A Vanity makeover !

Good morning everyone -

Well I finished it !  ( not waxed - but otherwise it's finished )

It's soooo difficult to get photos in a tiny space - I'm like an acrobat trying to do this !

I painted this piece in 3 layers.............( 4 if you count priming it ) but they were all very quick applications

Once I had primed it - I kind of liked that greyish color that comes from one coat of primer over wood
( those of you that paint furniture know exactly what I'm talking about ) those of you that don't paint furniture, it almost turns out drift wood ( ish ) looking.
Here's what I mean

So I gave it a coat of Paris Grey ( Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - all three steps ) and trimmed out all the edges with Pure White - sloppily actually - because I did NOT want a pristine look for this piece.

and then I made a " wash " using French Linen / water ( half - half or so )
I brushed the wash on - and then rubbed it all over with a paper towel - until it looked like this

and then I used a white wash right after - before it had dried -

Make sure your cloth is damp for this process so that the paint can soak into other layers................
And rub it all in until you're content with the results -
This is only paint - if you've used too much, you can simply add more of the darker color - not enough and you can add more of the white................

The end result was exactly what I was going for - aged layers of paint and washes.

I had this applique on hand and decided to add it to the middle drawer on top

Doesn't it look like it was meant to be there all along?

This didn't come with a bench - I have a couple in storage but for now I just grabbed a tiny one I have here after I painted it Paris Grey

and then I placed a faux sheep skin rug on it ( IKEA 14.99 )

and that's it !
transformation complete !

I can't wait for the little ones to see it - it's in " their " room after all

Have a wonderful day everyone !
I'm, once again, having computer problems - took me forever to upload the photos to this post -
Have to call my son-in-law over for supper LOL

Much love,
Me

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Adding Planks to a Kitchen Table

Good morning everyone -

It rained cats and dogs here yesterday - and when it does that - for some reason my brain starts getting a little creative...............( think of trying to entertain a child on a rainy day - ain't easy )

Smack in the middle of working on the plank wall - ( because I seem to have a huge problem with finishing anything lately ) another idea was born................what if I took my little farmhouse table ( which does in fact open up to double the size in the photo below - you can see that post HERE ) and added planks to the top to make it even bigger - a real " work station " type of top?

in our previous home

I quickly ran to get the left over planks - there were 5 left over - and would you believe it - 5 fit perfectly for what I wanted to do - ( if that's not a sign that it had to be done I don't know what is )  I'm not sure why it looks lower than the counter top in photos - they're almost the same height

Suzan says - OMG John - I just had such a fantastic idea
John says - Oh no............
Suzan says - I want to plank the antique farmhouse table in the kitchen
John says - ARE YOU INSANE?  THAT'S AN ANTIQUE - I'M NOT SCREWING ANYTHING INTO THE TOP OF THAT..................
Suzan says - But
John says - NO - N.O. - NO WAY - FORGET ABOUT IT

I have a thinking ( SHOWER ) cap that I keep in the linen closet - ( you can actually see me wearing it HERE ) I sometimes use it when I'm painting - seriously - especially if I'm painting a tall piece where paint may end up on my hair -  but it also works for thinking strangely enough - and within minutes I had a plan ( because I'm nothing - absolutely nothing - if not determined.

Suzan says - What if I had a way where the original top would not be affected at all?
John says - Well that's impossible - how are you going to stop the piece from sliding all over the place without screwing it into the wood?
Suzan says - LIKE THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First we put brackets underneath the planks to hold them all together

Next we flipped it over and ran a pencil along the underside where the " real " table ends

And put a piece of molding on either side to hold the plank top in place - like this

Ideally we would have put molding on all 4 sides - but I couldn't afford the space it would take to make the table larger in depth - only length - but a piece of anti slip rubber ( like you use under carpets ) will hold it perfectly.
This is how it looks underneath - locking it in

Next I painted the top with ASCP Pure White...............again imperfection is fine - this is only the first step

Once that was dry - I made a wash with French Linen ( I eyeball it at this point - but half water - half paint is usually a good rule of thumb )

This took very little paint - maybe 3 tablespoons - this little bit was all I needed

After brushing it on

Next - ( and I don't have a photo of this step ) I took a damp cloth and wiped the entire surface.
I'm a very fast painter - if you aren't - this last step should be done in sections because a " wash " dries very quickly.

