Furniture makeover Archives

Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

May 16, 2013

Hi everyone! I’m Denise from Denise… on a whim.

My most important job is being mom to two little cuties! I’m also a graphic designer at my real job, the Treasurer for the Kent County Youth Fair at my volunteer job, and painter/blogger/sometime-creative-genius at my most fun job, On a Whim. My boyfriend, Eric, and I love creating fun upcycled projects and refinishing furniture. We’ve been taking our unique pieces to crafts shows for a little over a year now and recently rented a permanent space in a new store here in Michigan.

I am so excited to be guest posting at the wonderful Alderberry Hill today!

This is my very first guest post, so I certainly hope you enjoy our project.

I think I picked a beauty to share with you!

KarlyesAntiqueDresser7 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

My friend Karlye texted me a few weeks ago and asked if I would redo a dresser.

Of course, I said yes!

But then she came over with this gorgeous antique beauty.

Wow was about all I could think!

How lucky was I to get to work on this?!?

KarlyesAntiqueDresser4 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

For this piece, I wanted to do something just a little masculine.

The chest of drawers, without the mirror attached, just seemed to call for it.

And the piece was originally going to be a surprise gift for Karlye’s Dad.

So masculine certainly seemed to fit the bill.

She and I both knew we wanted to stain some of it.

The wood itself was a little too gorgeous to cover up!

But, since it was such a wonderful piece, I also wanted to give it a little umph!

Something more than just stain.

I immediately though of ASCP Coco.

I love it when used with dark aging wax.

KarlyesAntiqueDresser9 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

So I sanded down the trim on all four sides in order to restain those areas.

This piece also had peeling and warped veneer on the top that I decided to take off. I could tell the wood underneath the veneer would look great with some dark stain. So I set to work.

Thankfully, it came off fairly easily.

Sometimes that’s a super difficult job and absolutely no fun at all!

Here’s the chest sanded and restained.

I did not sand the inset areas or the drawer fronts, as I knew I would be using chalk paint there anyway.

KarlyesAntiqueDresser3 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

Here’s a picture of the Coco on those insets.

No wax yet…

KarlyesAntiqueDresser1 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

And same with the drawers. Just paint, no wax…

KarlyesAntiqueDresser2 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

This is a close up of the drawer with distressing and wax.

Love that it has the keyhole too!

KarlyesAntiqueDresser12 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

The side with distressing and wax…

KarlyesAntiqueDresser6 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

I chose Minwax stain in Jacobean because it’s really pretty dark and I wanted dark for this piece.

Once I had the body done, I got out the mirror.

I sanded the base for that and restained it.

Then I painted the mirror frame in Coco.

I’m loving how it turned out!

KarlyesAntiqueDresser5 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

Somewhere along the line, Karlye’s Dad found out about the project and he told Karlye that she could keep the Chest of Drawers.

Lucky girl!

Once I found that out, I knew I wanted to do something a little feminine with the drawer knobs.

I decided to make a trip to Hobby Lobby to look at their awesome selection of knobs and pulls.

I saw these and knew they would be perfect.

KarlyesAntiqueDresser13 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

The white gives the piece just a little pop of color and yet coordinates so nicely with the Coco and dark stain.

And the dark chocolate swirls are just the perfect feminine touch for this piece!

KarlyesAntiqueDresser11 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

I also bought this little birdie candleholder when I was there.

It’s so delicate and my favorite color.

I just couldn’t resist!

I think this piece turned out just how I had envisioned…

masculine with a soft side.

KarlyesAntiqueDresser10 Guest Post: Antique Dresser Refinish from Denise…On a Whim

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this great chest of drawers today.

I’ve certainly enjoyed sharing it with Alderberry Hill! Thank you so much, Sarah, for giving me the opportunity to share with your readers!

I would love it if you drop by Denise… on a whim to say hello and see some of our other projects and to connect with me via bloglovin’, facebook, google+, pinterest, hometalk or instagram!

Thanks for guest posting Denise, this piece is beautiful!

Filed Under: Furniture makeover, Guest Post 5 Comments

MyColor inspired by Pantone Painting Party

October 24, 2012

Welcome to the MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® Painting Party! A group of awesome DIY bloggers, including myself, have all completed projects using MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint. Now we’re giving you the chance to read our tutorials, gather inspiration and have fun! Check out my project below and then jump to the other blogs in the party for even more inspiration! The Painting Party is scheduled to begin at 12p EST and I am the first stop!

First of all, let me tell you, when the team at My Color contacted me to participate I was so thrilled! I have been wanting to paint the night stands in my bedroom for eons and this was the perfect excuse to dive right into this project!

Here are the colors I chose.

1 Skylight and 2 Whitecap Gray.

I had no idea the paint samples would be so large, I did a little happy dance around the kitchen the day the package arrived! Since I had this much paint I thought I’d paint out my armoire and a couple of frames as well!!

And check out the containers they are in, so very cool and the lids are so easy to get back on – no hammer required!

Here are my pieces before.

You may want to shield your eyes, they are hideous.

The furniture pieces have real good bones but the colors were much darker than what I am in to right now. I love a crisp airy feel.

When I got to work I could not believe how thick the paint was, it has the consistency of restaurant style sour cream, I kid you not. Absolutely unbelievable coverage and spreads so smoothly. It’s my new favorite paint!

You know how when you were little Playdoh looked so good that you’d want to eat it, well that’s how I feel about this paint…well maybe not eat it but you get the idea.

This product is paint and primer in one so all I did prior to painting was wipe down the pieces with a damp cloth and remove the hardware from the furniture. 3 coats on the furniture & frames and they were totally covered.

So here is the nightstand now so pretty and chic.

I painted out 2 of these, I really wish I had the time and money to do a full Master Bedroom makeover, then I could show you full shots of the room, you’ll have to settle for this beauty all on it’s own.

Now onto the frames….

Ahhh, a breath of fresh air…love them. {This wicker dresser is one that I painted a couple of years ago, fits right in the space now and so close in color to the rest of the furniture!}

The Armoire…

Big transformation, so clean & bright now…**I am in love**

So I guess you are wondering about the Skylight paint or did you forget about it after viewing the fantastic new pieces?

Well I had full intentions to paint myself a set of curtains. I went to the hardware store to get drop cloths to use as curtains but there was only one there in the size I needed so boo hoo for me, no curtains to show you today but it’s still on my to do list – finishing the entire Master Bedroom is on my to do list so you will see that project in the future.

This is a blog hop people so make sure you follow along below,

there are more beautiful projects for you to see!!

Sarah @ Alderberry Hill *You are here!*
Cristi @ Charm Home *Continue to this blog next!*
Sara @ House Bella
Jerusalem @ Jolly Goode Gal
Katie @ Craptastic
Ann Marie @ Twice Lovely

I am thrilled to have been included in this series, thanks so much MyColor inspired by Pantone!

MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® reached out to me to participate in the MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® Painting Party. My post represents my honest experience with MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint. I am not being paid for my answers, but I did receive MyColor™ inspired by Pantone^® paint to use for this project.