A MUCH NEEDED MAKEOVER

To say this piece was where it all started would be a flat out lie. My mother has always refinished furniture either out of desire for change or just being the more affordable option to buying something new. I've done the same. But this particular piece was something I refinished recently where I actually wowed myself.

Originally I purchased this piece from Homegoods. (And it wasn't cheap.) It's a beast. This sucker weighs a ton. Solid wood. Teak maybe? The motif painted on the front was of sunflowers and vegetables. (Why vegetables, I have no idea.) I was never in love with the veggies, and it was always my intention to paint the piece to something more French blue. It only took about six years for me to get around to it.

(I apologize in advance for the before and during pics, I wasn't planning on blogging about this back then. But thankfully I have them.)

Here's where it started...

It took a day to refinish it. Half a day to sand it, and yes, I used an ancient electric sander I own that does not have the bag to catch dust. I will never do that again. (Notice the garden kneeling pad I used (bottom photo.) It saved my knees working on the lower part. Pro tip. You're welcome.)

Then it took the other half of the day to paint it. I know there are all these wonderful brands of chalk paint out there, but I used good ole fashion latex wall paint. Most particularly the leftover paint sample rejects from when we painted the interior of our home a few years ago. (It was actually two different colors that were similar enough that I dumped them in one bucket and mixed them.) I'm sure there are a lot of you gasping that I'd use latex to paint furniture but it works quite well. And isn't that the point of upcycling? To recycle what we no longer use into something better. I think it is. And if you're worried about it being water resistant, slap some polyurethane over it. (I'm not a fan of doing that unless I have to. I find polyurethane too shiny, even the matte ones. And it's too difficult to get smooth minimal brush stroke lines or dots from foam brush for my picky tastes. But it's a necessary evil sometimes. i.e. kitchen tables.) Here's the base coat...[I'll look up the paint color names soon for y'all.]

Then I dry-brushed a heavy coat of this bluish-gray color (below top.) Then hit the low spots with this bronze color (below bottom.) I worked in small areas so if I put on too much paint, I was able to wipe it off with a damp rag.

The final product turned out amazing, if I do say so myself. (And I just did.) And because I'm a dork, I name my pieces. This one is On Dove's Wings, because it reminds me of the coloring of the local doves here in California.

And now this wonderful piece is in my office with all my crafting supplies.