Painted Dresser - latest Annie Sloan paint project!

Latest Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Project

 

before

A year or so ago I bought an oak dresser on eBay with the intention of painting it. Solid oak, heavy and good quality, but looking rather dated, and too dark for my kitchen.

Since then it's been sitting in my kitchen, making the kitchen dark and gloomy, patiently waiting to be transformed.

Whilst in the middle of a large job painting a friend's old pine bedroom furniture (bedstead, wardrobe, dressing table and bedside table ) with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints bought from Dovetails Vintage in Sevenoaks, Kent ( I love this shop! They offer a quick mail order service too if you don't have an AS stockist near you) and being pretty pleased with how quickly and easily it was all going, I decided that the oak dresser's moment of transformation had finally come.

So in one weekend it went from the above, to this below........


 

and after....

I painted the outside in Annie Sloan Old Ochre,  a warm cream, and the inside of the display cabinet I painted in AS Antoinette, a gorgeous pale pink.


 

 

As the cabinet was dark it needed two coats.

But if you've used Annie Sloan Chalk Paints before, then you know that part of the beauty of the paint is the lack of preparation needed before painting - just a quick wash/wipe over then once it's dry you can start painting.

So despite needing a second coat, it wasn't as daunting a project as I'd imagined, and as the paint dries fairly quickly it meant it was still a fairly quick job - it would have been more of a job had it all needed sanding first!

So first I painted the dresser top and it went from this..........to this!

 

Then the base........I didn't even unpack the china to do the base - just removed the knobs, moved it out from the wall, slipped some newspaper under it and got painting.

It was amazing how suddenly the kitchen was made lighter.

 

Once the first coat was dry I painted a sketchy, fairly random second coat concentrating on where it was needed, and then once that was dry I waxed all over using Annie Sloan Clear Wax.

I then gently distressed the edges where it would naturally wear. I wanted to achieve a pale, barely distressed look, so I didn't go overboard on the sanding, and didn't use any AS Antique wax..

 

Before replacing the dresser top, I lightly sanded the top surface of the dresser base, wiped it over then gave it a second coat of wax. Once that dried I buffed it to a soft sheen, then put the dresser top in place (well actually it took three of us to heave the darn thing back up without damaging my new paint job!)

 

Since the above photo was taken, the dresser top has had the original patterned glass put back in temporarily until I can get some clear glass to replace it, and my kind husband has put in a new shelf (where the plate display rail is) to hold extra china.

I'm so glad I painted it at last, it's made such a huge difference to the look and feel of the kitchen, all for the price of two pots of paint (and there's still plenty left over for the next project........)!

Shortly after finishing painting the dresser I went up to London to the Spring Country Living Fair, and amongst other things treated the kitchen (!) to a gorgeous braided runner from The Braided Rug Company

I've been lusting after a braided rug from this company for years (and even made a couple myself a few years ago!) and this particular one is made from jute rather than the more traditional carpet type of rug the company started out selling. So it should wear well, and it lies beautifully flat.

 

 

I think Logan thought it was a new toy for him at first!

 

 

I love it, and it's perfect for covering some cracked tiles in the kitchen!

 

At the Fair I also found some pretty vintage fish knives and forks..........

 

 

and some pot holders and tea towels in pretty grey and white striped fabric with little roses from Sophie Allport.


 

Next "day out" will be the Decorative Living Fair at Eridge Park, near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, on Thursday 16th May - last year it was pouring with rain and pretty muddy there, and I'm hoping this year there'll be some sunshine by then!

Last year Dovetails, (where I buy Annie Sloan paints and where I did an AS painting course), had a stall there and hopefully they'll be there again this year, along with lots of wonderful vintage and decorative antiques stalls as well as gorgeous clothes, plants and gardenalia.

 

What with all the furniture painting I've been doing, I haven't had a chance to do much sewing recently, although I did make a few new floral linen cushions for the sitting room.

 

I have quite a few vintage finds to share in another post, but must just show you this cute vintage curtain that I found for £2 in a vintage shop.

I'd been vaguely looking out for something to put under the sink unit for a while now, and this was obviously meant to be as it fits just about perfectly - which is just as well as the curtain tape ends have been knotted so thoroughly that there's no way I can adjust it without taking off the tape and replacing it - and it'll be a while before I get around to that!

Thanks for all your comments on my last post, I hope you all had a good Easter, and a very warm welcome to my new followers!

Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

Just loving these Adirondack chairs.

Maybe when the weather warms up...............................

Meanwhile its nice to dream.

all images from here

What colour would you paint yours?!

