I was told this lovely piece was a telephone table and while we certainly don't need those anymore thanks to mobiles I thought this piece would be a great side table or entryway table in someone's home. I wanted to draw attention to all those lovely curves and to use a lighter colour on the shelf above the drawer and the drawer itself. So I decided on French Linen and Drop Cloth. See our materials list below if you'd like to try any of the products I used for this makeover.
Materials:
White Lightening, Spray Bottle, Chux
Mister with plain water and Chux
Dixie Belle Mini x 2 and small artist brush
Cling Wrap
Cleaning and Prep:
After removing my hardware I cleaned this piece with my pre-made White Lightening Mix (1bsp White Lightening to 1 Litre of warm water) and used my scrubby sponge to remove any dirt build up. I then used my Mister with plain water and a clean chux to remove the residue.
This piece was quite slick so to be safe I used 1 coat of Slick Stick. I let this dry for 12hrs and then came back ready to paint. If my surface was glass, metal or laminate I would have done 2 coats and left it 24 hrs to dry but this piece wasn't too bad (and I was going to be using Chalk Mineral paint which grips really well).
Painting:
For this piece I chose Dixie Belle's French Linen and Drop Cloth Chalk Mineral Paint. I stirred my French Linen well and got to work. I was careful not to use too much paint when painting around the legs or in between the little spindles on the top as I would get pooling if I applied to much. I left the inside and the drawer as I'd be painting these with Drop Cloth. I let the first coat of French Linen dry (about 1 hr) and added my next coat. It was a hot day so I kept my Mister (with plain water) handy to lightly mist my brush or paint surface if I felt the paint start to drag. Using a Mister also helps to minimise brush strokes.
Next, I used Drop Cloth Chalk Mineral Paint on the shelf and the drawer. I followed the same steps as above but was careful as I came close to the French Linen painted sections.
When my two coats had dried, I decided I needed to add something special to the shelf. I decided on Roycycled Treasures 'Sepia Blossom' decoupage paper. The Drop Cloth was a great background for this as it allows the colours in the paper to really pop.
Decoupaging:
I lined up my paper inside the shelf and scored the area that I needed to cut with my fingernail, careful not to rip, we just need to crease. I then cut out my design and got my supplies. I used Dixie Belle's Flat Clear Coat, a clean paint brush (I chose a smaller brush as I was working in a small area and didn't want to get product on the sides on the shelf )and a balled up bit of cling wrap to help you smooth your design down. You could also get a sandwich bag and put your hand in there to smooth it out.
To begin, I anchored my paper on one side so it would stay in place as I worked across the shelf. I applied a strip of Clear Coat and made sure that I hadn't missed any spots, by brushing horizontally and vertically, as this would create a bubble under the paper.
When I was sure that I hadn't missed any spots I carefully laid the paper over the strip of Clear Coat and used my balled up cling wrap to smooth the design down. I carefully smoothed it down. moving back and forth, pushing out any wrinkles and bubbles. Unfortunately, it's next to impossible to get no wrinkles but isn't that the beauty of decoupage, the little imperfections. I repeated these steps, laying down strips of Clear coat and smoothing the paper over them.
Once the whole sheet was down I applied a full coat of Clear Coat across the entire paper surface.
When that was dry I used a 22o grit sandpaper block to carefully sand the overlapping paper off. You sand downwards to score and seperate the overhanging sections, do not go back and forth as this can rip your paper where you don't want it to. Just sand in a downward motion.
Sealing with Easy Peasy Spray Wax:
Because this piece had so many little groves and curves I decided to use Dixie Belle's Easy Peasy Spray Wax. To use this product you need to first shake it until it stops making a noise, this will tell you that the product is mixed well.
Have an applicator pad or microfibre cloth handy. After spraying the area that you want the wax on, use your applicator pad to carefully buff the product. Work in sections being careful to buff all areas that you spray the
product on, as you'll get droplet marks if you don't. Shake in between your buffing as the product may settle again.
This spray wax is amazing as it dries in 30 mins. You can apply a few layers but for a piece of furniture that wont have food or oils around it, one layer of spray wax will be enough. If you want added protection then I suggest that you use Dixie Belle's Clear coats to finish your piece.
The final product is a bright piece that would look great in someones entryway or any room really. This piece is for sale in our shop in Singleton. If you are interested in the piece or have any questions about this makeover please contact us on Facebook or Instagram: @theprovincialfarmhouse or email: theprovincialfarmhouse@outlook.com.
See our materials list at the top if you'd like to try any of the products used on this piece.
Thanks for reading our blog- I hope it was helpful!