If you like furniture makeovers, you’re going to have an overflowing cup after perusing this post. This weekend, the Mustard Seed Studio hosted our first BYOF (bring your own furniture) workshop. This is less instruction than the milk paint 101 workshop and is more about finishing a piece and learning along the way. We had seven ladies attend, plus Kriste and my mom.
The furniture (and their owners) started showing up about 15 minutes before the start of the workshop.
Of course, I loved this French-back cane chair, a find from Craig’s List, instantly. I got a little anxious, though, when Nancy, the owner, said she was going to paint the upholstery as well.
The frame painted up really well, as I expected. Nancy added the Bonding Agent to the paint, so it would adhere to the slick yellow-ish finish.
I nervously checked in on her as she was painting the upholstery. I couldn’t help but grab the brush and play with it a bit and it was actually covering and looking really nice! The fabric ended up needing two coats of paint and a coat of wax and looked a bit like a brushed velvet. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel crunchy, but she’s going to let me know how it wears. The frame was painted in Shutter Gray and then washed in Grain Sack and finished in White Wax.
The seat was painted in Bergere, although we think we mixed some Shutter Gray into it, because it was hard to tell which was which when mixed in the jars.
I heard the next piece coming in before I saw it. I know the sound of little vintage metal wheels rolling across a floor! Once I heard that sound, I knew I would love it and I did. Would you believe this was a road-side find?! The only thing “wrong” with it was the missing drawers.
Lorraine chose to paint it in Typewriter, distressed and finished with Antiquing Wax.
This was a great transformation!
She bought some decorative boxes that fit into the recesses really well, but I chose to style this as a kitchen cart and treat the recesses more like shelves.
See those wonderful wheels?! And the trim work? I was pretty smitten
My mom and Diane from In My Own Style both brought Ikea step stools to paint…
My mom painted her stool in Bergere layered over Marzipan…
Her stool has been used for a while and had a few stains on it, which worked to her advantage when distressing. The paint resisted the stains just a bit and created this beautiful look of wear.
Diane painted her stool in Tricycle with some freehand decorative painting around the handle.
She lightly distressed the edges of the piece and finished it in Furniture Wax with a little Antiquing Wax.
Megan brought in this lovely little side table, which became the first piece she ever painted…
She chose to paint it in Boxwood with Lucketts Green layered on top of it.
…and it turned out perfectly.
I used her piece to demonstrate a few different resist techniques including Hemp Oil (where it’s “chippy”, Wax Puck (where it’s lightly worn), Vaseline (where it’s heavily worn.) Megan then took over and did an amazing job. She also distressed it perfectly and achieved a very authentic finish. It’s finished in one coat of Hemp Oil.
We rummaged through my stash of knobs and found the one that looked best with her paint colors.
Here’s another little side table brought in by Cathy…
She was not afraid of color or experimenting, so she went for it and layered Apron Strings over Tricycle.
This table was so fun to watch as it developed. It had lots of chipping, cracking, crusty looks happening.
It was one of those pieces that just chipped and chipped and, in hindsight, would’ve benefitted from a light sanding and some Bonding Agent (which we used on the drawer front where there is no chipping). I still think the end result was charming and very “cottagey”.
Cathy finished it with Antiquing Wax, which toned down the “newness” of the color and really worked with all of the chipping and cracking happening.
And last, but not least, Samantha brought in this charming cottage-style table with gorgeous detail. This is the first piece she ever painted and she definitely showed a knack for this sort of thing.
She was finishing it for her mom, so Samantha kept sending pictures to make sure she would love it.
The table is painted in Kitchen Scale and finished with Furniture Wax with accents of White Wax to highlight the carved details.
Kriste painted a small metal shelf we found at an antique store, but she didn’t get the “staging treatment”. We forgot all about her piece, but I’m sure she’ll show you where it ends up.
We did have one more small table at the workshop, but there wasn’t time to finish it. Frances, the owner, wanted to put on one more coat of Mustard Seed Yellow and give it a bit more attention before calling it done. She’s a professional photographer, though, so I’m expecting an after picture!
Our next Milk Paint 101 workshop is scheduled for Friday, Feb 27, 2015 and you can book your spot here if you’re interested in coming. The BYOF workshop was a great success and so much fun, so I’ll get another one of those on the scheduled as well.
For those who are too far to join us, I hope you enjoyed seeing all of the makeovers!
32 Responses
Wow! They all came out so well!! Not that I am surprised or anything. It looks like you had a fantastic day!
-b.
Love them all! Maybe next time I can join in!!!
These are all so inspiring! It was great to see the before and after shots, and your styling really makes them all shine. This was a great post – makes me want to grab a brush right now!
These are all so inspiring. I especially love the boxwood/lucketts table and Samantha’s table. I am thinking of driving from Maine (if it ever stops snowing) for your next BYOF workshop!
i love samantha’s table, and i am so excited for her!!!!!
