This truly was an ugly duckling but the wood was solid. I loved the uniqueness of this piece and the different angles and curves that allowed me to have some artistic freedom. After giving it a good cleaning, I tried to strip the surface using CitriStrip. After two attempts, it was clear that the nasty finish wasn't going to budge. There were layers and layers of gunk on this top.
I allowed the surface to completely dry then began sanding with my orbital sander. I sanded down the top two flat surfaces all the way to bare wood. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Napoleonic Blue and Burgundy to make a stain. As you can see, it is purple. Everyone thought I was a bit crazy but I continued. To darken it to a Mahogany rich color, I used Annie Sloan Dark Wax and General Finishes Glaze Effects in Van Dyke Brown. Since the wood was bare, these acted as a stain on top of the purple. This is what really made the color pop. The body was painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre and Annie Sloan Clear Wax sealed the paint. Next, it was time to age this piece. General Finishes Glaze Effects in Van Dyke Brown was used all over and the details began to come to life. The doors and the nooks and crannies just look amazing! The inside of the drawers (ALL 16 of them:) were painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Coco then sealed with General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Flat. Thank goodness the topcoat is so easy to use. That was a lot of drawers. I love mixing the old with the new. As the final touch, I filled in old hardware holes in preparation for new hardware. Now this piece has beauty and purpose. I love when that happens!
