Friday, March 20, 2015

A Custom Blue French Dresser







French Provincial pieces that are reasonably priced are really hard to come by here in Southern California. This little dresser was in bad shape - but I loved its lines and could see potential - and so I brought it home with me.

It had numerous water marks on the top and really bad nicks on the feet and at the bottom of the skirt.



I had to use an epoxy filler on the skirt where the veneer had chipped. And then I sanded the areas that were worn and nicked for a smooth, paintable surface. I didn't want to deal with any bleed-through issues, so I primed this piece with a shellac-based primer that I had my paint retailer tint gray.

I had just finished several "white" projects and really needed to paint something fun and colorful. Not only that, but General Finishes was hosting their annual design contest and one of the categories was the "Mad Scientist" contest where you come up with your own custom color mix using their milk paint. I got one of those "ah hah" moments in the middle of the night about which color combinations to try! (Am I the only one who loses sleep about painting projects?)

And so I started experimenting using Halycon Blue and Seagull Gray:










Using a ratio of 50:50, or equal parts of each, I was so excited about this gorgeous, soft blue that I created!






I spray painted the original pulls in Rustoleum Metallic Finishes spray paint, and sealed them with a clear polyurethane spray.






There were lovely little raised details on the sides of the dresser and on the skirt that were highlighted with Rub 'n Buff in Silver.




And with most of my pieces, I sealed the entire piece with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in satin for a clean, professional finish.





I was so happy with the result of this dresser - can't you just see it in a little girl's room or nursery?



I'd love if you would swing by the General Finishes voting page and vote for my project! I have a number of entries in the "Best Use of Multiple Products" category but this is my pride and joy in the "Mix of Milk Paint Colors" category!





Voting ends on March 30th - so take a look around and admire all of the talented artists and their entries!

Have a great week and thanks for your support!


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6 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous transformation Beth - and the color looks exactly like a French Provincial color - just beautiful !

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    1. Thank you Suzan! This was a fun color to mix and paint:)

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  2. I 've looked at your pictures two or three times--it really is stunning and so professionally done. I love that you didn't distress it and destroy the beauty. I'm going over to vote for you.

    What do I know? I thought that milk paint always gave a flaked off look.

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  3. What a beautiful transformation, you did an incredible job on this.

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  4. Gorgeous, love the color!
    Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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