How fun! Beautiful pieces and paint jobs. Wish I lived close enough to join you for the next one! Thanks for sharing the process and pix with us.
Looks like you ladies had a great time at the workshop! What came as the most surprise to me is the French cane back chair where the upholstery was painted. I don’t think I have ever seen that done and I was really surprised that it came out looking as good as it did. Not sure I would have been brave enough to try that!
BTW.. That BIG chalkboard in your shop would serve as a great demo video for a future “ramblings” on chalkboard styling. (Hint, Hint)
Amazing workshop! The cane back chair is my favorite…a table full of them in all of your paint colors would be life changing! 🙂
what wonderful pieces, and they all came out perfectly! love the side by side Before & After shots. great workshop!
I love Lorraine’s dresser turned kitchen cart and Samantha’s little table! I never thought of painting upholstery, so I’ll be waiting to hear how Nancy’s French chair performs.
Marian, I am just BLOWN AWAY!!!!! I want to attend a workshop so badly . . . can I persuade you to come to RI if I make you a “whole 30” dinner?????? lol These are just GORGEOUS! It really is amazing to see them side by each – before and after! Nicely done ladies! “swoon”!
Thanks so much for sharing…..I LOVE before and after shots, so I did get a special treat here today. The staging is just fun to see, too, which also makes me realize how fast that paint must dry.
I love them all, but my absolute FAVORITE is the green side table. You said you used hemp oil to make it chippy…did you just pick some random wear spots and put a little bit of the oil on the first coat of paint, so the top one would act funny? And for the wear and the puck…are you just running it along the hi edges….? Before adding the lucketts green…and before the oil, did you give it a gently sanding to even it out, or let it be?
thanks,
Debbie.
Everything turned out beautiful!
Impressive! I think you are showing that you don’t have to have much experience to get good results. Any of these pieces could be sold today in an antique shop. The cane chair is spectacular and a good example of what can be done with your paint. The Kitchen Scale table is a new classic. I predict everyone will be looking for Eastlake type pieces to paint. I’m re-thinking some of my plain wood furniture after reading this post. Love it! Ann
They all look fabulous! And I like that they all chose a different color. Interesting that the fabric of the chair did not feel crunchy after drying. I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s results. Looks like a lot of fun.
The best part for me since I am a long time furniture painter is how you staged them after painting! What great looks these pieces are and you are just passing the sickness on! Smile
I loved ALL of the pieces! And I’m getting a good idea of how to do one of my own. I’m anxious to figure out a place that I can work and have a few pieces that I already have to start with. I loved this post–it really inspired me to get going on a piece. Thanks for sharing it.
I have a table like Samantha’s that my husband worked so hard at removing paint and refinishing it many years ago. Now……I’ve been thinking of painting it. This may the encouragement I needed. Thank you!
All items are beautiful!
Eileen
Oh My Gosh — PLEASE come to Southern California and do a workshop! It was a beautiful 75 degree day today in San Diego – your snow can miss you for a few days, no?
Wow! Very fun, and great results! My favorite is Samantha’s wonderful table in Kitchen Scale- love that color! I also love the fact that Nancy dared to paint the fabric on her great caned chair- Bravo!! I have painted a fabric chair before- followed a fabric paint recipe I found online and it turned out great! Kind of like leather in texture. I would LOVE to see you experiment with a paint for upholstery fabric, for those of us who don’t want to recover with fabric. Who knows, maybe that could be a new product for your MMS paint line!!
LOVED all these makeovers!
What great results! Oh how I would love to attend a workshop but, alas, I am way down here in Louisiana.
Everyone did such beautiful work, and I love the way you styled the pictures, they really show them off so well. Wish you were closer….but, I can be inspired from here!
Thanks for sharing…that’s a lot of work!
They all look amazing, but my absolute favorite is Samantha’s cottage table! Her mom must be thrilled with the outcome!
Really enjoyed all the wonderful makeovers! What a fun workshop!
beautiful…all of the pieces turned out gorgeous. What a fun, inspiring day…hope to make one of your classes.
Everyone did an amazing job!! All of the pieces are BEAUTIFUL!! Hoping I can make it to an upcoming BYOF soon!
That looks so fun! I love the chippy chippy table that turn out the rosy pink color. It looks so authentic and old and fabulous. The color is yummy. All the projects are amazing, and the way you staged them were like glamour shots for furniture, they all look so cute!
Cindy
Gorgeous pieces and styling! Love the Lucketts over Boxwood! Green perfection!
One of these days I want to pack up the baby, my paint, and a small piece and come up and paint with you! Game?
I really love how the typewriter open shelving piece came out and then with your styling….it really came to life! Gorgeous!
~Krizia
I just found your website today while searching online for DIY furniture painting tips. I would LOVE to attend a BYOF class. I will be checking back often to sign up for the next class!!