I haven’t done one of these in a while but as I was preparing to share with you it occurred to me that it might be fun to create a gallery of furniture makeovers that I’ve done for clients – The Client Files. So this will be my first official one, a china cabinet makeover I recently completed for a client.
According to my client her dining room felt outdated and mismatched. She wanted to update and also unify all of her pieces.
A while back she had swapped out the original hardware just to give it a little update until she could decide what she wanted to do with it. In the end, I will have done 3 pieces for her new dining room but we started with a newly updated china cabinet.
We chose a color she has throughout her home, Oyster Bay by Sherwin Williams. In certain circumstances it reads green, like on her china cabinet. But on her walls it pulls gray.
We changed out the hardware. The bottom doors’ hardware match her kitchen cabinets. We added some cup pulls in a matching bronze to each of the drawers.
I absolutely adore cup pulls!
The new paint color brightened up her piece and the new hardware gave it a classic, timeless appeal.
A little distressing adds a whole lot of character.
The day she came to pick up her new piece she emailed me later on to tell me that she finally had furniture she could be proud of and she reminded me all over again why I love what I do.
I look forward to sharing the rest of her pieces as I complete them and maybe we can even convince her to share her new gorgeous dining room once it’s all complete.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the first official, The Client Files. I’ve added all of my past client furniture revivals and will continue to add all future ones to the The Client Files gallery to make them easy to find and view all in one place. I hope you’ll find some inspiration there for your own pieces or if you’re interested in a southern revivals revival of your own, you will find my contact information at the top right corner of my blog.
Wow! What an amazing transformation! Looks so pretty now.
Thanks so much Kerry!
I’m assuming you sanded and primed the piece. I’m in the midst of having to repaint my son’s twin bed. I painted his room green and the red beds clash horribly. I want to paint them white and planned to use primer and Sherwin Williams paint. However, I hear so much about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint that I’m torn. I’d love to avoid the sanding and priming but I’ve never used chalk paint and I’m not sure the finish will be what I’m looking for. Any thoughts?
Hi Laurel,
I did not prime the piece. I typically never do that. I do sand a little if a piece is extra shiny but on with a very fine grit to knock off the shine. I would suggest to you, particularly if you’re new to furniture painting, to use a paint specifically designed for painting furniture. That’s typically your safest and easiest bet. I totally understand your being hesitant to use the chalk paint. Keep in mind thought that when using chalk paint the finish comes from the sealant (i.e. wax) not the paint. However, the paints I’m loving these days are DecoArt’s Americana Chalky Finish Paint – available at Home Depot and Michaels. Despite its name you get a silky smooth finish and if you wanted to a sheen you could add that with one of their varnishes. The other paint I’d recommend is Fusion Mineral Paint. It doesn’t require any sealant, as it is built into the paint, and you get the kind of finish I am assuming you are after. It may be trickier to get locally but you can order it online. Hope that helps!
Thanks for your advice. I’m in the midst of using the Annie Sloan chalk paint and I’m having a tough time. It’s too thick and I’m seeing lots of brush marks. Not what I had in mind. I’m going to try to thin it a little with water and use a different brush. It’s also “pulling” as I paint my second coat. I let the first coat dry 2 hours so I’m surprised it’s doing this. I may have to sand a few spots as well that have drip marks. I’m also going to try to assemble the bed instead of having it laying flat where I can only get to one side. Any advice would be appreciated.
Annie Sloan paint is designed to be thick and accentuate brush strokes to mimic European painted pieces where brush strokes were part of the appeal. But of course you don’t always want that, or in your case, not at all. Not all chalk style paints are like this. Think of ASCP as a paint + primer. You are doing the right thing by diluting it with water. I typically do that with my fist and second coats when working with this paint. The right brush makes a world of difference too. It is “pulling” because the paint is so heavy\thick. Try to continue to dilute and maybe use a little less paint, especially if you are having problems with drips. Finally, don’t be afraid to go back and sand down the piece to get a smooth finish. Not a heavy sand, mind you. Just enough that your brush strokes and any drips are at least minimized. I know it’s easy for me to say because I’m not currently putting in the hard work but remember, it’s just paint. You can always work with until you get it just how you want it. 😉