A Bit O' Whimsy: versailles chalk paint

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Versailles Hutch

This past week I finished a gigantic hutch. It feels like I had this huge thing sitting in my garage forever taking up space. I found this beast at a local thrift store, and it was missing a piece of glass but that didn't deter me. I've looked through enough blogs and Etsy shops to know I can easy add something like good old chicken wire.

The hutch was flaking a bit but nothing a good scraping and some cleaning couldn't fix. The piece had great detail and carving that caught my eye immediately. I'm a sucker for a little carving.

I had an almost-full can of Versailles sitting around and no plan yet to use it. Hmmmm...what color to use with it? I went to browsing the web and noticed there weren't a lot of pictures of refinished furniture in this color. I turned to the Annie Sloan website and noticed she mentioned it can look "old world" with colors like Louis Blue and Paris Grey. I would have never thought of putting blue with Versailles, but once I read that I couldn't stop thinking about all the amazing old buildings found in Versailles. I looked at pictures of old buildings with amazing architecture and natural distressing, and I wanted my piece to have some of that feel to it.

The thought of dark waxing this piece made my arms hurt and made me want to cry a little. I chose to make my own color of glaze instead. I didn't want it to be a warm brown color, but kind of like dirt and rain had made it the color of a building in Versailles.

I love the old worn look against the clean and crisp Lois Blue. I hope to sell this piece soon so I don't have to have it in my garage any longer. This hutch is huge so you'll have to just accept the picture of it in front of the garage. I've been horrible staging lately. It seems everything has just been so heavy or just awkward to stage. My goal is to get better at it.

Linking back to...
www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com
kammyskorner.blogspot.com
linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com
savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com
primitiveandproper.blogspot.com
fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com
www.theshabbycreekcottage.com
romantichome.blogspot.com
funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com
missmustardseed.com
www.iheartnaptime.net
www.bystephanielynn.com

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Media Cabinet Reveal

I was really excited when my sweet sister-in-law told me she was looking for something to hold her TV. She is currently using a small coffee table in her new beautiful home, and the best news was she said she'd drive down to pick it up. My brother and sister-in-law moved to Wyoming a few years ago and we have yet to make it to each other's houses. That was the best deal I've made in a long time.

I was also really excited because she was looking to have it painted in warm colors. I used to love warm cozy colors like red, black, brown, and cream. I still do love them but since moving to Las Vegas my style has changed. Why, you may ask? Well, my front living room is full of these beautiful warm reds, golds, and natural browns but when it's summer and 115 degrees... I see those colors and just cringe. Everything is so hot and bland out here, I want to bathe in ocean blues and clean whites when I walk into my home. Now you see why I am in need of a living room makeover.

Anyway, back to to the media cabinet. I painted it in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Graphite and Versailles. I did some heavy dark waxing to darken it and add some depth. I also did some light distressing to let the original cherry wood show through. I took the original hardware off and put on some hardware from an old armoire I had finished previously. I spray painted the hardware with some bronze Rustoleum and called it done. My sister-in-law loves it. I definitely need to return the favor and get my butt to Wyoming to see it at her new place. I think I'll wait until August though when I'm craving some cool weather and greenery :)