Candace's Chest of Drawers Makeover

What a dreary, rainy day it's been here in Richmond, VA.

Thank goodness my project for the past two days 

has been in a client/neighbor's garage!

Instead of my typical work space: 

My sidewalk.

Candace had this old chest of drawers 

that she wanted to have painted for her daughter's bedroom.

It had lots of issues: 

All the drawer runners had come unglued 

and most had been rigged with duct tape! 

(I'm not naming names here!)

And the back of the piece had separated from the rest.

So before I could paint, 

I had to tackle the structural issues.

I wood glued all the loose pieces….

and glued and carefully nudged the piece back together 

and clamped everything.

I removed all the hardware, 

and cleaned and lightly sanded everything.

 I painted the piece with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - 

50% French Linen/50% Old White.

Here it is after one coat.

 After it dried, 

I painted a second coat.

 And then I left the piece clamped overnight.

 Today, while listening to the pitter patter of the rain on the garage roof,

(and dreaming of having a place like this to work all the time!)

I finished her up!

I distress sanded all the areas,

and waxed with clear wax.

And then I added dark wax in the grooves and along the edges,

to simulate age.

 And here's a little visual trick you can try:

Since we weren't particularly fond of these "flying eagle" pulls,

I painted the back plates in the same paint as the dresser...

 …and then painted the pulls in a teal color: Provence.

Then I added lots of dark wax to build up a patina.

It sort of tricks your eye to only see the pulls.

(You know the old saying:

"Accentuate the positive/eliminate the negative….")

I hate seeing unpainted sides of drawers 

on a painted piece….

so I also painted all the drawer sides and the interiors.

 For inside, I  chose this intense Greek Blue. 

I love this burst of color when you open a drawer!

All the insides and the runners got waxed too,

so the drawers are much easier to open and close now.

I think it looks pretty great.

Too bad it's spending its first gussied-up night

all alone...

in the garage.

;(