You know the fable about the shoemaker’s children having no shoes? It’s an allegory of neglecting those closest to oneself. In this case, I was neglecting my own home because I was busy painting custom pieces and pieces to sell for my business. When we decided to put our home on the market to sell, I knew I needed to make some shoes for my kids! Walls were painted, carpets cleaned, furniture moved around, and after the dust settled there were furniture pieces that either no longer coordinated with the new wall color or that I could no longer avoid as they were supposed to have been painted or refinished a long time ago.
I had painted my pantry door several years ago in different shades of green from several different paint lines. I liked it. But it was time to give it a little refresh. With an enlarged skill set and having more paint techniques under my belt, I got to work with my Debi’s Design Diary DIY Paint. I added Aviary and Gypsy Green for additional layers of color. I used Old 57 for some highlighting and then some Weathered Wood for shading and to give it some “grunge”. I finished the entire door in Clear Wax then used a hint of Dark Wax around the medallion. Now I not only like it…I LOVE it!
Next on the list was an extra large and heavy vintage mirror which has hung in my dining room forever. It was the original gold and I had never painted it. My walls were previously painted in Sherwin Williams Blonde which is a warm, gold beige so the gold of the mirror never bothered me. We chose SW Shoji White as our new wall color which is a cooler, grey toned white, so that gold mirror looked dated and just plain awful. I decided to do a copper patina finish on the mirror and I have to say- I am stoked about it and super impressed with myself. I started with a coat of Salty Kiss then added some Farm Fresh for a little variation. Next I dry brushed Pennies From Heaven Copper Patina. Lastly I finished it off with Clear wax and then Dark Wax. That Dark Wax proved to be the magic ingredient. It toned down the “newness” of the copper and really made the mirror look exactly like copper verdigris.
The new wall color also necessitated a change of color on a giant hutch which sits in the eat-in area of my kitchen. The main floor is completely open with the kitchen not being its own room. It’s like loft living…only NOT in a cool converted city factory… and … on a cul-de-sac in a subdivision in a suburb of Indianapolis. The hutch sits on the largest wall on the main floor and helps bridge the kitchen area to the great room. And because of its size, it’s kind of an obvious piece of furniture. This one proved to be a simple fix. I mixed up a batch of watered down DIY Paint in Weathered Wood. I probably mixed about 50/50 water to paint. I brushed on the mixture and just left it. No wiping back. My hutch is an Amish made, rough wood piece and I don’t believe it had any finish on it. The watered down Weathered Wood acted much like a stain and I was able to retain all of the glorious wood grain. For the shading, I just added another layer of the paint wash after the first had dried to strategic areas. I did seal the serving surface with three coats of General Finishes Flat Out Flat topcoat. I was out of DIY Liquid Patina and the DIY Big Top had too much sheen for this project. I decided not to apply a finish to the rest of the piece.
It feels good to have completed projects for my own home and I’ve never been more thankful to be a furniture painter. It’s a bittersweet home sale. One child has flown the nest, the second isn’t far behind. We are downsizing to simplify our lives and experience new adventures. Besides, now I get to paint more pieces of furniture for my new digs!
You can find any of the paint products I used in the shop section.
Happy Painting!
BJ