane since the wood was mahogany.  I learned this the hard way unfortunately.  At first I tried using the polycrylic and then nearly had a melt down when I realized the red was pulling through the yellow.  After taking some deep breaths and reading the label (always a good thing) I was able to gently sand over the polycrylic and spray on the oil based poly.  This set will be complete when I recover the chair with something simple to pull it all together.  I am thinking a floral pattern will do nicely.  I'll be so glad when this little project is in the books.

Back Porch

 These are just a few of the newest additions to my back porch.  The mint green topped garden bench I found in my grandfather's shed.  It did not have a top so my husband attached one for me.  I decided to experiment with chalk paint on this piece.  I found a recipe using cornstarch and water added to the paint.  It turned out fine, if you like the dull flat look.  Personally, I don't see all the rage about chalk paint.  I can add a little baby powder to an ordinary flat paint and achieve the same look.  I think I'll stick to my old tricks!  The green garden bench came from my favorite little junk store in Hearne where everything is $5.  That's definitely my kind of place.  I found my porch chairs there as well.  The cabinet came out of an old barn that my husband was working in one day. He has become a regular picker! 

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!

 

Bench & Night Stand

These are a couple of my latest treasures.  I found the old bench in my grandmother's garage.  It was missing the top and needed a few minor repairs.  I just had my husband put a top on it and make the needed repairs.  The night stand came out of my grandfather's house.  I believe it may have belonged to my great grandmother.  I am thinking that I will paint both white and distress.  I have decided to try a new paint mixture on  the bench.  Chalk paint is all the rage now, but I refuse to spend the money on the paint when I can mix it myself.  I am going to try mixing baking soda in with my paint to get the texture of chalk paint.  I am really anxious to see how it works.

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.

Turquoise Coffee Table and End Table

I just finished these for a client who was looking to add a pop of color in her living room.  I think this should do the trick!  There are actually two other end tables that go with this set as well.  The set of 4 was primed, painted, distressed and glazed in heavy black.    For this customer I chose Valspar's Sprinkler.  I literally fell in love with this paint color during this project.  I will definitely be using it again.  If you would like to see these tables BEFORE they were redone, check out my painting in progress page.

Distressed Headboard & Footboard

I just finished this headboard set.  It is antique white paint with light distress and heavy black glaze.  I think it would be really sweet in a little girl's room.  It's so much fun to see a plain wood finish be transformed with a little color and vintage flare.

My latest piece

I just sold this cute turquoise desk, lightly distressed with heavy black glaze.  I am so excited to have my painting business off and running!