Tag Archives: “media center”

Mid Century French Roast Media Console – Sold

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Mid Century Dresser turned Gorgeous Media Console

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Here’s the “before” finish. Not very nice at all. I removed the top 3 drawers and completely sanded the entire piece for proper paint adhesion.

photo (19) After sanding, it was time to create a new shelf for the interior spaces at the top. Drawer guides were removed and a new, 3-piece wood “shelf” was installed.

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Everything was primed and painted. Drawers guides were waxed for ease of use. Holes were drilled in back  to allow for electrical cords.

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This console would fit perfectly in both traditional and contemporary spaces.

Shabby Chic “Anywhere” Cabinet – Sold

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Yep, it’s just ugly! Ugly-and-dated-and-ugly. It actually took me a while to do anything with this piece. I was ignoring it, hoping it would go away. At one point I was going to haul it to the goodwill. You know when you need to work on something, it helps to be in “the creative mood” and I just couldn’t get there with this cabinet.  I only picked it up at a sale because it was such a solid piece AND the price was right, that always helps. A few weeks back it clicked for me. I was feeling the love for this ugly old cabinet. I could finally see the real beauty inside. Here’s what I did to make it “focal point worthy”.

I wanted to add legs, because I like to add legs to most everything I refurbish. It really changes the look and feel of a piece of furniture. These “legs” are actually fence post toppers. I, (meaning my husband), attached a 2×4 “frame” underneath (sorry, no pic), so we would have something in which to screw in the new legs. Ahhhh, perfect!. Next I removed all the hardware, including the hinges. I don’t like painting around hinges; it does not make for excellent workmanship, besides, it only takes a few minutes to do it right and remove them.

Because this piece had shutter doors I dared not use a paint brush, What a mess, drips, drips and drips. No, it is best to use spray paint for shutter-door projects. I used Rust-Oleum Heritage White. After my neutral base coat, I brushed on a tea colored glaze to give it age and character. I also heavily distressed it with 100 grit sandpaper.

I gave this “anywhere” cabinet (because you can use it anywhere in the house see?) a new set of knobs and handles.

What a lovely transformation. :)

 

Retro Console – A lesson in Paint Washing – Sold

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I absolutely adore retro furniture pieces. This console was pretty gaudy, but gaudy makes for great details. It would be perfect for my paint washing technique.

First a light sanding using 220 grit sandpaper to remove any glossy areas. This is important for proper paint adhesion. Next I applied two coats of a satin turquoise paint. It was nice but not yet finished. When you have a piece of furniture with so much detail in the wood work, it begs to be highlighted. Paint washing is my technique of choice.

It’s rather simple really. Just take ANY water based paint and add water. That’s it. For my black wash I mixed 1 part black paint to 3 parts water. This makes for a really wet and soupy paint.  I used a regular paint brush and applied the wash to my painted console (in small sections at a time). I then used a larger DRY brush to remove most of the wash. Use paper towels and keep the dry brush DRY. Paint will settle into the crevices with only a small amount remaining on the “flat areas”. You can control how much color you want by how much you apply and then remove.

Love, Love, Love how it turned out!

Upscale Shabby Chic Checkerboard Buffet/Dresser -Sold

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I purchased this great piece at an auction. It fit my criteria – top notch construction, solid wood, dove-tailed drawers and a lovely mirror, bonus!

I knew just what it needed to become extraordinary.

Of the nine drawers, only 4 were in perfect condition. The others had scratches or some other goober, (yes, I said goober). I also did not care for the reddish mahogany finish.         It was time for an overhaul.

After removing all the hardware, I applied paint stripper to the 4 good drawers and the top of the dresser. Since I was going to re-stain these pieces, it was necessary to strip everything down to the bare wood.  This is VERY important, because if you don’t, you’ll end up with a blotchy finish. Give the stripper time to do its magic and then scrape it off with a putty knife. It should come off in rolls.

After I removed the old stain, I wiped down the wood with mineral spirits to remove any stripper residue. A light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper was the final step before re-staining. I chose a Dark Walnut stain and a topcoat of MinWax for protection.

Now it was time to work on the painted pieces. Remember, the other drawers were not perfect. Two had missing wood on the corners. There are a couple of ways to fix this but I’ll show you what I did.

I used my small electric sander with 150 grit sandpaper to GENTLY feather the edge so it’s smooth all over. I could have filled it with putty but I wanted wood to show through when I sanded later.

Easy peasy nice and smooth!

After lots of sanding and cleanup, I was ready to break out the ole paintbrush. By the way, I don’t skimp on the quality of my brushes, yes – it does make that much difference. I painted using a creamy, off-white color. When the paint was dry to the touch, and this is my favorite part, I used sandpaper to scuff the edges to reveal the warm walnut color underneath. Shabby Chic furniture has such a cozy, time-worn feel. Ahhhhhhh…

Where was I? Oh yes, next up was the final step to perfection. Glaze. I apply the glaze with a brush as I would paint. I then “remove” the excess with a dry brush. The glaze I use softens the whites and brings even more character to each piece. The original hardware remains with this beauty and the drawer runners were waxed for extra smooth movement.

It now awaits a new home.

Why not treat yourself to something extraordinary :)