As promised...

There are tons of tutorials out there on the web. I kinda figured my own way out all by my lonesome, and I think it's good to get a well rounded view to decide which technique you really want to take before you begin such a task. I by no means think I am the know it all of furniture painting. But I thought anything I have discovered my help you on your own undertakings. I've received quite a few questions regarding all of this, so I thought I would share what I know. The first piece I ever touched was Aiden's nursery chest of drawers, (left) which is now Emmy's, which will soon be a supply holder for moi {with pretty knobs to boot-score.} I have loved painting each piece. It's a TON of work, especially depending on the shape and complexity of your design, but well worth the work and rewarding feeling gained once completed!

So take a deep breath, and repeat after me: painting furniture is an art, not a science. Now say it three times and promise not to drive to my house in the middle of the night and shake me awake in sheer desperation all because you feel betrayed by shoddy directions. Kidding. But a professor in college once told me this: painting is the most forgiving medium. {Personally, I believe that to be Illustrator, command z, anyone? but alas...digression.} What I am trying to say is hang in there. Everything is truly fixable, and for the love of all things beautiful, try not to be so anal.  Be fearless. Fake it if you don't feel it. I've had to teach myself this. I still give myself pep talks on a regular basis. I can pull this off. This will work. Yadda Yadda Happy accidents DO happen. I am going to give a basic outline, and then for sheer entertainment purposes, a brief narration on each technique used with each peice, (all are similar) to give you a clearer idea as to what takes place with a redo.

Just please do me a favor: if you read, leave me a comment and let me know? I will be posting more DIY's and wish to know their usefulness???

a. what you will need: {a general, all encompassing list}

regular paint brush,

sponge brush, (I enjoy these for trim work, so use with your own discression)

A roller brush and accessories if you wish to avoid brush strokes...but I say go for the brush strokes...less stress...

a small painting brush (for more detail work ideally with the finishing glaze and hard to reach angles...)

PLENTY of old rags,

oil based primer

drop cloth,

paint of choice, (I usually go for an eggshell, but again, it depends on the effect you want-high gloss can be magnificent)

varnish of choice {Above pictured is what I use: I like it alot...(brittish accent)}

sand paper (ideally a sander-your new bf) (med to light)

in my case: a long series of naptimes = absolutely essential

*** please note: there are many different types of finishes you can acheive. If you wish to distress with a sander, do not prime. This will sand down to the primer and has the effect of white underwear showing...etc. You get my drift...this is literally a touch and go process depending on each piece.

b. clean off furniture thoroughly, remove all drawers, knobs, any
exposed hardware, etc.

c. prime ** see the pic to the left? Yeah. If it's already been painted, priming = not usually necessary, unless there is a high gloss, in which case, priming will in fact, be necessary. I will come back to this piece.

If you wish to prime, paint and then distress, have a primer mixed in the color of the paint you intend to use. Then there will be no dreaded whiteness showing once sanded. Unless, of course, you WANT whiteness. (SEE? It's all about thinking through to your end result and the process to get there.)

Your paint person at the local hardware store can also be an excellent resource for this...

d. prime again (sometimes this requires two coats.) I have found, that with flea market finds, sometimes the funky old finishes tend to bleed through. This is also a trial and error process. But remember these guys? 

These horrid floral motifs started bleeding through. Each coat. Yeah. Thorn. Flesh.

So eventually I gave up on the primer after about two coats, and started with the paint, which had a better effect on each surface after about three coats of paint, it went away...just sayin...don't freak if it happens like I DID. 

Back to Priming...after its dry, rub your hand over the first coat and see how rough it is. The primer WILL look awful and uneven. (sometimes sanding is NOT required, and I usually skip this. It usually depends on the effect you want: smooth vs. painterly.)

It's just a preference....usually the paint evens out on top of it, but if there are dripping places, where it dried in globs, you will want to sand it down in those places.

Again, it all depends. Just take each step slowly and think it through.

e. Start painting. Use your brush of choice. These brushes
will give you different effects and it all depends on what you want to do. This will usually take about two coats, especially going from dark to light, but it depends on how much primer you used. If you are working on a two tone project, I recommend working from top to bottom, dark to light. Main to trim. In other words, analize the piece and work in an orderly fashion, one increment at a time. I say this, because I tend to get excited and start going all over the place, forgetting to monitor the smaller places and groves for drying globules. Gross.

f. Here comes the fun part. I usually give each coat around 6-8 hours to dry before I do this. Break out the varnish and rags.  Literally, it's wax on, wax off, karate kid style. Apply with one rag, wait a mere second, and then rub it off in random directions with your clean rag,
to give it an aged feel. I recommend doing the entire peice in an even coat. I use small cut up pieces of a tshirt, so that the entire thing doesn't drag through your stain and mess you up.

g. the REALLY fun part: once the piece has an even coat, break out your smaller paint brush. Drizzle on the corners and edges, in any place you like. Break up the lines you create with a rag or towel for a more natural look, as you go. {Otherwise you may acheive a cartoonish look with bold outlines.} Rub on, rub off. Drizzle on, rub off. Play with it until you are satisfied with the results, working in small areas!

h. Let the final glaze dry for around 12-24 hours. Sit back and give yourself a big PAT ON THE BACK! You rock. 

