Farmhouse Inspired: Nightstands + Cabinets

Whew! How can we already be approaching Halloween weekend. Time. Must. Slow. Down.

With so many things on my to-do list this fall, at times I actually feel overload paralysis. Do you know the feeling? I look at the to-do list and can't seem to get any of it done, instead I've allowed myself take some time each day to enjoy some evening walks and soak in the gorgeous fall weather that we've been having. I've sorta rebooted my system and now I'm ready to get working on products for upcoming holiday sales.

In the meantime though, I wanted to share some of the projects that have been coming together! Here is a quick glimpse at the cute nightstands and end tables as well as a couple lingerie cabinets. 

That's all for today. Now off to get those holiday projects started!

~Crystal

Driftwood Cedar Chest

When I started the makeover on this project I had a vision to create a warm driftwood look with layers of texture and depth. 

That was the vision...but actually getting there was more challenging than I thought. I went through every stage of the creative process...

image credit, www.bloglovin.com

It's a funny graphic, but sadly, it's all too true for most of my projects! Ha!

Anyhow, back to the Cedar Chest, here is how I accomplished the driftwood look:

First I gave the entire piece a real rough coat of ASCP Country Grey. By rough I mean not thorough and in a real whimsical fashion, imagine brush strokes in all different directions.

When that was dry, I waxed the entire piece with ASCP Dark Wax.

Then I washed the entire piece with ASCP Graphite and wiped the wash back leaving just a hint of the graphite.

I sanded a few spots, areas that would typically show wear and tear.

Finally, I waxed the entire piece again with dark wax and gave it a nice buffing to make the finish shine.

I went back and forth on whether or not I should paint the cute feet, but ultimately decided that leaving them natural and giving them a quick coat of dark wax to freshen them up would highlight them the best.

I'm smitten by the layers and texture that I achieved on this cedar chest. I guess the morale here is to keep pressing on when you have a vision and hopefully it all turns out just like you had hoped!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great week,

~Crystal

Charming Charcoal Grey Buffet {Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Graphite}

A little Sunday before and after to start your day.

These buffets are getting harder and harder to come by anymore and making a decision on how to refresh them is equally challenging. This buffet sat in the garage for a few weeks waiting for me to make up my mind. I went through my color swatches time and time again but just couldn't settle on anything in particular. Then one of my customers came by and had a suggestion that I do it in charcoal with a light blue wash. Sounded like a great idea but after several failed attempts on my sample boards I had to abort that plan.

I always think when you see a piece that someone has refinished that they must have had a clear vision and execution was effortless. But after some of my experiences, I have to imagine that other DIY'ers and furniture refinishers must encounter the same challenges as I do...please say that I'm not alone here!

I decided to paint this girl in graphite {one of my favorite colors in the ASCP lineup} and a heavy and intentional coat of Annie's dark wax.

I really love how the graphite paint lays down, letting just a little bit of the original wood grain show through and then enriched with the dark wax...a charming patina.

 

The inside of this buffet cleaned up amazingly. It almost looks brand new now!

 

 

I couldn't help but pick up a few flowers for the shoot, I love the look of vibrant magenta with the charcoal. It was unfortunate that the day I wanted to take the pictures there were gale force winds that made it impossible to capture a good shot of the buffet staged but I did manage to grab a couple close ups of the flowers before tearing down.

Well, that wraps up another makeover. Thanks again for stopping by.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

~Crystal