RED!!!
I love red! Yet I have very few red accents in my home, so I decided since its 2013, and because I can, I painted my Napanee cabinet! Naturally, I cant have anything that looks new in my house, I had to distress!! Here's how I did it!
I was pretty torn whether or not I should paint this piece...You can see it was already painted and naturally distressed....so I hummed and hawed around for about 5 minutes!! And decided to do RED!
I actually started painting before I took a before picture, WHOOPS! And look at that gross paneling! I painted that too! My great aunt Fay used to have this in her house and I just love it, of course it once had a top to it.
First, remove all the hardware and put in a dish or somewhere safe. This is the paint I used, It's one of those small trial sizes. I bought two just in case I messed up! One is plenty and they are really inexpensive.
This color is Pittsburgh Paints "Jujube"
This cabinet is 21" Deep x 25" Wide x 31" Tall.
I know Annie Sloan makes an excellent chalk paint, I however am a poor person! So I make my own. I bought this Plaster of Paris at Michaels with a coupon and its very affordable, under $10.
Here's the recipe "Joslyn's Chalk Paint"
A little bit of paint
A little bit of P.O.P
Mix really good
Add a little dab of water
Mix really good
If too thin, add more P.O.P
Keep mixing and adding until thick, I like it the consistency of Ketchup, and when it starts to harden a little, just add a little dab of water.
Im very exact and scientific!!
One very important lesson of this project is; Do as I say, not as I do!! You should determine whether or not you should sand your project. When using this chalk paint method, folklore says you don't have to sand.....Joslyn-lore says, "you may have to sand" and in this case I should have sanded!
This cabinet had quality hi-gloss paint on it, and lots of it, so a little sanding would have roughed up and smoothed the surface all at once.
Here you can see the rough surface of the bread drawer.
Here, I painted, determined that I should have sanded first, so I sanded after the first coat of paint dried completely. I didnt sand everything off, the texture is kind of neat.
Reminder; Do as I say, not as I do!!!
Paint the whole thing. I used two coats.
I use a pretty good quality angle brush. The bristles are really smooth and taper at the end. The result leaves few streaks and you'll ultimately have to do fewer coats.
Here's what the drawers look like!
Your preference may be that you like the streaky! That's awesome!
Once you get everything painted to your liking, you'll want to sand it to distress and also smooth out. I use a couple different grit sandpapers. I use a 150 grit just to go over the whole cabinet to get it smoothed out.
Here I used a 60 grit sand paper to really rough up above where the drawer pull goes. You can use any, but it takes a lot less time to use the rougher sand paper.
Do you see how this looks dry? Like it needs some lotion?! I like to go over this after sanding with a barely damp paper towel and get all the dust off the surface.
See the difference?!
Here is another Do as I say, Not as I do! These projects are messy, with paint flying and sanding dust...my suggestion is to do this in your garage or get it done in a timely manner! Not in the middle of the laundry room floor and newspaper hap hazardly laying underneath the project!
That's funny right there! Im a mess!
Okay now the fun part!! Glazing!! This step really gives some dimension and richness to a painted piece!
I found this glaze and it works great. I think the recommended is 4 parts glaze, 1 part Paint. But, I'm a rebel, I use stain and I'm not sure what the ratio is! I have tried paint, but I prefer stain, It seems to give more dimension. The glaze is there to extend the drying time of the stain/paint.
I mix the two in a little cup and use either an old rag, or in this case I used one of those cheap 7 cent foam brushes. You'll need another rag, any old rag will do, I like to use old tshirts.
Brush the glaze mix on to your piece, working in small sections.
Brush on.....
Wipe off with your rag. If you find it hard to wipe off, you can use a just slightly damp rag.
Work that over the whole peice. Dont get particular, but make sure the glaze gets in all the nooks and crannies! Remember you want it to look old and wore!!
Once you get all the glaze on and wiped off, let dry and now you can wax! I use Minwax Paste Finishing Wax balled up in some cheese cloth!!
Rub on and once you get it all over, you can buff it off with a clean rag.
Then you can put your hardware on and VOILA!! Done!!!
You can see how the glaze really helps! In all honesty, I didnt like the color once it went on, but once I glazed it, I LOVED IT!!!
I really like the heavy sanding on the corners!
Thats pure furniture-love right there!!
And there you go! I really need some decorating help!! So please, laugh at my decorating and then leave a message teaching me the ways of cute decorating!!!
All in all, this was an easy project that any one can do! And the result is great!! So get out there and re-do!! Let us know how your projects go!
Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see. -Henry David Throreau
