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Category Archives: English

Jack – A Sophisticated Writing Desk

25 Friday May 2012

Posted by in Annie Sloan, Antique, Chalk Paint, Desk, Distressed, DIY, English, Find, Furniture, Goodwill, Paint, Thrift Store, Vintage

≈ 2 Comments

It’s day two, and boy have I got a fun one for you! Eeeeeek! I’m excited! Introducing Jack, Union Jack that is:

Jack started out as one of your basic large scale desks that are a dime a dozen at the thrift stores. You know the ones that you would picture lining a government office somewhere in the 1970′s?

I’ve been waiting for a piece to paint the famous Union Jack onto. This desk was simple enough to pull of such a grand image and the scale of the desktop was a perfect 30″ x 60″!

The base is a custom mixture of Behr Midnight Dream (two coats), and the desktop Union Jack design is done with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP) in Old White and Glidden Red Delicious. After complete, I did a light sanding with a medium grade sanding block, then finished with Annie Sloan Clear Wax (Applied with a brush and buffed smooth with a dry cloth).

Since the edges of the piece were distressed a bit to show the wood underneath, I chose to leave the wooden legs exposed. I just polished them with Annie Sloan Dark Wax and they shined up nicely!

I’m sad to say that Jack has already been sold! But he’s staying in the family, so I can visit anytime! :)
Lots of love,
Mary
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Henry – An English modern buffet & hutch

09 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Annie Sloan, Chalk Paint, English, Modern, Thrift Store, Whitewash

≈ 46 Comments

Drum roll please…introducing Henry — a modern English buffet & hutch. Henry fit as a name from the very beginning because of his masculine shape and bold lines. It’s such a heavy piece, too! 

Yes, I’ve softened him up a bit, but I like to think he found love :)

Do you remember what he looked like before?

I used a watered-down solution of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White, brushed on, then wiped off with a rag. It took me way longer than expected due to all the detailing.

Then, when dry, I did some extra distressing with an ultra-fine sanding block. He was finished off with a coat of AS Clear Wax.

Contemporary satin nickel pulls were chosen to accent the modern block design on the doors and drawers.

The inside was left to its natural wood finish to coordinate with all the distressing.

I especially LOVE how the top of the buffet turned out. The grey tones really popped out between the wood undertones and white highlights.

Henry was a surprise. I knew I wanted to use a whitewash solution, but was very surprised when the detail popped out during the wipe-off and distressing process.

I have posted Henry for sale on Craigslist here. I hope he finds a welcoming home.
**Update: Henry is now SOLD!**

Lots of love,
Mary

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Sneak peek!

04 Friday Nov 2011

Posted by in Buffet, English, Find, Furniture, Goodwill, Hutch, Thrift Store

≈ 4 Comments

Is it Thursday already? Oh my word, this week has flown by! Maybe it’s because I’ve had my nose stuck to the computer screen all week — or maybe it’s because I keep thinking about all of my to-do’s before incoming house guests, vacation in two weeks, and Thanksgiving just around the corner!

In any case, I wanted to share with you a little sneak peek at the next furniture piece I’ll be working on. Meet the unnamed:

I picked this bad boy up from Goodwill about six months ago. My husband thought I was crazy! But it does need a lot of work. The wooden top is torn to pieces and needs to be filled in in some spots. I paid a little more on this one than I would normally allow myself, but I just fell in love with the shape and the geometrical design. It looks like a modern twist on an Old English piece. Very heavy and very substantial! Check it out — it comes with a hutch, too!

Here’s my dilemma: what do I do to it? I’ve been going back and forth on what color(s) to use. Originally, I thought that I would just whitewash it in a black so that you could still see some of the wood. Then I would think to apply a paper design on top to accent. But the more I look at it, the more I think it’s a little too heavy and too dark. Should I brighten it up a bit? I could either use a very thin whitewash solution (in white opposed to the black) and do something to show the detail, or I could go bold with a bright color. It may just come to me as I go.

What do you think?

Lots of love,
Mary

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