Saturday, August 2, 2008

Shab to fab armoire

My latest project was one of my favorite personal Shab to Fab furniture fixes. I bought a really ugly armoire with a light colored, faux wood grain finish over 4 years ago with the intent of refinishing it someday. I kept putting it off b/c I wasn't sure where its final resting point would be located so I didn't know what finish I wanted. Well, I found its permanent place in our master bedroom so it was time to refinish it! I primed it, painted it and finished it with an antique glaze. It had a lot of detail on the front panels and took forever to prime, paint and glaze all the nooks and crannies. My forearms were sore for two days! It was by far the biggest piece that I ever finished with an antique glaze. I was a little nervous at first as to how the aging part looked, but I am thrilled with the end result. I used a sea foam greenish/bluish color for the paint and then a dark brown antique glaze. I hate sanding but I had no choice in this case b/c it had a shiny surface so I had to remove it in order for the paint to adhere properly. Good prep work is the key to a great looking final piece. I tinted the primer with some of the paint to make my first paint coat application easier. I used a gesso primer, which worked great. It was my first time using the gesso primer and will do it on all furniture refinishing from here on out. It really adhered nicely to the sanded piece and the paint went on so smooth. Take a look at the before and after pix! I can't wait to find another large piece of furniture to refinish.

Happy Crafting,
Madame Craftsalot
www.madamecraftsalot.com