Dark Ash and Dark Walnut Dresser

 Hello. Hope your having a wonderful day. I have a great piece to share today. I haven't done much work with mixing paint and wood tones. I love how it looks when others do them, but I'm a little more hesitant to do them myself. When I first brought this piece home, I thought is was going to be a nice navy blue.

Fortunately for me, I had second thoughts. I feel a masculine yet classic grey would do it more justice. Then looking at the line features, I thought " why not leave them dark stained? ". Worse case it doesn't look as I envisioned, and I paint them afterwards.

I was right!! I love the look. I used Behr paint in Ash Grey, also using my home-made chalk paint recipe. Cheap alternative, when I want custom colors. I used a sample pot from Home Depot {$5} and some Plaster of Paris {$5-and it makes appr. 30 batches}, you really can't go wrong with that price.

I did touch up the wood finish with a little of my favorite stain, Minwax Dark Walnut. The handles didn't take as well to the traditional stain, so I went with the gel stain instead. Worked like a charm. I finished it off with Varathane Water based polyurethane finish in clear satin. Durability at its best.

See my lil succulent terrarium. Check out my post on how to create your own here. I am obsessed with succulents right now. I just picked up some more today at the green house. I'm sure you'll see them in the near future.

What do you think, hit or miss on the paint and wood tone together? I think a big fat hit. Thanks for stopping by.

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Restoration Hardware DIY Hutch

Hello. I have a Restoration Hardware DIY to share with you today.

This hutch came to me from a neighbour, it was a wedding gift from her mother. So precious. My neighbour is doing this insane reno in their house, and she is getting a new office. Since she runs a fabulous little business, she wanted a matching office. Sounds right to me. Here's the hutches humble beginnings.

Now, this was a tricky piece. We had decided on making the back of the hutch Dark Walnut. The wood panelling was not real wood, but kinda like a sticker. So, typical stain wouldn't work. I love using gel stain by Minwax. It covers anything and really changes the tone of any surface. Check out their site, for a ton of info and inspiration. I started by taping off the panel board section, and laid down my first coat of gel stain. The key to using this product is dry time. Depending on the surface, anywhere from 1-3 days. Make sure it is nice a dry before adding the next coat. It took me 4 coats to cover up the yellow pine. Next I mixed up some Miss Mustard Seed Milk paint in Linen, with bonding agent (no chipping). Again, I found the yellow hard to cover, it took me 4 coats to get a solid coverage. Now hindsight, I think I was mixing the paint a little too thin. When using lighter colors, be sure to mix a bit thicker.

I love everything about this piece. The curvature on the top, right down to the flower embellishment. The hardware was picked by my neighbor. A great splurge on the hutch!

Don't forget to link up any of your projects at my chic-by-you-wednesday-linky-party! Hope to see you there.

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One Small Project at a Time

One down.

Started out like your typical honey colored coffee table.

I re-stained the top with Varathane Gel Stain, you can check out my tutorial here. Then I primed the base with Kilz Premium. I had a Behr mix paint in my paint cabinet, pretty close to French Linen from Annie Sloan. I really love grey, but feel like I don't try anything else. This is my baby step away from grey.

I finished it off with Minwax Wipe on Polyurethane. Nice and easy. Thanks for stopping by, take care.

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,

Chalk Paint Grey Side Board

Hello. Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday. Mine is going to be great, I can tell. The weather has finally lifted here and I can smell spring in the air. It tickles my nose and lingers with freshness. I may just have to make a stop while I'm out, and grab a bouquet of fresh flowers. 

Here's the handsome fellow I worked on last night. Below, is how he looked before.

Pretty average. I was drawn to the detail in the side doors. It did come as a full hutch, but the upper part had this ugly  unique fabric as the back panel and trimmed around all the glass. Typically, I could have pulled it off the back panel and painted it. I can not work with it around the glass, not with out many tears. The store kept it to sell seperately.

I re-stained the top with Varathane Gel Stain in Dark Walnut. Check out this post, to see my previous project using  the Gel Stain.

I wanted to show you, how it can tone down any discolorations in the wood. The top on this piece had yellowed a bit from sunlight. All fixed now.

I also used some Rub'n Buff Gold leaf on the handles. Take a look at this post to see the "how to". I think they turned out perfect.

I did light brush strokes on the side doors, too keep the depth and detail.

What a handsome piece.

Before and after.

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Take care.

Our furry family member, Cali. She's even smiling for me.

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Out with the oak, in the with the new

Ever have those days, when things just go right. Today was my day. I had a few hours to entertain myself in the city, this morn from 9 am to noon. Not ideal times for a Sunday? But the stores I wanted to hit, open early. 

First stop...Home Depot. I'm working on a bench made from an old headboard, and needed the Kreg Jig.

This cool tool is going to help me {hubby}, attach the sides to my bench. 

Anyways... I was also in need of a new Purdy Paintbrush. Following the isle.. I checked out the stains, but have yet to try any. Can you believe it? I have not re-stained raw wood. Until today. I bought a can of Varathane Gel Stain in Dark Walnut.

This is the shelf.

Nice yellow oak.

I can't tell you how easy the stain was to apply. When you open it, the gel is quite thick. Kind of like sour cream or yogurt. I bought a foam brush and dipped straight in the jar. Using an even brush stroke, I spread in one direction the length of the shelf. It really is easy to apply. I also taped off the edges, as I'm not a great line cutter.

This is first coat. {i did 2}

I let the gel do its thing for 5 minutes, before wiping {softly}. I used a dry painters rag to wipe off the excess stain. Then followed the same directions for a second coat.

This is the finished shelf.

I also did the small shelf under the bathroom window.

Feeling a bit more ambitious, I did the stair railing to our basement.

Before

After

I love this stuff!! You can't see the thickness of the clear coat on the railing. It made my husband a little weary of how well if would cover. I can't believe how well it did or how fab it looks. You can still see the wood grain. I would recommend Varathane Gel Stain to anyone who wants to change the look of anything. This stuff is excellent for beginners, like myself. Next is the other two flights of railing and any others items I decide to go Dark Walnut.

Take care.


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