P.S. Be back soon with a proper post
P.P.S. Did you spot the dolls house size chair? 

Yes, yes, yes!

 

 

 

 

It's here. It's official. Spring has arrived.

At least for a few days anyway!



 

 

 

The sun is out, the sky is blue, the birds are singing, the flowers are opening, and Logan is as glad as I to feel the warmth of the spring sunshine.




 

Having been shorn like a sheep last week, he's been shivering ever since, until the warmer temperatures kicked in at the start of this week.

 

And since Monday we've spent as much of our days outside as we can, working in the garden.

Well, some of us have, others have just been content to sit back and watch...........

 

The grass has had its first cut, borders have been tidied, a few spring plants put in, and a lot of sitting on the garden bench, eyes shut, basking in the warmth of sun with cups of tea, day dreaming of all the little changes I shall make in the garden this year.


 

The last few roses left over from last month are still looking pretty, although a little shabby chic now. The white roses went off quite quickly whilst both the pinks have aged more slowly.

And their pretty rosiness just forced me (how could I resist these vintage style roses! ) to buy a new duvet set - gorgeous girly pink roses with grey leaves on a white background - and only £13 for a King size set at Tesco online!!!!


 

And still on the subject of roses............look what I found in a fav junk/vintage shop in Sevenoaks!!!!

Yellow roses!
A summer dress!
Genuine vintage!

And I know it was meant for me, it called out from the rack of dowdy dull clothes, I spotted it across the room - and it was my size.

 

I was just a little worried it wouldn't fit me, as sizes were smaller a few decades ago and although it's fine around the waist and hips, I must admit to it being just a tad tightish across the bust. As it's fully lined (with a net frill at the hem) I can't alter it easily.

But who cares! I shall just breathe in! Just don't make me laugh.........

 

At the same shop I also picked up this sweet little vintage pendant, without a chain, and have just bought a delicate new one for it.

 

The main part of the pendant is silver, according to the jeweller where I bought the chain, although the pink drop pearl link and fitting isn't - but again, who cares!
It's pretty!

 

Can't resist just one more peep at the "frock" - to me it's a frock - isn't it cute?!!

 

Oh, and on my travels the same day I picked this plant stand up for a tenner.

The orange colour is growing on me, although I bought it with the intention of spray painting it white.

 

Well, I'm off to make the most of this warmer weather.

Thanks for all your comments on my last post, and welcome to my new followers.


 

Hope you're enjoying some warm weather too, wherever you are.

Crazy Cake

It's grey outside.

 There's a bitter cold wind.

The brave little purple crocus flowers, which a couple of weeks ago were happily opening their pretty faces towards the early spring sun, are now furled tight like closed umbrellas. 

The cold and cough that have been hanging around too long are getting you down.

So what's a girl to do but ...............bake!

BAKE A CHOCOLATE CAKE!

Now this is one clever recipe, given to me by my good friend Julie from the USA who was given it by her friend Val when she was a student in California back in the 80's.

The whole preparation process is so easy, no hassle even when you're feeling under the weather - all you need is..........

 a large baking tin, a set of measuring cups (or a tea cup would do), a set of measuring spoons ( or a teaspoon and a tablespoon) and a spoon to stir.

Here's the crazy stuff

 - you make it direct in the tin, no mixing bowl

- no eggs

-no butter

- you use vinegar (!) but don't let this put you off - you won't know it's there

Here's the recipe

VAL BAWDEN'S CRAZY CAKE - 1982

3 cups flour ( self-raising, but can use plain with an extra 3/4tsp baking powder per cup, or a mix with ground porridge oats is good)

2 tsp bicarb of soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Pre-heat oven to 350 F, 160 C fan

Place all dry ingredients into a 9 x 13 inch (ungreased) tin ( I used a roasting tin) and mix well.

Make three indentations in the dry mix and add the following, one ingredient to each hole.

3/4 cup oil ( I used olive oil)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tblsp vinegar ( I used cider vinegar, wine vinegar would also work but I'm not sure about malt!)

Then pour 2 cups cold water over the entire mixture and mix well until everything blended.

Bake 25 - 30 mins.

May still be moist but do not overbake.

Cake may sink a little but it is moist and yummy!

So - no eggs, no butter, no mixing bowl!

I believe this may be an adaptation of cake recipes used during the war when eggs and butter were scarce, and I've seen a few such recipes floating around recently on Pinterest.

It can be eaten as it is,or you could add icing - Julie sometimes adds a chocolate cream cheese topping.

Go on, give it a whirl!
It'll make the dull day feel brighter!