bitten by the painting bug.

While my table was drying (see earlier post) I started on a new project. I had the painting bug and wanted something new to do.
I have a telephone cabinet, that also holds all of my children's arts and crafts supplies. I bought it from Target years ago, and never thought it fit in with my decor. So I knew I could do something different with it.
I forgot to get a before picture in it's place, but here it is in the garage before I started the transformation.
See this hardware has always bugged me. Is it oriental? Or rustic?

So I lightly sanded and painted the cabinet Nutmeg from Rust-Oleum spray paint.



Then I added some black paint to some glaze and painted it all over. Wiping off as much as I wanted. It really added a distressed look. Then I changed out that confusing hardware and added some numbers just for fun.
I'm so happy with how it turned out, and can't wait till my next project presents itself.

Finished!

After sanding, priming wood parts, and painting my table is finally finished. The rain was determined to slow me down, but I finally finished. So here is a few things I have learned:

-spray paint is my new best friend.
-spray paint can look uneven so you'll have to roll the top with regular paint. Luckily I had some lying around.
-not all blacks are alike. You can tell from the photos the table top and legs don't match. Luckily you don't notice it much in person.
-polyacrilic spray from Minwax is NOT worth the hefty price tag. It's around $10 a can and it was really hard to work with. I ended up having to go over everything with stuff from a can and a foam brush. I will not use the spray in the future.
-lastly I learned...embrace what it is. I am a perfectionist, so this concept is hard for me. So I look at the mismatched black, nicks I didn't fill in, and bubbled paint in one or two spots as character.

Use the one on the right, not the one on the left.

Upcoming project reveal

I have been working on a big project for the past two weeks. I'm not actually working...but waiting, for the rain to stop! Rain, rain, go away, come again another day... I am undertaking the task of repainting my dining room set and I've learned never paint the day before a two week rainstorm. It's wet and drippy here in New England and I can't wait to get my table and chairs back.

Here's a shot of what I'm dealing with...



This poor chair never saw it coming...a booster seat did this after resting here for the past 5 years.
The reveal won't be too dramatic, just a clean, fresh table and chairs. Stay tune.

Sidetable Makeover

My friend gave me this lovely side table, it's perfect for my magazines and kids books but...it didn't match the rest of my living room furniture, so I gave it a makeover.

I started with sanding and painting with primer, this Gripper worked awesome.
Then two coats of black paint, and two coats of polyurethane, since it will be getting lots of ware and tear.

I added a cute silver pull, so my silver lamp had a buddy, and Voila'...



I really love how it turned out and can't wait till spring so I can tackle my dining room table.