When you're done you should have a piece that looks like sun aged driftwood

This piece is now large enough for me to have a small prep area

I feel like I should have my own cooking show now !!!

Suzan says - can you take a couple of photos for me?
John says - of what?
Suzan says - of me, in the kitchen, in front of the new table
John says - Okay

I hurriedly pulled together some accessories

John says - Oh for God's sakes, I don't have time for this nonsense
Suzan says - c'mon - it'll be funny

Suzan says - Wow - I thought I was the world's lousiest photographer
John says - Is it bad?
Suzan says - Well it's very blurry which I don't mind at all - but I don't look anything like Giada de Laurentiis
in this whatsover..................
John says - Who the hell is that?

Are you impressed with my planked table idea?
No?  How about if I told you I painted it and white washed it in my favorite  little black dress?
Yes I did - I most certainly did!  ( I like to live on the edge like that )  I used to go dancing till the wee hours when I felt like having fun.  Now I sometimes paint in " good " clothes instead.

John says - that's the last thing we're doing to that table, you understand?
Suzan says - yessir ( but only because I can't think of a single thing more I could do to it myself.

We added a shelf on the bottom HERE

and height to it HERE

and now we've added some " girth " lol
and it's removable if and when we choose to take it off
NOT A SINGLE DROP OF THE ORIGINAL WOOD WAS DAMAGED IN CREATING THIS POST...................

Have a wonderful day all !
I'm going to chop and dice up Corn Pops and have a bowl of cereal at the table now - and then I'm going to put polyurethane on it to protect it.  ( 4 coats - since it will be getting a lot of use )
In my little black dress.

If anyone from the Food Network wants to contact me please drop me a line here on the blog - we can discuss salary.
Have a wonderful day!
Much love,

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To distress or not to distress...................

As you know furniture talks to me ( sometimes it sends me mixed messages - and I have to start all over again - other times it's clear as a bell - right from the beginning )

There are pieces I do where distressing would take away from the beauty of the piece - and so they are left as is such as this one ( HERE ) instead of distressing I did a " driftwood " finish on top using wax and left the body clean

Some pieces are content with just a quick white wash ( super easy white wash HERE )

or dark wax for a quick " antiqued dirty look " HERE

And then some pieces ask for distressing ( " cheating " distressing HERE )

and every now and then one whispers  "please, go all the way " ( HERE )

But the piece I'm working on right now?

It was begging for just a little distressing around the corners and details - and to precisely do that I used my sander and tilted it to an angle that would only " outline " the edges................
Of course you can do it by hand - but this took seconds for each drawer ( as opposed to precious minutes LOL )

There's something particularly beautiful with ASCP Graphite and small bits of wood peaking through -
the old worn look is so Restoration Hardware ( ish )  -

it's not even waxed yet and you can see how this looks so naturally aged, right?

and the great thing about this is that IF you decide you DON'T like the distressed look - it's simply a quick coat around the corners and it's removed in minutes.  I think a lot of people are afraid when painting furniture - but there's nothing you can't fix - absolutely nothing :)

oh oh - it would appear electrical sanders speak to me too - I can hear it yelling from downstairs -
" hurry up will ya - come finish this piece already "

I'm coming - I'm coming !!!
Sorry have to sign off now - these things are very temperamental :)

( I had to google temperamental - spell check kept correcting me - who else thought it was spelled
TEMPERMENTAL LMHO??????????????

I hate spell check - it's removed another false belief I had in myself..................

Much live leve luve LOVE,

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