Oldie But A Goodie: Red Dresser

Disclaimer:  The following was one of my first furniture makeovers. Before I became obsessed with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints, I would enlist my husband to help me out with all the un-fun stuff that comes with refurbishing a piece of furniture (mainly sanding, although he often took over the painting as well). This is one of the projects we worked on together.


About this time last year I pulled up to a thrift store that had recently opened in my old neighborhood and  I saw this beauty sitting by donation door.  I asked right away how much they wanted, and since it had just been dropped off, the manager let me have it for $10!

It was kind of gross, and the trim had been painted a bright blue, but it had a gorgeous shape!

I love finding surprises (of the non-organic kind) when I purchase a dresser, and this one was great.  The underside of the drawers were lined with a newspaper from 1996 (which is probably when they first revamped this dresser with the blue paint!)

After sanding down the edges we could see the original gold paint peek through.

 Two coats of a Sherwin Williams red paint (I don't have to color handy--sorry!!) and...

I kept the original handles after spraying them with a dark brown Rustoleum paint.

I wanted a clean look, so no distressing here.

So can I get a 'what what'??

Scroll down to see where this and our other projects are linked.

Cottage-Style Dresser Chalk Paint Makeover

My original chalk painted dresser was intended for use in my new Richmond bedroom.  My daughter loved it so much that we went out in search of something similar for her room. In our very first stop at our local Goodwill, she and I came across this cottage-style dresser.  Not the French-Provincial we'd had in mind, but for $15, this was a deal we could not pass up!

The drawers were bigger than the French dresser, so I decided that I would keep this one for me and my daughter could have the first one she had been admiring.


Since I had chosen the paint color based on my bedroom, I decided this new dresser would also be Annie Sloan's Paris Gray.  And, as luck would have it, I still had plenty paint left from the quart I had purchased.

 

The drawers drying in the sun.

Waxing the paint after it dried. The color darkens slightly after waxing.

Sanding a little after waxing brings a nice texture from the brush strokes.

The knobs I purchased at Hobby Lobby were a little too long,
so I enlisted Hubs to trim them.

I did just a little distressing along the leaf pattern.

Here is the finished product!

The knobs I purchased at Hobby Lobby.

I chose one with a leaf pattern to match the dresser's original detail.

...and mixed it up with a flower ceramic knob.

Kind of digging it, if I do say so myself!

Have you used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?  What tips do you have for our readers?




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We've Been Featured + A Visit With Robyn Story

We are thrilled to announce our latest feature!  Our Annie Sloan Chalk Painted Dresser was featured at DIY By Design's "Swing Into Spring Party" this week.



Speaking of Annie Sloan Chalk Paints...

We were having our very last "Tampa Bay" based AquaSeventy6 "business brunch" yesterday morning (Autumn is in town from Nashville, and Yvette will be relocating to Richmond, VA next week) when we decided to check out our local Annie Sloan Stockist, Robyn Story Designs and Boutique.

Besides all of the amazing finds at Robyn Story Designs, the customer service (by Robyn herself) could not be beat.  Robyn's Annie Sloan Paint room took our breath away.  She had pieces painted in countless Annie Sloan colors and techniques.  We almost cried when we entered her workshop studio and saw pieces being transformed right in front of our eyes.  OK, so we (Yvette) are being a little melodramatic today.  It's our dream, what can we say??

We each left with a bag full of goodies and couldn't be happier with our experience at Robyn Story Designs and Boutique.


Autumn, Robyn and Yvette

Revamped Dresser Using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

There is nothing that I love more than finding a beautiful piece of second-hand furniture at a great price.  A few weeks ago while browsing one of my favorite thrift stores I came across a French Provincial-style dresser.  It reminded me so much of the furniture I had as a little girl that I couldn't take my eyes off of it.




In its original state.


The quality wasn't great, mainly particle board and veneer, but it had such a gorgeous shape and details that I knew I had to have it.  But first it had to be in my price range.

Tip: A tip no thrifter can live without is to know when their particular thrift store marks down their furniture.  Many of the bigger chains (Goodwill, Salvation Army) will mark down weekly, or consecutively  after 7, 10 and 18 days.  Look at the date on the ticket and count the number of days.  There is a good chance that it's time to mark the item down, but the employees haven't gotten to it, yet.  If you don't point it out, you will be charged ticketed price.

It turns out that this particular piece was 25% off the ticketed price which was right within my budget!

Because the dresser was of less-than-awesome quality I knew I had to use just the right paint.  I had been eyeing a few blogs (my favorite being Miss Mustard Seed) and I'd learned all about Annie Sloan Chalk Paints.  I search high and low, and found a local Annie Sloan stockist, but they were back-ordered indefinitely.  I decided to order through Southern Institute of Faux Finishing because they had everything I needed in stock and ready to ship.

Three days later I was the proud owner of a quart of Paris Grey Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, a can of Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax, a chalk paint brush and a wax brush.  (Actually it was four days later, the original order accidentally came with Country Grey which was more of a beige and the ladies at  Southern Institute of Faux Finishing over-nighted me the right paint.  I only point it out to show their excellent customer service!)

I was ready to begin the transformation:



Here's the the most beautiful paint color EVER!




Chalk Paint Brush




I took the hardware off of the drawers and started to paint.




It took about 15 minutes for the first (and only) coat to dry. ONE COAT!!




About 25 minutes later the dresser was almost completely painted.



I literally took 15 minutes to wax the entire piece.  EASY PEASY!



Here is the end result.  I just love it!




Annie Sloan paint is great for distressing.  I did a little along the edges.




There was some damage that I decided to feature rather than to fix. 




I kept the original hardware.




I pretty much want to marry this piece.



 Annie Sloan Chalk Paints were a breeze to work with!  I will never use latex paints again.  So, what do you think?  Do you love it as much as we do?   Have you used Annie Sloan Chalk Paints before?  We'd like to know!