Floating Table- On the other side

The other half of the former dining table was transformed into a lovely emerald table which still hovered in the traditional zone. I wanted something more vibrant for the remaining piece. I still had some teal/aqua left over from a dresser I did a few weeks ago, and thought it would be perfect to perk up the look. Picked up some "Pitch Black" glaze from General Finishes purchased at the The Wooden Chair. I asked those poor ladies at least 25 questions regarding colors and such.. I swear they must think I'm crazy. The other glaze I use all the time is so fantastic to work with that I wanted to venture out and see what the black would do for the blue. 

I had envisioned this to be very textured. I adore the look of a dry brushed piece that looks as though its rough and textured. It creates this effect by toning down a color and adding depth. I crossed my fingers and said a little prayer before gently pulling the brush across for the first stoke. Less is more when you are trying to recreate this technique. Barely touch the paint with the tip of the brush. Tap it on a cloth to make sure it's "dry" doesn't hurt. Start on the back of the table or on the back leg to get acquainted with the motions. 

This picture above is the inside corner of the back leg. These floating table have three legs in a triangular form.  It really doesn't stand out too much when the table was still together, but once you take them apart it sticks out dramatically.

This is going to look just dynamite up against a wall! I've had lots of compliments thus far on it. I have a feeling I'll be doing this color combo again. Come to think of it... I have a hutch I've been pondering on...(wheels turning).  

Floating tables

It was meant to be. I was supposed to drive past this old house a few weeks ago. Not far from my house and next door to the old roller rink where I used to meet my middle school boyfriend... so ironic! I was driving by and saw stacks of furniture on the porch. I wanted to go take a look so I made the first legal u-turn . The scene seemed safe, no crazies with shotguns waiting for me to step on to their property. The porch was indeed full of junk(good junk).This please is heaven! (to me anyways)

I finally contacted the owner. I offered to relieve his burden of junk and scored the table! Once I got it home I knew it would take a lot of work. I was worried about the top of the table. The top layer was beginning to curl off. Took a closer peak and was surprised to find that it was just a veneer. Without too much effort I lifted up the rest of the veneer and it came right off!! WHAT!! Amazing! The wood just below was perfectly untouched!! Mother Nature did the hard work for me!

Well why in the world is the table upside down you crazy woman???

I'll tell you why.. because the table was rusted underneath and I could'nt get it back together..so what other options do I have if the table wont come together??

Lets take it apart and make it two floating tables! The legs are perfect for this look. Not all dining tables can do this, but since the legs were evenly apart I'm gonna go for it!

Truthfully, I was kinda nervous about this. Would it come apart ok? Would the orginal screws and bolts be too rusted to be removed?  Would I need large power tools? Would I need a tenus shot this afternoon?? so many silly thoughts running through my brain.

I was worried for nothing! Took about 30 mins to dismantle all the hardwear and all my fingers remained unharmed! Took a 80 grit sandpaper to remove all the flaking finish.

Cleaned it up with TSP. You can find TSP at your local Lowes or hardwear store. Make sure you follow the directions on the container and delute as advised. Make sure you wear gloves to protect those pretty fingers.. cause chemical burns are not attractive!- UPDATE: BUY COMMERCIAL GRADE GLOVES, MINE MELTED THIS MORNING- LUCKLY MY HANDS WERE NOT IN THEM!

Just another look at before and after.

I was at my neigborhood Habitat Re-Store and saw this lovely Samas' wood stain. Hmmmmm... green, OK, yes please!

Ok, the view of the table is freaking me out.. being a floating table and all! 

But let's talk stain- ISN'T IT FAB!!!!!! I wanted to get good coverage but also wanted to leave a few

thin spots for texture.

 (these were the gloves that melted) RIP Lady Lavender Kitchen Gloves.

I can make a mess, good thing I remembered to grab my gloves! There have been many times I'm walking around with stained and glazed fingers. 

This glaze seems to be in every project lately. The Van Dyke Brown is so pretty. With all the diffrent colors I've used and then put the Van Dyke Brown.. they never look the same!

It did a great job at toning down the green.. If you look close it almost looks like hints of blue.. I just love it. Color, texture and depth.

Such a lovely and elegant color.

Emerald green.. I just love it!

Remember that this table has another half..  That will be the next post.. Until then

Off to do mommy stuff!

Another French Desk!

 I found another vanity/desk on Saturday. But unlike the first one I found, this one was pitiful! I found it in the basement of a store downtown.. it was stacked next to about 64 other desks. I climbed over 4 sofas to get to it. The shape was very similar to the first one, but this one was going to need a LOT of work. It was covered with "wood paneling" paper... so gross!

So after about 4 hours of scraping, chemical peeling and sanding I can see the wood. This process was really touch and go.. due to the fact that it was painted many times, sealed,stained.. oh and there was an inch of goo on the top from the lovely paneling paper.

