This week was full of all kinds of projects big and small. If you read my past blogs, you know that not only to I love to paint, but refinishing wood is something that I really enjoy doing. I like it so much that my husband and I sometimes bicker on who gets to refinish this table or desk top. There's just something about the whole process of refinishing that gives me, and well apparently my husband, a sense of accomplishment.
This was a custom job for a gentleman whose father and grandfather used this executive desk in their family business for years. It was a gorgeous desk that just need a little TLC.
 |
| A before and after of the desk |
Early one morning last week before the little ones were up, I started on this big guy and by big guy, I mean 60"long big. Sometimes a piece will cooperate with me and all of it's old finish will easily come off to reveal a gorgeous grain beneath. And sometimes the finish is stubborn and only wants to come off here and there forcing me to remove the stripper and repeat the whole process.
 |
| The desk before.... |
Although quite large, this desk top was very enjoyable to strip as all of the finish came up one swipe of the scraper and the rest was easily removed by warm water followed by mineral spirits. I prefer to use an scrubbing pad/sponge to really get in the groves and edges. This prevents and unnecessary scrapes that would need to sanded out later.
 |
| Desk top after being stripped and sanded... |
This is the part I enjoy the most I'd say. After sanding first with a grit of 150 to really smooth out the top and remove any left over finish, I then used a 220 grit to open up that grain allowing the stain to penetrate. For this top, the client wanted to match a bookcase in his office which was a mahogany stain, so that is what I used on this top. Because this was a solid cherry or mahogany, not sure on which, but it took the stain beautifully leaving a deep rich color.
After a minimum of 5 hours of dry time, I sealed the top with 3 coats of wipe on polyurethane sanding with 220 in between each coat. For the body of the desk I used Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint ™ in French Linen. This is a really soft taupe gray. On the drawers, I mix this French Linen with a bit of Old White also by Annie Sloan. After distressing around the edges, I sealed the body and drawers with a Annie Sloan's clear wax for durable protection. The original hardware were sprayed with an oil rubbed bronzed. This is my favorite go to color for hardware, very versatile.
 |
| The finished desk, a complete transformation! |
Now onto a bigger project in the shop, a 10 piece French Country Dining Room Set!
This set is most likely from the 70's. The splattered stain everywhere gave that one away. I'm not sure why they did this to all the furniture back then. I heard it was to replicate worm holes? That just doesn't sound pretty at all does it?!
I wanted to accomplish 2 things when refurbishing this set. One, of course to refinish the tops and paint the rest, and 2 use Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint on the whole set. Although this certainly isn't the first dining room set we've done, it is the first time we have used milk paint on a whole set. For the color I chose "Linen" by MMSMP line. It is a creamy white and very pretty.
This set is most likely from the 70's. The splattered stain everywhere gave that one away. I'm not sure why they did this to all the furniture back then. I heard it was to replicate worm holes? That just doesn't sound pretty at all does it?!
I wanted to accomplish 2 things when refurbishing this set. One, of course to refinish the tops and paint the rest, and 2 use Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint on the whole set. Although this certainly isn't the first dining room set we've done, it is the first time we have used milk paint on a whole set. For the color I chose "Linen" by MMSMP line. It is a creamy white and very pretty.
As you can see in the before pictures, this set was in great condition. It is of solid wood with dove tail construction on all of the drawers. They just don't make them like this anymore!
A few of the chair bottoms were broke, so we and by that I mean my husband, cut out new wood for those.
These pictures show the set after the tops were refinished. We always do this first to avoid any stripper or stain from dripping down on the new paint.
Before starting on the milk paint, I did wipe the whole set down with TSP (Tri-sodium Phosphate) which is a de-greasing solution found at most hardware stores. This preps the wood so that the milk paint has something to adhere to. I wanted to make sure had complete coverage and that it was not going to chip on me, so I added the bonding agent to the milk paint for the first coat only. The second and third coats of milk paint are without the bonding agent. One of the nice things about Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint is that it only take 15 minutes or less between each coat without the bonding agent. For a coat with the bonding, I like to wait overnight before the next coats.
 |
| The chairs after 2 coats of Linen and the tops refinished in dark walnut. |
In the picture below, I am showing off the gorgeous upholstered seat cushions. You may recognize them as Miss Mustard Seed's Drapes in her dining room. Before I had the shop, I followed many of her tutorials and made these drapes for my dining room as well. The fabric is a very durable outdoor material actually and was a little to heavy for my small window, therefore are perfect for these chairs!
 |
| After painting the trim on the legs in Flow Blue also a milk paint color, I decided to calm it down a bit with the new white wax by Miss Mustard Seed's line. This is a very simple way to wax and get that white wash effect. |
The final steps to finishing up this set was to distress around the legs and edges and to seal the set with a custom mix of clear and antiquing wax. This gave the set the illusion of being aged and also toned down the brightness of the Linen milk paint. I am just smitten with this set!
And for my last favorite project of the week, this adorable pillow! As some of you know, my teenage daughters have been taking turns either going with me to the shop or staying home with our younger kiddos. I have been teaching them how to paint with both Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint and Annie Sloan's ™ chalk paint. They are also learning how to sew and transfer images onto fabric. Take this pillow below, Chloe who is almost 15, sewed the pillow, while Macey 13, did her very first image transfer of this sweet french bee onto the fabric. Needless to say, I am one proud momma this week.
We downloaded this image from our favorite website The Graphics Fairy, had a copy made with a laser printer and then used the Citra-Solve method to transfer it to the fabric. Macey was so excited about this, she now want to try it on her t-shirts and canvas shoes!
 |
| After painting this mid-century side table in MMSMP Mustard Seed Yellow, I applied this stencil of a French Fleur De Lis Floral Wreath that pairs perfectly with the French Bee pillow. |
And so, a very productive week for us all. I hope you all have a pleasantly productive week as well!
Linking to these fabulous blogs!
