vintage painted dresser for a friend

a neighbor was tossing this vintage dresser that had been in her daughter’s room for 20 years. it had taken a beating. i wish i had a before picture, but alas, i don’t. 

suffice it to say there was a lot of scotch tape, stickers, and fingerprints on this lovely.

a friend is moving back to california and is restoring the cutest beach cottage.  i figured this was perfect for her new home!

i started by removing the tape and sanding away the fingerprints. i just love the floral overlays and knobs. i wanted some contrast on the drawer fronts since the details were so pretty.

the color looks very similar to Annie Sloan French Linen, but in fact, it’s a custom color that i had mixed together.  you see, i save all the tiny bits of leftover chalk paint from previous projects.  i’ve started storing similar color tones in glass jars, blending them all together to see what i’ll get. this was a mix of French Linen, Paris Gray, and Coco.  i used a Pure White wash over the floral details along the bottom and edges.

on the fronts, i used Pure White with the slightest Paris Gray wash over the details to make them pop. to make a wash, i add a lot of water to a color, brush is on liberally, then dab off with a t-shirt rag. the dabbing process helps to hide any brush marks and gives the paint layer even more depth.  You can also used this technique with crumbled newspaper.

two coats of clear wax all over and call it a day!have a GREAT sunday!  🙂

linking to:
Finding Silver Pennies