I am excited to share the reveal of this little nightstand
with you all today. Layers and layers of chalk paint add such
an antiqued richness to the piece that it’s hard to believe that this little swan was ever an ugly duckling…
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| Here’s this sweet nightstand in its original paint color ~ okay but a little drab. |
Directions continued…
In the first post Antiquing with Chalk Paint I shared all the chalk paints I had used up to ASCP French Linen.
After letting that layer dry and rubbing some of it back off so that
it was more of a lowlight or accent I rubbed on some watered down
Liquitex Burnt Umber.
I worked the burnt umber around all the appliqués’ curves and into places where I thought the nightstand could use some definition.
I was trying for a dirt stained look that you’d find on a centuries old piece ~ like the dirt got into a furniture piece’s crevices.
😉
Here’s where I switched and looked to another post of friend Cindy’s* to use this really great product:
The last paint to put on carefully using just my forefinger was some
Amoco Rub ‘n Buff ~ gold
lightly over all the raised portions of the appliqués.
It’s inevitable that you’ll get gilding in the wrong spot so keep a
damp cloth nearby to carefully rub off any mishaps.
I tried both silver and gold as I wasn’t sure which I liked better.
said they liked the silver better.
Once the burnt umber was rubbed on the silver just didn’t look
right to me so I went with the gold. I was trying for an Old World European French look and I don’t think silvering on furniture started happening until around the Art Deco era of the 1920’s to 1940’s.
This was really fun! Anyway, I did feel a bit like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz as it tends to get all over you very quickly if you forget and rub your nose or scratch an itch on your arm. Just the tiniest bit of gilding or silvering goes a long way ~ very economical!
(You can see where I nicked the top front edge of the nightstand with silver
when I was trying both out and I didn’t see it in time before it dried…)
The last thing to do after the gilding dries (wait 24 hours) is to rub it to a shine then add either a clear rub-on furniture wax or a polyurethane finish to protect all that wonderful chalk paint goodness.
Here’s how it turned out! I am loving this little nightstand now with its new blue look! I had never worked with chalk paints before and I can tell you that they go on very smoothly and there isn’t any chalky feel to the furniture once dry.
Part of what I really liked about working with this type of paint was that when you are wiping back the paint to reveal underneath layers the paint is on there enough that you have to rub a bit but
not too hard.
Chalk paint creates the most lovely soft matte finish…
🙂
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| All of the chalk paints I used and the Liquitex Basics Burnt Umber. The final paint was Amoco’s Rub ‘n Buff in gold, then a final coat of clear furniture wax to protect the paint. |
*My inspiration was a Louis XV buffet Cindy Blackenburg of the blog and online shop Edith and Evelyn created for her home.
I loved all those multiple layers of blues and greys that she created
on her formerly 1950’s brown dresser!
🙂
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| Pretty blooms glow in the late afternoon sunlight. |
I am loving how this dresser turned out and it inspired me to look
for a poem or two…
‘No one need suffer, therefore, who cannot emulate a neighbor’s costly appointments. The privilege of extravagance belongs to the few, but the right to refinement is a legacy to us all.’
with Lina of Sew Historically.
Hence today’s title… 😉
This little nightstand with its charming layered blue look certainly adds a certain refinement to our Prairie Home and I was in turn inspired to do some cleaning and create an early fall vignette.
A small painted tobacco basket I found at Hobby Lobby paired with a few faux rose stems ~ which had the loveliest bit of peach blush-coloring to their leaves ~ aded to the roses and peonies I put out earlier this summer…
To these I added in just a few small off-white hydrangeas
and beautiful blue larkspur stems to complement the blue
hues in the nightstand. What do you think of these two together?
All in all a pretty fun photo shoot and project!
Let me know how you liked this project!
*Thank you!*
😀
Sharing with
Loving this little swan now,
Oh, I love antique looking furniture, hope that I will be able to make such a pretty thing with my own hands one day, thank you!