Thursday, August 4, 2011

Coffee & Paris....Chalk Paint Style

WOW! Thanks again to all those that linked up to our weekly Chalk Paint Party!
I was amazed to see so many people mixing colors to create their own unique look.
Great job everyone!
Lots of beautiful pieces to look at. In case you missed it, here is the link.
This is a shelf we have been working on for a little while. Fun little craigslist find, but definitely in need of a face lift. Yes, I almost forgot to take a before picture. I had painted one spindle, but quickly put everything back together to snap the before.
Don't you find that you get so excited to dive in and start painting that you forget the "before?" I know I always do!
The shelf was small scale and perfect for my daughter's room, as you can see, there was some water damage on the finish and it was peeling up. Since the finish was so bad, I decided to go ahead and sand the shelves down so that it would not continue to peel up.
No sanding on the spindles, just painted right over the finish.
This is the reason it has taken a while to complete this project, 24 spindles with lots of nooks and crannies! Not hard to do, just monotonous and time consuming.
But, alas! It is all complete!
We found that the underneath sides of shelves were not finished, just raw wood. So we decided to stain that side along with the lip of the shelf to add some contrast to it. Shelves stained with Minwax Jacobean. Painted the spindles and the other side of the shelves with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey.
The spindles were perfect for small accents of dark wax, after the clear wax of course.
We stained and polyed the shelves first. Went back and taped off with the green frog tape once it was dry. This was the first time using the frog tape, and let me tell you, we are sold! This stuff is the bomb! The stain had bled over on the back side of the shelf, but we just taped off the edge and painted right over the stained area. No bleeding at all, just a clear crisp line. Also, the Chalk Paint covered where the dark stain had bled over with just one coat, how great is that?!
Now, the only thing left to do is to decide which side of the shelves to use.

The stained side....
OR the painted side...
Which do you like best?

Linking to: Debbiedoo's

15 comments:

  1. looks great! I like the wood side best. great contrast.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think both sides look great....and it's nice to have options!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks great either way, but I do love the contrast of wood stain with paint.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! That was beautifully transformed! I really like the brown shelves accented with the white spindles. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely transformation. I think you will have to decide which side is best when you put it in the room and put the things on the shelves.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It doesn't even look like the same piece! Well done!

    Love the name of your blog.

    I'm your newest follower.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nice! I like the brown side up! Beautiful!
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  8. Stained side :) Looks awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That looks fab!! I like the stained side best.

    What is frog tape? Don't think I've heard of it here in the UK....

    S x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the idea of being about to reverse!!! You are simply a genius :) The color combo is elegant and useful, GREAT JOB!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sarah

    Frog tape is a product that I have seen Miss Mustard Seed use. I decided to try it and I am completely sold, give it a try. Here is a link to Home Depots site, I am sure you can find it somewhere in the UK.

    http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=frog+tape&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&Ntpc=1&Ntpr=1

    ReplyDelete
  12. Amber those shelves are awesome! Would you believe I have something so nearly its twin...'cept mine are square! I've had this kind of look in mind for them and am trying to make up my mind about what color to paint the 4 posts. The shelves are already dark and in good shape. I'll have to share it with you when I get 'er done!

    Thanks for visiting my blog via another link party. I appreciate your comments of encouragement. I'm so excited to tell you I have a retail boot at an antiques mall now, The Keeping Room, and its on fb too! I'll be back for a link party soon!

    P.S. I love your state!!!<3 Got to visit in January when our WHOLE family went to Keystone! super fun :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amber how gorgeous this piece turned out. I love that you kept the top dark, it really adds interest. Thanks so much for joining my newbie party. Hope to see you next week.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful job! I love how the Annie Sloan Chalk paint can go right over a finished surface without sanding. Leaving the one side stained and the other painted is ingenious - I love how you can have two looks with this shelving unit! What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing.

    I'm hosting my monthly Before Blogging Throwback Thursdays party, and would love for you to come show off something you bought, did, or created Before Blogging. Can't wait to see what you bring to the party.

    ReplyDelete