I was personally very pleased with these results, and I hope you will be too, if you just go for it! Rock on with your bad french antiqueish selves. I will have to show you the FINAL result with my eight dollar lamp finds, and vintage hardware when I have it all set up. Stay tuned.

Below are some similar yet slightly different techniques...

Same exact treatment, a little less glaze. Two toned blues. I kept the hardware because it rocked.

lining the drawers with scrapbooking or wrapping paper is always a nice finishing touch.

 Next up: remember this one? Same exact treatment minus one less step: No two tone. One color. Primed. Rubbed finish. Old hardware.

Same here. Anthropologie hardware. Easy on the drizzle.

This is the hutch Jamin and I rescued for Malone's nursery. Just a thought: If you're not comfortable painting just yet, start with fabric on the back like this piece. Or Emerson's future dresser, below, will have matching fabric underneath a custom cut piece of glass for a unique look in her big girl room. (I have it totally planned in my head) I replaced Aiden's dresser drawers with red glass knobs for a punch of color. That might get ya warmed up!

Remember this little desk/chair combo? This, my friends, is an example of a very happy accident. I may eventually cover the top in oil cloth and staple it to the bottom for a seamless feel if I can find the right design, but in the meantime, I am very pleased with my happy accident...

I started out with an ikea table. Turned desk. I painted it the first time, for that old booth I had at the flea market. It was brown and blue. Then I got the bright idea to modge podge the top with wrapping paper. HELLO BUBBLES. the paper was too thin. So I sanded it down, and painted on top. Then sanded it down again. What I recieved was this delightful surprise of layer upon layer of paint, color, paper, and eventually, the bare wood beneath. Simply by revealing different layers, and then re-adding green paint on top, and eventually a protective poly to unify the entire look. Each section of the desk has a different look, and it definitely gives the piece a fun upcycled feel just from playing with it.  VIOLA! a fun desk for moi.

Remember this piece? This is my childhood furniture. I've had it since I was ten. My parents handed it down to us when we were first married. I've had this dresser for twenty years. The hardware was formally shiney brass. I painted the hardware right after we were married, and left the rest for later. It was time to deal with the rest...

So last year, I painted it green. {Same treatment as above.} And added some orange hardware. Glass. Only I made the mistake of assuming my handles were the standard size. So at the last minute, we had to drill holes.

And the hardware was crooked and I was unhappy and we left it, saying I would fix it later. Because {SURPRISE!} I was pregnant again, and tired. It's later.

I hated the avocado green look for our room. Emerson is having her big girl room redo in January, after she turns two. So, in the meantime, I decided to go ahead and redo the dresser since I was already doing the above tables. Two toned blue. Only I stopped at the two toned treatment. I removed all the drawers, and treated them seperately. Then sealed the holes with wood putty, sanded and repainted, because the orange was destroying the entire look for me. Come to my yard sale two weekends from now. The orange hardware will be available there.

And once I painted, I sanded. Lightly. VERY lightly. To reveal the green underneath, which was now quite complimentary. When this is moved to her room, it will have hardware, and glass covered fabric on top, for a very fun frilly girly kinda look. I skipped the stain, which happens to darken the contrast, and simply sealed it with a coat of poly. I absolutely adore the end result, and it kind of makes it special that Emmy will have this in her room! AND that we may get something NEW for us! All this DIY upcycling kinda makes me want to buy something new...

I'll be showing you an entire shot when I'm completely finished with it for her room. This shot doesn't do it justice at all without the hardware or right angle... Speaking of...it's on to hardware...

Which I have developed a complete affinity for.

Much to Jamin's distaste.

If you have any great sources please do share!

dlawless hardware is my favorite for glass. ABSOLUTELY totally affordable. They do have a ten dollar shipping and handling charge for anything under fifty, but you still can't beat these prices. I should be getting comission for all the people I have sent their way. You hear that D Lawless???

The other I do so love? ANTHRO.

I have located the perfect piece for that dresser. And I've written about this one before, but I am SMITTEN. 6 bucks a pop. Too bad I need FIFTEEN.I just may have to find a way to rationalize this horrible plunge of a purchase.

This is my latest little discovery on Etsy. Violette Slippers. Awesome vintage finds.

Hope this little entry helped someone. Feel free to ask me questions, and good luck with your painting endeavors!