It's time for another week of So You Think You Can Decorate! Thanks again to all who have voted for my projects. My French Toile Canopy came in second place last week! This week the challenge was paint and as I write about in the entry below, it was a tough week for me to decide what to show. I paint almost everything, so what do I want to submit? Here's what I decided to enter...
"As a decorative artist, you'd think it would be easy for me to pick something to submit for "paint" week, but it was actually really hard. I had so many things to choose from! I decided to go with a piece that was a lot of fun for me to work on - my Queen Anne vanity turned chalkboard desk.
"As a decorative artist, you'd think it would be easy for me to pick something to submit for "paint" week, but it was actually really hard. I had so many things to choose from! I decided to go with a piece that was a lot of fun for me to work on - my Queen Anne vanity turned chalkboard desk.
Here's the before. I purchased this vanity (with a mirror attached) at an estate/yard sale for $20.00. It was sturdy and had functioning drawers, but it had a lot of water damage and the finish showed it.
I sanded the piece, applied a coat of bonding primer and two coats of semi-gloss paint with my sprayer. I wish I could tell you the color of red I used (because I know the questions are coming), but I mixed this one myself. It is SW Rave Red with some Raw Umber universal tint mixed in to tone it down. I also rubbed some dark walnut stain over the finished product to further tone down the red and give it an aged look. The handles were sprayed in Krylon's oil rubbed bronze.
I measured out the chalkboard top and taped it off with my trusty Frog Tape. I then painted on two coats of chalkboard paint with a foam roller and allowed it to dry before adding a hand painted decorative border in white acrylic paint.
I liked the idea of a painted border to soften the hard lines of the chalkboard and marry the modern idea of chalkboard furniture with the traditional Queen Anne style of the piece.
Visit my blog for more hand painted furniture, murals, and my painting and home decor tips and tricks."
This desk just sold in our shop a few weeks ago and it was bitter sweet to see it go. This week, you can only vote once, so go check out all of the entries and pick your favorite. I'm sure it will be hard!
P.S. - Don't let this sway your vote in any way, but today is my birthday. Thirty two.