French Provincial Chest of Drawers

I found a beautiful French Provincial Chest of Drawers on craiglist. (see the saga here)

I just LOVE the lines and curves and feminine feel of these pieces. I wanted an antique, old world sort of feel to this piece – as if it had been painted and faded, and painted again and aged again – but still keeping the gold in places as if  the paint had come off revealing the gold underneath. So let me know what you think….did I accomplish my goal??

 Here is the before picture:

(not the best picture- I took it from the craigslist ad on my phone)

 

And here are the AFTER:

Ta daaaa!!!

xoxo

Love me some French Provincial!

If you don’t know by now that I am a furniture junkie….this post may clear it up….I have been on the hunt for fabulous pieces and while at thrift the other day saw a French Provincial  nightstand sitting in the back all by it’s lonesome…so with all my Thrift Store charm I asked why it wasn’t on the floor and if I could purchase it…well, it wasn’t meant to be…it had been sold…to someone else…and wasn’t waiting all alone in the back, it had friends that had already gone to their new home but there was no room for the nightstand so they were on their way back to get her….FOOEY!!! (also-if you know me-that is NOT what I said….lol)

So I kept my eyes out for pretty French looking pieces to no avail….UNTIL…I came across a craigslist ad that offered three pieces….chest of drawers, nightstand and dresser….uh….SOLD!!! I roped hubby into going with me in case of axe murder, etc….plus…he has the truck….we went and got the furniture in absolutely beautiful condition but it was the 1960’s look of white and gold….which I like, but we could find something just as wonderful to give the beauties new life.

I decided on colors and did the dresser and nightstand the same, and went a little different on the chest of drawers. (which deserves her own post) Here are the before pictures:

And here are the AFTER:

Ta daaaa!!!

xoxo

Absent from blogging– but busy creating….

Well, it’s been a while since I have last posted – but not because I haven’t been creating like mad, but because I have been too busy to post step by step pics along the way….

I first was working on a great friend’s cabinets – They weren’t bad cabinets…just old…oak…I didn’t take before pictures because, honestly, I was somewhat overwhelmed with the project and thought I’d better get started right away. The cabinets looked something like these:

But…worse…lol.

My task was 3 bathrooms, a credenza-ish sort of thing and a bar….easy enough…shabby chic here we come!! I convinced said good friend to do dark reclaim in the bigger bathrooms to bring some contrast in to which she agreed…although, bad for us….the dark brown didn’t photograph well, so you will just have to take my word that they are fabulous….

In order to paint the cabinets I used a primer, then a primer and paint in one – then distressed – then the water based poly.

Anyhow, here are the AFTER pictures only…and only of the white distressed….I might also add, they were taken on my camera phone...so not the best quality, but I am a proud momma, non the less.....happy painting!!!