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.
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!