This is supposed to be an example of the milk paint I used.. this stuff is so thick! In my last post I compared it to yogurt. This is about 1/4 of a cup of "Millstone" by General Finishes, that's really all you're gonna need. 

After one coat on I went over it in Van Dyke Brown glaze to pull out the corners and make an aged effect.

I have been dying to try a transfer on a piece for awhile! So when I saw this design pdf on http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/ I knew I had to try it! Please go check out this website/blog! She has over 2000 graphic to choose from- and for FREE!! I love free! For this project I got some graphite paper and used my printout on top. Taped into position and starting tracing.

This only took me about 20mins to trace it out. But filling it in took more like 30mins.. so plan for at least an hour or so. If you start to get irritated, get up and walk around for a bit.. you can scream, do squats, whatever floats your boat! But don't give up.. you'll get it.

This is the finished transfer. I filled it in with a paint marker, once it was dry I used a fine grit sandpaper to make it look old and worn. Last step is to glaze the top to match the bottom.

sigh....... That Graphics Fairy, she is something else!

I originally thought I would sand the entire thing, but after seeing the pretty green and pink I changed my mind. It's rustic, shabby chic and french!

French Desk

No posts since Wednesday?? What??? Who is in charge here!! Oh, wait.. that's me. You know, now that I think about it the maid hasn't been here since Wednesday either! Oh wait.. that's me too. oops.

Life has gotten very interesting very quickly! I will fill you in on all the new stuff soon I promise!

I got a hold of a few new pieces last week and I got super inspired. So lets dive right in.

The finish on this was awful. But overall it had great bones, and I adore the roller feet! The color was so dark you couldn't even see the nice detail that was carves on the front.

Sanded the crap out of it!!! Now with all the dark stain gone you can actually see the detail.

I didn't feel the dark stain did this desk/vanity any justice. I am calling it a desk/vanity because no mirror was attached, it was also missing the top drawers, nor did it have a stool. But I do believe it was a vanity at one time, but without all the parts I feel I can make it into either when I'm done.

(I will have to find baskets to replace where the drawers used to be)

Here it is after it was primed with an aerosol bonding primer. Decided to use a bonding primer due to the fact that I didn't sand all the way to the bare wood. I really only scuffed up the finish.  

Now for the transformation! I bought a quart of General Finishes "Milk Paint" in Linen to give the desk/vanity some depth.

If you have never used milk paint before- you're in for a treat! Yes, it does cost more -$19.95 a quart, but I only used about a 1/2 cups worth to cover the entire thing! So I have plenty more to use later. Oh, and be prepared when you open the can begin to stir- it starts out the consistency of yogurt. At first I thought I had bought old paint.. but as I kept stirring it began to loosen up. It will still be thick, but you only have to use a tiny bit at a time. I was over my heels (flip flops) in love by the time I was done!

Not a crisp white.. but a soft cream really did alot for it already!

Now for the fun part. I didn't want a clean painted look. I wanted it to have character.. look old, and expensive! I broke out my 220 grit sandpaper and distressed all the edges and detail.

Since I had bare wood exposed I wanted to take it a step further.. Lets glaze! Glazing can be daunting, some people love it, some hate it. I love the look when it's done to make a piece of furniture look old and exotic.. yep, I said exotic. I picked Van Dyke Brown out of all the different varieties General Finished has to offer. I first though black.. but I could totally see myself screwing it up and making it too dark. So brown it is!

I promise I didn't leave out the tutorial photos.... I just didn't take any. It was late in the afternoon when I started the glazing and I got really into it. Time got away from me and I didn't realize until after that I didn't snap any shots... boooooooooooo! I'll try better next time.

But isn't it cool! There are a few tips I will pass on if you decide to try glazing. Do small sections at a time. A little will spread over an area thinly, if using a cloth (I used a cloth) you can just dip a corner in with your finger and smooth it on. If you don't like it you continue to wipe with a clean cloth and it will come off, but will leave a "tint" behind. So many options when working with a glaze. I waited a bit before going back over the edges to create an aged look. This way I knew that the glaze wouldn't rub off. You can put as little or as much as you want to get the desired look your after.

See the edges?!! So in love with this.

This doesn't even look like the original piece! I was so excited to see life beam from this desk! Oh, yeah.. I think my mind has been made up on what to call it. Its a desk. There is still no stool or mirror. You could even use it as a foyer "drop all". It has so many possibilities, but for now its a desk.

An Antique French Desk. yeah, I like the sound of that. Wait!? Can I call it a French Desk?? I don't know if its french or not... But it sure looks French to me!

P.S  If you noticed in the picture further above... there are still empty drawers where the baskets are supposed to be. Yep.. Haven't gotten them yet. It's on my to do list for tomorrow. I will update this post when it's 100% finished.