Mid Century Modern

Just realized I never wrote about this one.  This is my first mid century piece.  I had been watching it on Craigslist for a while.  The price got to a point where I couldn't pass it up.  I think this is the first piece I haven't done any distressing at all on!  I used Java Gel on the top and drawers and Annis Sloan's Pure White on the sides and some drawer panels.  I used polyurethane on the top and drawers and clear wax on the body.  I love the size of it and it has great storage. 

$250

36"W x 43 1/2"H x 18 1/2"D

Linking to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Country French Coffee Table

I love everything about this table especially those curvy, chunky legs!  I refinished the top with Java Gel and painted the rest in French Linen and Pure White.

Upcoming projects:

Refinishing

I've had a few questions about how I refinish my dresser tops so I thought I would just do a post on it.  I'll just start with a picture of all the products I use.

I start out by putting stripper on the top with a chip brush (not pictured) and let it sit for 10-15 minutes then start scraping it off with my plastic putty knife (I guess that's what it's called). There may be a few places where the poly doesn't come off so just put a little more stripper on.  It's usually ready to scrape off in 5 minutes or less.  When I have all the stripper scraped away I pour a little mineral spirits on the top and  use this tool:   

       to scrub away any leftover stripper. I take the dresser out in the sun so the mineral spirits can evaporate.  The I use my orbital sander with a 100 grit sandpaper to remove any poly left on the top.  Then switch to 220 grit for my final sanding.  I then put some mineral spirits on a paper towel and wipe away any sanding dust.  Let the mineral spirits evaporate again and I'm ready to stain.

 This is what my tops look like when I'm done removing the old finish:

At this point if feels as smooth as a baby's bum.  :)

  I put my stain on with a foam brush, leave it on around 5 minutes then wipe off any excess with an old t-shirt.  I give it at least 24 hours to dry before putting Minwax Polycrylic on it.  It's water based so you need to work fairly fast so it doesn't dry.  I use a foam brush to apply this as well.  I like to start at the back middle of the dresser and work it all the way across then keep moving up until the top is done then apply to the sides.  I let the first coat dry 3-4 hours then wrap a piece of 400 grit sandpaper ( my favorite is at home depot) around a sanding block and gently sand the surface.  Use a damp paper towel to get rid of the sanding dust then repeat this 2-3 more times.  Your last application should feel nice and smooth!  I always use the satin finish just because I don't like my tops to shiny.  :)  That's it!  If you have any questions that I haven't answered, just ask and I'll be glad to answer!

Happy Refinishing!

French Provincial in Old White

This cute dresser was picked up for me by my pickers aka my parents.  :)  It didn't need too much work, I adjusted a couple of drawer guides to make the drawer fit in place and sanded down the inside of the drawers to clean them up.  Other than that I just re-stained the top in dark walnut and painted the rest in Annie Sloan's Old White, distressed, and sealed with clear wax.  I haven't seen hardware like this before, they remind me of little bows.

(Sold)

54"W x 20"D x 34 3/4"H

Mahogany Dresser in Old White

This piece was in really nice condition other than dings and scrapes.  The drawers were nice and clean and opened and closed super smoothly!  I just wiped it down some and shellacked it really well with my spray shellac to hopefully prevent any bleed through.  I didn't have any other than on the tops of the drawers and the inside of the dresser where the drawers slide in so I had to go over that again.  The top is one of the prettiest I've re-done!  I painted it in Annie Sloan's Old White, distressed, sealed with clear wax, sprayed the hardware in oil rubbed bronze, and re-stained the top in dark walnut.

Sold

58 1/2"W x 21"D x 34"H

 Love this top!!

Petite Black Chest

This chest of drawers matches the shorter "London" dresser in the previous post.  Both are very well made with solid wood inside and out with drawers that glide in and out smoothly.  I added Mixol a universal tint in black to the graphite paint to make it more black than charcoal.  I re-stained the top in dark walnut and changed out the pulls.

(Sold)

45"H x 34"W x 20"D

Typography Dresser

This is one of my favorites!  Love the shape and size of this dresser and the top is gorgeous!  I added mixol to the Graphite paint to make it more black than charcoal and the words in Old White.  Top has been re-stained in Minwax dark walnut.  It's a great size for any room in the house.

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Linking to:
The Chicken Chick
Finding Silver Pennies
Miss Mustard Seed 

Empire Dresser

I painted this one in a 50/50 mix of APC Limoges and Sackcloth.  I like a lot of the colors in this brand of paint, but I find it a lot of work to sand it as smooth as I like my pieces to be!  I used my rotary sander on the drawers.  The color is a little darker than Annie Sloan's Old White and has brown undertones.  It's a really pretty neutral.  This dresser would work about anywhere in the house.  :)

(Sold)

44"W x 21"D x 33 1/2"H 

Farmhouse Chest in Shutter Gray

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I thought this would be the perfect piece to try out Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Shutter Gray.  I had a feeling it wouldn't chip much on it's own because the chest didn't seem like it had much of if any topcoat on it.  It was in really good shape for as old as it is.  The dovetails are hand cut.  I had a couple of antique dealers look at it and they thought maybe late 1800's to early 1900's.  New or old this is one of my favorite styles of furniture!  

When it didn't chip on it's own I distressed with sand paper on the body of the chest.  One the drawers I lightly ran a putty knife over them and it did some chipping.  I should have done that on the body of it, but didn't think of it until I had already sanded - live and learn.  :)  I'm really happy with the way it turned out and will definitely be using milk paint again!

(Sold)

43 1/2"H x 42 1/2"W x 20"D

Linking to:
Miss Mustard Seed