General Finishes

This was a really sweet writing bureau to work, its shape very feminine. After stripping and priming, I used General Finishes Linen over the whole piece, and then on the front drawers I stencilled with gold gilding to make the bureau even more unique. The inside was restained in Walnut and then all was sealed with General Finishes Flat out. Some new handles added and she was ready to go. 

This old oak buffet was a dream to work with. Structurally intact with clean lines carved, I decided to paint using the carved lines as my guide. The main body was painted with a mix of Driftwood on the sides, base and panels and the rest with aged oak woodstain. I then also gilded in gold along the raised carvings. The piece was then sealed with High Performance Top Coat. 

This large buffet had a secret. A wonderful hidden drawer, which added to the fun of restoring this piece. After being fully stripped and primed, I painted her in General Finishes Linen and Walut woodstain for the top and Balcony back. I then gilded the raised carvings in gold to highlight them, this is the front to the secret drawer. The whole piece was then sealed with General Finishes Flat out Top Coat. 

I love working on writing bureau's and despite the condition I got this one in, I was excited to give it a new lease of life. After fully stripping and priming, I used my own blend of General Finishes to create this light grey, and painted the whole exterior in it. I used gold gild to edge the drawers and also gilded the moulding which I added to the fold down. I restained the hardware in gold also to match. The interior was restained in Dark Walnut woodstain and I replaced the battered leather tooled top with a vibrant blue leather writing insert.

A tall and heavy piece, I decided to brighten up this one with one of my custom blends of General Finishes milkpaint. I used Queenstown grey and Linen to create this light grey shade which I used all over the exterior. I the used General Finished pearl effects in Champagne over the drawers and the edges of the glass topped bureau. I added mouldings to the fold down top and also the drawers which were also painted in Pearl Effects. The interior was stained with a rich Walnut stain. 

This was a super large piece to work on but I was thrilled to get my hands on an original Antique French Armoire. After being striped and primed, I created a custom blend light grey using Queenstown Grey and Linen milkpaint. I painted the entire piece in this and then sealed with High Performance Top Coat. The armoire had fabulous carvings throughout which I highlighted in gold gilding along the side columns, the top and central carvings and the glass dividers. 

A tall and impressive secretaire beauty, this lady needed a good deal of work to revive her. After being fully striped and primed, I painted her in Linen milkpaint and sealed with Flat out Top coat. I added mouldings to the top bureau case and also to the fold down bureau panel. These were gold gilded as were the drawer edges and also the glass panel divides. The interior was stained in a rich and dark Walnut stain. 

The height of this piece made a statement of its own so I decided on a classical look for it. I painted it in Coastal blue milkpaint and sealed with High Performance Top Coat to add a beautiful sheen to it. I gilded the top rim in gold and added mouldings to each drawer which were also gilded. Standing on Queen Anne legs, she certainly makes for a impressive piece. 

This petite chest of drawers was fairly plain but I saw the potential in her. I painted the whole piece in Driftwood and sealed with High Performance Top Coat. To add some bling and beauty to her, I added Efex mouldings bead trim all around the top and mouldings to the centre of each drawer. I painted these in Pearl Effects and then  I gilded all of these in gold and re coloured the beautiful drawer pulls in gold to match. 

I wanted to emphasize the size of this fabulous buffet so I decided to go bold with the colour. I painted the entire piece in Tuscan red and used pitch Black glaze effects in the carvings. I then gilded the carvings with gold along the front, sides and the balcony back. The whole piece was then sealed with High Performance Top Coat. She's now big and beautiful in Red. 

A small but mighty beauty. This Petite writing bureau needed some help to bring out her beauty. I used Coastal Blue over the entire exterior, and Oak woodstain on the interior. I sealed the piece with High Performance Top Coat. The beautiful central wood carvings were then gold gilded to enhance their features and tie in with the stunning original handles which I re coloured in rich gold. 

For this lovely Oak writing bureau I decided to use Coastal Blue over the whole piece and seal with High Performance Top Coat to give it an overall deep blue sheen. The interior was restained with a light oak stain to contrast with the exteriors deep blue. This piece was heavily carved on the exterior so it would have been easy to get carried away with the gilding, but I decided to focus only on the central carving running across the centre, and also gild the edging of the pull down. 

When an old piece like this has some fabulous carvings you have to do it justice and highlight them . The original grain on the top and cabinet doors was so beautiful I decided to highlight them by restaining in a dark oak stain. The rest of the piece was painted using Coastal Blue and sealed with High Performance Top Coat. Then the fun bit, I gilded the central carvings and the balcony back in gold, to match the re coloured handles, and added some mouldings, also gilded, to finish the piece. This beautiful old buffet now has its new life. 

The structure of this piece was good but visually dark and outdated. I painted the entire piece in Driftwood milkpaint and then to add some Bling I used gold gilding with a Moroccan trellis stencil over the entire front of all the drawers. I also added a circular Rose moulding to the bureau's drop down and gilded this also. The interior was stained using a Walnut stain. The whole piece was then sealed with High Performance Top Coat. 

This little beauty was begging to be transformed into a more classical piece. I used Lamp Black over the whole piece and finished with High Performance Top Coat. I also added Efex mouldings to the centre of each drawer and gilded in a deep gold to match the drop drawer pulls which I also re coloured to a deep gold, and also gilded the edges of each drawer.