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Furniture Makeovers

FURNITURE FEATURE FRIDAY – Breida’s Favorites & Link Party

Good evening, all!  I spent the day traveling from Pennsylvania all the way to Alabama with my husband, towing a trailer behind.  Since we left at 4:00 in the morning, we’re taking tonight to catch up on some sleep, so we’re ready to set up my space at The Chapel Market tomorrow.  I did do some hard napping in the car and drool may have been involved, but a good night sleep is still in order!  So, tonight I have a guest picker – Breida with a B (or as I call her “I before E except in Breida.”)  She’s a wonderful writer and has great taste, so I knew you would be in good hands with her. I’m so excited to be back here at Miss Mustard Seed again! It seems natural to start off by saying that, and also to say that it was so hard to choose from

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Before and Afters

Typewriter Vanity/Desk Reveal

 This is how the piece looked when it came into my possession…   Typewriter MMSMP is our color of the month for October, so I thought it was good timing to use it on this piece.  I generally don’t paint pieces all black, but I knew bleed through would be an issue and nothing hides that better than black.     Here’s how the piece looked when I last showed it to you… …and here’s how it looks now that it’s finished. I painted it in one coat of Typewriter without the Bonding Agent added.  The piece was sanded to give the surface tooth, though, so adhesion wasn’t an issue.  I allowed it to dry and distressed it pretty heavily with 80 grit sand paper.  I’ve always loved the look of warm wood against black paint.  The top was finished in Minwax Dark Walnut stain and the entire piece coated

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Before and Afters

Apron Strings Dresser Reveal

When I last showed the dresser painted in MMSMP Apron Strings, it looked like this… …and this is how it started out… …and here is how it looks now… First off the color looks a little bit more raspberry than coral on this piece, but I love how it turned out.  It’s spunky, vibrant and fun. I think most of you know, but the cherry blossom design is hand painted, not a stencil. See the crackling in the top right corner?  That’s just some paint stripper that wasn’t totally washed off.  I love the look and may have to do it on purpose at some point! I originally tried clear glass knobs, and those looked fine, but I tried these amber ones I picked up from Target on clearance and they brought it to a new level.  They were perfect. It really is amazing how much distressing a piece and

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Furniture Makeovers

Apron Strings Dresser Preview…

 Here’s how this dresser started…or pretty close to it.  I sanded it, stripped the top and removed the vertical trim pieces on the bottom two drawers.  One was loose anyway and they bugged me a little. I painted it in two coats of MMSMP Apron Strings (one of the new colors coming out in November) without any Bonding Agent added.  Sanding really does a world of good with helping Milk Paint stick.  As you can see, the finish still looks a little uneven.  That’s okay.  That variation is normal with Milk Paint and it will look lovely once it’s finished. I stained the top with Dark Walnut stain by Minwax… …and decided to do some decorative painting.  When I have a large, flat surface and, in this case, a strong color I want to break up, I just can’t help but grab a brush.  I immediately visualized this piece with

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Furniture Makeovers

Furniture Wax vs. Hemp Oil

I have received a bunch of questions lately about Furniture Wax and Hemp Oil, the difference between the two and how I choose which one to use, so I thought it was time to write a post about it.  Let’s dive right in. Furniture Wax Why I started using it… I read an article about finishing painted furniture with wax a few years ago, so I went to the hardware store and bought a can of Johnson’s Paste Wax.  That was really the only wax I was familiar with, so I started using it on some of my painted and stained pieces.  I had a few problems with it.  It was very stinky and the consistency made it difficult to move well on a piece of furniture.  I also couldn’t get it into fine nooks and crannies of pieces.  So, I started looking for other types of wax and found

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Hand Painted Furniture

hemp oil gallery (550×275)

I have received a bunch of questions lately about Furniture Wax and Hemp Oil, the difference between the two and how I choose which one to use, so I thought it was time to write a post about it.  Let’s dive right in. Furniture Wax Why I started using it… I read an article about finishing painted furniture with wax a few years ago, so I went to the hardware store and bought a can of Johnson’s Paste Wax.  That was really the only wax I was familiar with, so I started using it on some of my painted and stained pieces.  I had a few problems with it.  It was very stinky and the consistency made it difficult to move well on a piece of furniture.  I also couldn’t get it into fine nooks and crannies of pieces.  So, I started looking for other types of wax and found

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Decorating

Sanding, staining, mixing & flooding

I had great plans for today.  I was going to get two furniture pieces finished and fit in e-mail and some photo shoots as paint dried.  The day was going as planned until about noon.  It’s been raining here for two full days.  Hard.  We’ve had a little bit of water seeping into our basement, just because the water table is so high.  This is normal, though, and the water is mostly corralled into channels with the help of some strategically placed towels.  I was busy oiling one of the shoe racks I bought and noticed some water seeping beyond the towels.  I figured they were sopped, so I exchanged them for dry towels and put them on the spin cycle in the washer.  The new towels were soaked in minutes and I realized there was a big problem.  I could hear water splashing.  It was pouring in under the

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FURNITURE FEATURE FRIDAY – Favorites & Link Party

Good evening everyone!  Thanks so much for all of the links last week.  It’s so much fun for me to look through them and see people showing off all styles of furniture, techniques, paint, fabrics, makeovers and awesome finds.  Each week is truly a  furniture feast for the eyes, so thank you for that!  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.  Here are three of my favorites from last week… I love all of the details and custom touches on this drop-cloth-slipcovered ottoman by Patti of Old Things New.  The double ruffled skirt with the frayed edges make this piece super special. I’m game for painting anything, but I’ve never tried to paint upholstery.  This piece by Terry of Forever Decorating, and the tutorial for it, looks fabulous and makes me want to give it a try! I think this finish by Cassie of Primitive and

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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