White is Right (sometimes)

Color is one of my favorite things and sometimes I view white as a compromise. I mean really, have you noticed the thousands of amazing color options at your local paint store? Do you realize that it would take you about 300 years to use all of those amazing colors on your walls or your furniture? There's no time for white! But, white does work for some people... Well, actually, it works for most. All of the custom pieces I've done so far have been painted white as this beautiful dresser was painted.

The couple who bought my walnut highboy found this dresser and wanted me to paint it to match the highboy.

Here's how I did it 1. Sanded and stripped the top. Lightly sanded the body and drawers. 2. Sanded and sanded again and again till the top was ready for wax. 3. Applied Annie Sloan Dark Wax directly to the top (no clear coat underneath). To make it easier to manipulate the dark wax, I soaked the container in a bath of hot water. 4. Painted 2 coats of homemade chalk paint (Behr UL 170-15  Mineral). 5. After it was dry, I applied a layer of clear glaze. 6. Then I applied a layer of glaze tinted with black on the white surfaces. I highly recommend Behr Premium Plus Faux Glaze. It dries quickly and is easy to manipulate. I WOULD NOT recommend the Valspar (Lowes) brand. It takes forever to dry and is not as easy to work with.

For a tutorial on how to apply a tinted glaze, visit Alchemy Fine Living. She knows what she is doing and I learned this technique from reading her blog and watching her tutorials.

Hope you'll learn from my mistake If you don't want the tinted glaze to substantially alter your white paint, APPLY A COAT OF CLEAR GLAZE BEORE APPLYING YOUR TINTED GLAZE. That layer of clear glaze will create a nice barrier between the dark glaze and your nice white piece. You'll be able to control how dark the piece gets by being able to wipe off as much of the dark glaze as you desire.

This piece needed to match another the walnut highboy, so although the effect of the glaze in the picture below is nice, it darkened the white and didn't match the white of the highboy.

Here is a shot of the dark glaze applied directly to the white paint:

And, here is a shot of the dark glaze applied to the white piece AFTER applying a coat of clear glaze and after wiping most of it off.

Linking up to these great parties: Monday http://becolorful.typepad.com

http://betweennapsontheporch.net

http://www.twiggstudios.com

http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com

http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com

http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com

http://diyshowoff.com

Tuesday http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com

http://www.bystephanielynn.com

http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com

http://homestoriesatoz.com

http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com

Wednesday

http://www.domestically-speaking.com http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net

http://www.primpjunktion.com

http://diybydesign.blogspot.com

Thursday http://www.stonegableblog.com

http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com

http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/

http://www.livelaughrowe.com/

http://www.houseofhepworths.com

Friday

http://debbie-debbiedoos.com/

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

http://www.redouxinteriors.com/

http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/

http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/

http://www.mysimplehomelife.com/

http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/

http://www.lizmarieblog.com/

http://www.doodlesandstitches.com/

Saturday

http://tatertotsandjello.com/

http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/

http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/

http://too-much-time.com/

http://www.itsoverflowing.com/

Special Submission http://www.powerofpaint.net