Slate Milk Paint + Wood Top = Rustic Love

Wow... what a day yesterday was- so rainy and windy!  We had not prepared for such strong winds, and had to run outside to gather up porch pillows and decorations to put away.   We also have to do some major cleanup when we realized our storm windows were not down, and our sills were pooling with water.  Thank goodness Chris is off this week, and was home to help take care of all that!

With all the wind and rain and cooler temperatures, it was the perfect day for some crafting and baking. I created these fun clothespin magnets which will be at the barn sale this weekend....

And to thank my wonderful neighbor for giving me cornstalks for my porch AND helping me get them tied up, I made an apple crisp.  I will be delivering it to him and his wife today along with a big thank you.

Too icky to work on any furniture yesterday, but I am sharing a couple pieces I finished last week today.

When I was laid up with my leg injury and feeling sorry for myself I guilted my husband into picking up furniture for me, Chris lovingly offered to pick up some pieces of furniture for me I found on Craiglist from one seller so that as soon as I was back on me feet I would have projects to work on.  Both of these pieces in this post came from this particular seller and both needed TLC.

 The buffet in the photo looks ok, right?  Well, it had a rotten back leg, and one leg was already broken in the front, so I had to cut it down so that all the legs were the same size. I also sanded down the top to remove some stains.  Before painting the body, I gave the top a new finish with Annie Sloan dark wax, and buffed it.  This just gave it a richer finish with a little more sheen that it previously had.
For the base, I removed the old hardware and filled holes on the drawers.  I painted it all over with two coats of Old Fashioned Milk Paint in slate ( I am totally in love with this brand of paint!).  Once that dried, which was pretty quickly, I distressed it and finished it with a clear wax.  Finally, I buffed it and added some fun rustic knobs from Hobby Lobby.  I was so tempted to keep this one and replace my aqua sideboard, but I knew I would have major regrets!

Now, this next piece, a serpentine dresser, was a bit tricker.  Here is what I started with....

This dresser had gorgeous serpentine curves.... and also had a not so gorgeous faux marble painted top. It also had a second drawer that would not go in all the way, so I had to sand it down and wax it a bit.

Once repairs were made, I lightly sanded the top to get rid of the sheen.  Old Fashioned Milk Paint has such great adhesion that I thought I would paint over the top, which I thought had been done in an oil based paint. (which makes for messy stripping).  I applied a tiny bit to one area of the top, and then continued to paint the body of the dresser.  It went beautifully onto the body, but the top was another story.  The paint adhered well; however, where it got into some areas, the moisture caused the existing paint to lift and peel in some areas.  Ugh.  So, I ended up stripping the top, happy that I was going to be working with latex ( the paint lifting was a telling sign).  I discovered that it had been primed with oil based primer, over the wood top which had once been veneered (but the veneer had been removed.  Basically, the top was a big old mess.... wood filler had been filled in some of the grooves, the oil based primer was also in some of the grooves.  I sanded it down once I stripped it as best I could.  The top is not perfect, but I figured it would still have a cool rustic look, better than faux marble.

To finish the top off, I used Annie Sloan dark wax again, and distressed the bottom and waxed it with a clear wax just as I had on the sideboard.  And here it is now....

I just love those curves!

Both of these pieces will be available this weekend at the Stylish Patina Barn Sale in Frederick!  I will be working there both Friday and Saturday from 10-5, so stop in and say hi!

So there you have it.... slate milk paint + wood top = rustic love.
The End.

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JENNIFER RIZZO

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