Things have been a little slow around the Refined home since I put most of my "projects" into a storage locker in late May. Needless to say, it's been a three weeks and I'm looking for something to do.
For those of you who may not follow Serendipity Refined on FaceBook, a few days ago, I posted this:
Yep, that's right! I'm helping four Chicago area readers to transform their very own DIY furniture! They're providing the pieces and the paint and I'm going to show them how to paint, wax, glaze...and who knows what else we may come up with!
Today, Rachel and I took on her dark walnut stained corner cabinet. Rachel told me that this was a test piece because she has several other larger cabinets that belong to this set but this piece is on its own in her family room.
The photo above is a quick one that Rachel snapped before I got to her home. By the time that I arrived at noon, she had the hardware removed, a basket full of supplies on the drive and she was ready to paint!
Rachel had seen my Roadside Rescue Dresser Makeover from last summer and she recognized the dresser as being from the same Ethan Allen Collection as the pieces that she has in her home. She decided on ASCP French Linen with Dark Wax for the exterior and I helped her to choose ASCP Old Ochre with clear and dark wax for the interior.
Rachel said that her favorite part of the project was the fact that there was no priming or sanding involved. I think that my favorite part of the project was watching her as she painted what I'm certain is the first of many pieces that she'll paint!
Both the French Linen and the Old Ochre covered the dark stain in two coats. While we were painting, friends, Deb and Kathy stopped by to see the progress and chat a little bit about everything from the proper way to clean a paint brush, to knitting (Deb's most recent project) to a cute burlap chevron bow that I made for Kathy's wreath. It was a wonderful afternoon and time absolutely flew!
The steel wool darkens the wax slightly but it leaves the finish as flat as a pancake and as smooth and soft as butter! We reused the original hardware and were finished in about four hours.
When I left, Rachel's corner cabinet was relaxing in the shade and Rachel was headed to the garage to take a look at the wonderful mirror that she's going to paint on her own (shown above). After she has it painted, I'll teach her a couple of glazing techniques.
She's also got a small wall shelf and an adorable little side table already set up and ready to paint. We're still discussing what we're going to do on the top of the table...stay tuned!
There are three more people who have projects that I'll be helping them with over the next couple of weeks so I hope that you'll come back to visit to see:
Janet's table and lamp
Sadie's vintage dressing table with mirror and seat
Nancy's dresser (platinum finish) and tall cabinet
In the mean time, here's one more shot of Rachel's first painted piece:
UPDATE: As I was typing this post tonight, I got a message from Janet who has decided on Versailles with Cream for her table...and I got this photo of Rachel's chalk painted corner cabinet, back in the family room and all prettied up!
WELL DONE RACHEL, and thank you for allowing me to help you with your DIY project today! I had a blast! ...oh...and I love your fan!
