Before and After : Pillar Candle Holder

This was a set of pillar-style candle holders; the one on the right I refinished in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Barcelona Orange with an overlay of Florence. I love the bright, bold colors!

Before and After : Lexington Chest of Drawers

This is a beauty from the Lexington Victorian Sampler collection. The proud new owner also had a cheval or standing mirror refinished in the same Annie Sloan Pure White Chalk Paint and distressed. Another before and after will come soon for that project!

I don't usually use all white for my refinishes, but this has a beautiful, clean look to it, and a classic elegance. Here's a Color Story: Inspiration photo from my in-laws' lily pond!

Timeless! Be sure to check out my other inspirations by clicking "Color Story". What inspires you? Send me your ideas and I may be able to translate them into my next furniture refinish!

Before and After : Antique Dining Table

This stunning table is from the Rockford Furniture Company in Illinois. When I got it, it was desperately in need of some TLC! With a little luck and a lot of elbow grease (plus a little dark wax), I restained the top and painted the body in Annie Sloan Versailles, then antiqued with that dark wax.

 *Sniffle* They grow up so fast! Here's another "after", just because I love the detailed carvings of these legs so much.

Before and After : 9-drawer French Provincial Dresser

This gorgeous dresser had sad, white knobs :( so I looked for months and found two sets on Etsy that I can tell make the dresser much happier! I stained the top dark and painted the body in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Louis Blue.

Update: This gorgeous piece now has a sibling!!( Check it out here.) This fabulous antique chest of drawers will be a perfect pairing! Don't let the lighting deceive you - it's the exact same shade of blue; Louis Blue can just appear very different depending on the light :)

Distressing and Antiquing 101

Today I'm working on a dresser / chest of drawers for my husband, so I have full license to play with different painting and distressing techniques! So far I've done a few coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Greek Blue, and will be following with a wash of ASCP Olive to antique, then sanding to distress. So this leads to the topic at hand - how do you make something look like it was naturally antiqued? Carefully, and thoughtfully. There are two major ways to create a distressed, perfectly imperfect finish.

1) Use a light touch, with a non-saturated paint brush, and don't press into all of the nooks and crannies.

That's what I've done here. Lovely, right? This leaves some spots unpainted at the BASE of your detail work.

2) Use a sanding block or sponge (I usually use a fine grit (120 +), unless I am doing something super distressed. Then I would start with a more coarse grit, and finish with a fine grit). This will take away paint at the HIGH points of your piece. Since this isn't fully dry yet, here's a photo from a different project with high point distressing.

For this dresser, I'll be using a combination of the two techniques, as well as applying a sheer wash of Olive (diluting the paint with water, painting, and wiping away the excess - like I did on this pedestal table).

Before:

 After:

This will leave a gorgeous, time-loved finish that will look like it's been lovingly handed down over the generations. Before and after photos from this week's dresser refinish coming soon!

UPDATE: Here's the gorgeous carved detailing on the trim from earlier,  now with high point distressing and waxing: