My car read over 80 degrees today. 80! Break out the shorts! Shave those legs! Get outside! And then, the inevitable. I give into the sunshine that beckons me out my front door and I am hit by wind. Pounding, harsh, biting wind that lasts all day long. And now, as I sit down for the evening, it starts raining, accompanied by bright lightning and harsh thunder.
Sigh. I am still not used to this arrival of spring. In my perfect world, it is never below 50, and the flowers start blooming in March and continue into October....at least. However, since I am here, and it is booming and flashing outside, it is a great time to leave a note- about my favorite project of all time.
I like to jump deep into projects. Painting: the whole house. Moving: different state. Vacation: Europe. Painting: largest piece possible.
Yup. That's how I discovered Annie Sloan paint. It was not on a piece of trim or the back of a scrap piece of wood. It was on a cabinet. A huge, antique, solid wood, china hutch - the kind that was salvaged from an old home, ripped right out of the wall.
It was the most beautifully built piece I had ever seen - glass doors and knob, beautiful woodwork and the classic design elements. The one problem, the tiniest little problem, was that the whole thing was red. Toned down, deeply stained, single toned, red. And it was definitely out of style.
I have attempted a few restoration projects - the kind where you strip, re-stain, seal, and try-not-to-kill-yourself-over-the-tediousness in the process. It is not for me (remember the jumping deep, well it doesn't include tediousness: it's about results). I had a vision for this piece. It was beautiful, modern, and painted. Gasp?! Painted? This beautiful piece? Wouldn't that ruin it? Tarnish it's originality? Make a mockery of me? After all, I had never used the paint before....
But, I dove in. Just me and Old Ochre. And a few places where I kept the original wood (and, admittedly took more hours to strip, stain, and seal than I care to admit), and the final product is the piece that I am most proud of.
Before
Before
Wait for it.....
AFTER!
What do you think??
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