Repeat client Vicky from Hamilton, that is moving to her new home in Orillia, dropped this shabby chic tallboy and night tables off last week. She showed me an inspiration piece that she found online from The Lily Pad Cottage. So I did my version of what I saw.
I first started by cleaning and filling in all the inconsistencies on the surfaces of the night tables…. they were in pretty rough shape. I then lightly sanded all the surfaces with 1/2 water and 1/2 denatured alcohol to further clean the surfaces in preparation for the paint. The first two coat of paint that went on were the General Finishes Lamp Black Milk Paint. I chose this because it is a true black rather than using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite, which is more of a charcoal colour than black. After drying I applied one coat of Annie Sloan’s Paris Grey Chalk Paint.
I then began to wet distress the surfaces, highlighting all the areas that would appear to be distressed first. This is really where the magic happens. I took me a while to get this look just right, a little here and a little there. All the while making sure it looks balanced and not too shabby. I sent Vicky a picture after this step was done and she said she wanted “more”. So more she got. I further wet-distressed to achieve this fantastic look!!
I then waxed the pieces with my Annie Sloan Clean Soft Wax for protection and durability. I then further aged the piece by glazing with VanDyke Brown Glaze by General Finishes. The hardware received a spray of Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze to compliment the dramatic finish on the pieces. Perfect! Vicky was very pleased with how it turned out… as was I….. I will also be finishing a headboard and long dresser with mirror next to complete this set. It’s going to look fan-tab-ulous!!
Before and After: