Deep Sea Blue with a Touch of Gold

This vintage waterfall chest of drawers got a new lease on life with a fresh coat of paint in a deep sea blue and a touch of gold!

I'm usually really good at remembering where every single piece of furniture came from, but this one has me stumped. And the funny thing is that I also have a matching dresser in the garage. Hmm, I'm sure it will come to me eventually! Luckily this one was in pretty good shape and didn't need a single repair.

I prepped it a light sanding and a good scrubbing with TSP. The deep blue is from Behr and it's appropriately called English Channel. I bought the paint and primer in one and mixed it up with the chalk paint recipe.

 

It's always a bonus when the original hardware is intact and in good shape.

After a good cleaning, I gave the pulls a once over with Antique Gold Rub 'n Buff. To save my fingers from going gold, I wore a glove on one hand and just rubbed lightly - a little goes a long way. For a more natural look, you really don't want to get it into all the nooks and crannies. Then just buff with a paper towel or soft cloth.

 Before and after!

 

 Pretty little details!

 

I finished up with a light distressing and a coat of Fiddes & Sons clear wax. I've been a little frustrated with the wax turning into little balls with the wax brush, so I'm back to using a soft cloth and that seems to have solved the problem. This particular wax dries very quickly and gives a really nice finish.

I love the deep sea blue with a touch of gold.

It just feels like summer!

I'm sharing with ...
The Dedicated House
DIY by Design
A Delightsome Life
Embracing Change
Miss Mustard Seed
I'm Not A Trophy Wife
Finding Silver Pennies
Cozy Little House
Mod Vintage Life
Migonis Home
The Shabby Nest
Liz Marie Blog
Green Willow Pond

Rustic Blue Library Table

I just snapped a few pictures of this cute little blue library table before the skies opened up. We're in the midst of a thunderstorm as I type. But as you can see by the dry, crunchy leaves, we surely need the rain, so no complaining here!

 

I love versatile little pieces like this and they are a snap to paint!

I kept it really simple to embrace the already rustic feel - some homemade chalk paint with a mix of leftover blue paint, a light distressing and  a coat of wax - done!

Super easy and super cute!

We've just started to pick the gourds and pumpkins from the garden. I can't wait to decorate with them. The other day I told Kevin that I need a field so I can plant lots and lots of them. ... Yes, a field is now officially on my wish list! ... Dreams are good!

 

 

Look what I found at Elizabeth & Co.!

I often talk about how much we love our customers! They are the most loyal, supportive and enthusiastic group of people ever. And we always love to hear that something they found at Elizabeth & Co. makes them happy!

This little round accent table came from the side of the road, literally! I actually drove right past it on my way home one night. But luckily I saw my friend Renae walking her dog right around the corner. The very first thing she said to me was, "Did you see it?" "See what?" "The furniture up the street." I quickly made a U-turn and Renae helped me load it all up! My husband pulled up just as we were finishing. "So what are you girls up to?" he asked, knowing exactly what we were up to!

And for those of you who have asked, it's not like we find free furniture on the side of the road everyday. But we do live in a community with designated bulk trash pick up days, so sometimes we just get lucky!

The funny thing about this little table was that someone decided it needed to be a little taller.

Well that's one way to do it!

I had a feeling this one was going to bleed through, so I primed it with my new HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer. You can check out my review here.

The paint is a pretty blue gray - a mix of leftover paint.

 

I know skipping the primer step is all the rage now, but I like the way the white shows through when you distress a primed piece.

 

Before painting, I removed the extra blocks of wood and used wood filler to close the holes - good as new!

And I added a little white glaze to the top for a softer look and finished up with a coat of wipe on poly.

 This one got snatched right up at our summer tag sale. And a few days later I received a sweet note from Amanda, along with a few photos. This was Amanda's first visit to one of our tag sales and she was thrilled to find the perfect accent table for between her fireplace and chair ...

 

and a little pillar for a bird cage she already had. Little unexpected finds that make Amanda smile. And that makes us smile too!

 

If you have something from Elizabeth & Co. in your home and you'd like to share, please send me a picture!

 

And I just updated the sidebar with information about our fall sale. It will be here before you know it!

 

I'm sharing with ...

My Repurposed Life

Young and Crafty

Craftberry Bush

504 Main

Jennifer Rizzo

Chic On A Shoestring

Blissful and Domestic

Redoux

HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer Review

Today I'm excited to share my first experience with the HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer! One of the fun perks of writing a blog is that I sometimes get asked to review products. I've wanted to try a paint sprayer for some time now, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity. And my friend Gail over at My Repurposed Life has been singing the praises of this particular sprayer for quite some time now. I couldn't wait to get started!

 

You probably know that a whole lot of furniture painting happens around here. And I generally find painting to be a very relaxing. But when spindles are involved, the process becomes a bit tedious. So I thought this bench would be the perfect candidate to try out my new sprayer!

This one came complete with a peeling floral decal ...

and a really deep red stain.

I waited for a nice calm morning with no rain in the forecast and set up shop in the shade of my side yard. And as long as I was painting one piece, why not just paint a few more at the same time!

My prep included the usual light sanding and thorough cleaning of all the pieces. I also read through my sprayer directions and watched the video on the HomeRight website. And Gail has a wonderful series of videos on how to use this sprayer too. She takes you step-by-step through the entire process. Thanks Gail! ... I did try out the sprayer on a piece of scrap wood first, just to get the feel of it. But after that, I was confident and ready to go! ... And here are my pieces all primed. The hardest part was keeping the cord from getting wrapped around the furniture as I was moving around each piece. But since I tried this out on a Saturday morning, my husband became my right-hand-man for this project!

The primer went on beautifully and dried quickly. Before I knew it, we were ready to repeat the process with paint!

And here is my finished bench in a pretty shade of blue!

 

I gave her a light distressing ...

 

and finished up with a coat of poly for durability.

 

 

And I'm happy to report that this pretty bench found happy new owners at our tag sale last weekend!

I was really impressed with the smooth finish I achieved with my new sprayer and it sure made painting all those spindles a whole lot easier. Plus it was super easy to clean too. You can use it for paint, primer, poly, stain and varnish. And it has a precision volume control and an adjustable spray pattern. I definitely have some experimenting to do. I love having options and I'm excited to add the Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer to my painting arsenal!

Thanks so much to my friends at HomeRight for the opportunity to give this sprayer a try! And be sure to check out their website for all kinds of products to make life easier for all the DIY projects in your life!

 

And if you hop on over to My Repurposed Life, Gail is celebrating her 4-year blog anniversary with one amazing giveaway after another, including several Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayers! It's a Blogapalooza like you've never seen before!

Cottage Blue Dresser

Little cottage style dressers are my very favorite pieces to paint.

This one came from an estate sale and did not require one single repair - woohoo! That almost never happens!

She was a little musty. So after a good sanding to knock down the shine, I scrubbed her with TSP and let her dry in the sun.

Then she got two coats of Behr Premium Plus (paint and primer in one) in a pretty blue called English Channel.

Then a light distressing and a coat of wipe on poly and she was done!

Don't you love the simplicity of the knobs? They were the first thing I noticed about her.

This just might be the easiest project I've worked on in quite some time.

And one of my favorites too!

A girl can never have too many cute little cottage style dressers in her life!

I'm sharing with ...
Miss Mustard Seed
The Shabby Nest
Simply Designing
Finding Fabulous
504 Main
Craftberry Bush
Redoux
Flamingo Toes
Three Mango Seeds
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My Repurposed Life