The Madison Park Mirror

Years ago I was hired by a well to do family to help them organize their home. A room in their basement looked liked a mini REI. And what was viewed as trash to them was a gold mine to me. I can’t even begin to tell you about the enormous amounts of things that we donated. It was gratifying though to see that the community would be getting some really nice things in their local thrift store. (What I really wanted to do? Was make a bee line down there to purchase all those really nice items.) But I didn’t. I did however muster up the courage to ask for a large empty frame that was about to be discarded into the garbage. Apparently, it came with a really expensive painting but the frame came in a brassy gold color (not their style). So they purchased another frame for their painting.

 I painted it in Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan in Old White and then put a tinted glaze over the top to really pop out all that gorgeous detail. Then, I had an inexpensive mirror cut and WALLA I had me a large mirror.

 

I love that this didn’t end up in the trash. It really is amazing how a little paint can transform something and make it gorgeous again.

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Chevron Bookcase

I’m not an Annie Sloan stockist and I don’t receive any monetary gains for promoting her paint line. I use her paint products because I love it! One of the reasons I gravitated to it was because it claimed to adhere to just about any surface with little or no prep work. No prep work!? That’s got my name written all over it!

This was a perfect piece to put it to the test. This bookcase had been stained years ago. I started with a minimal wipe down before I started painting… and barely broke a sweat. :)
I wanted to try something fun and decided to go with a chevron pattern for the back of the unit. The back didn’t come off easy and so I painstakingly taped off my pattern while sitting inside. This required lots of yoga stretching later. :)

 

A combination of Annie Sloan’s Old White & Graphite turned a plain and outdated bookcase into a statement piece. The couple that purchased this planned to put it in their nursery. I imagine it holding an array of divine children books and knick knacks for years to come. Here's a link for more information about Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan.

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Cascade Buffet

I found her on Craigslist. Advertised as a 1960’s vintage dresser, she was heavy! She had me at her knobs... they were spectacular! I was so excited to start this project that I forgot to take a before picture... I really hate when that happens.

I chose Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan in Old White. It went on like butter, giving it a natural shabby distressed look. The application of clear wax and buffing gave me an arm workout.But she was worth it. She was snatched up within an hour.

 Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Damask Armoire

Let’s face it the before was scary. This is the picture I snapped when I went to pick it up. Uh, that’s red velvet behind those drawer faces! My eyes went directly down to her feet. It was kind of love at first sight. I think I sat on this piece for a week. Toying with the different color options and in the end, I decided she’d look great shabby’d up (if that’s a word?).

Annie’s Sloan Old White it is.

I wish I would have had a spot for her somewhere in my home. A young lady snatched it up for her office. It was going to get her all organized she said. And then smiling she said, “I’m gonna spend a lot of time in my office looking at her.” …I’m so glad Mrs. Damask Armoire will be appreciated.

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Kroeger Dresser

Sometimes you see a piece of furniture and you know instantly what you’d like to do with it. It wasn’t so much as the outline of the dresser as it was the hardware on this one. I loved every chunky handle. You just can’t buy hardware like this anymore.

I took one look at it and knew that that aged hardware would look amazing against Annie Sloan’s Graphite. She needed a good dusting and I needed some David Gray. After two coats of Graphite and some clear and dark wax this dresser was transformed into this…

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Blomberg Mirror

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The Ali Dresser

I found this antique dresser from an estate sale. The bones of the dresser were in good shape but cosmetically it was a mess. I loved the curved top, the original key holes and that it was on wheels. And later discovered that it made by a company called Blackler & Epley in the 1920's.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with her when I brought her home. Those straight lines needed a little zing.. or zag. But, first we needed to say bu-bye to that stencil so I painted the entire piece in Annie Sloan's Old White. And then went to work to create a chevron pattern.

I've made chevron templates before but I found an easier method to paint those chevron stripes. You take your painters tape and stick it at a 45 degree angle onto your piece. The width of your chevron stripe will depend on how much space you place your next line of tape. I just eye balled mine to evenly space mine out. Continue to layer the tape so that it goes in the same direction. You should end up with a bunch of straight lines on a diagonal. Once you've finished one side you do again only this time you go in the exact opposite direction (still at 45 degrees). You'll end up with a bunch of diamond looking patterns on your piece.

You can also visualize where the natural chevron pattern lies. If you take the tape off (some will be under, some will be over) from the diamond pattern it will leave a nice chevron pattern. (See the first row).

Tape off any other areas that you don't want painted (i.e. the sides or bottom, etc). Then, mark which Chevron stripes you want to paint/or don't want to paint with a little piece of tape.

The 2013 Color of the Year is green. I love the way Annie Sloan's Antibes Green looks with dark wax and thought it would be perfect for this little dresser. Once I was taped off, I hit the paint can. After a few coats, I distressed it and protected the piece with Annie Sloan's clear & dark wax and added some new knobs. She turned out like this...

I loved Ali so much I incorporated her into my website. I miss looking at her, but I'm grateful that she found such a great home.

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Second Avenue Console Table

I love Annie Sloan products. The l-o-v-e should really be capitalized. One of the things I love about the paint is that it contains zero black pigment. Why does that matter you ask? Well because. It allows you to mix Annie Sloan colors with one another and produce the most amazing true and vibrant colors. This side table received such a treatment. I'm absolutely thrilled that my client also loved it with a capital L.

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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