My first tin of 'seagull grey' had arrived. Actually my first ever purchase from the General Finishes range. And this is what I made with it...one of my all time favourite projects.
This tallboy really was a labour of love. Collected from a house clearance it was covered in a sticky plastic film - not quite laminate not quite stickyback plastic. Whatever it was, I still remember trying to peel & yank it off. Watching in horror as tiny flecks of wood came with it. Ironing it. Wetting it. Scraping it. Oh my, it went on forever. But once it was removed and sanded, wow - this was in great shape. Lovely lines and those two drawers at the top were simply crying out for something special.
I painted the main body in 'seagull grey' - jaw on the floor as it was the smoothest paint I had ever used. It almost covered in one coat. I remember doing a little dance and calling my mum! I could see no brush marks - this was truly a revelation. The paint was then sealed with the High Performance Top Coat in flat finish. Another stonking revelation. I jumped out of bed the next morning and couldn't believe how amazing the dried finish was.
Grey and coral are such wonderful colours together, and I was using Frog Tape like a maniac to make stripes & all sorts of patterns at the time. Once I had measured the depth of the drawers I realised I could create this geometric effect, so I set to work. Layering on the seagull grey first, then the pale pink, the bright orange and the darker GF 'queenstown grey' was last (darkened with a little charcoal colour). I just used mini tester pots for the colours and then sealed the drawer fronts with more layers of flat top coat.
The fronts of the lower drawers were painted with a slightly lightened 'queenstown grey' and the original handles were removed, cleaned and resprayed in a matt gold finish. It was a total triumph and I still think about it to this day. It must have been love - when I delivered it I carried it up six flights of stairs!
