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Armoire Redo

Thursday, January 24, 2013

 I bought this armoire unfinished from Sears in 1989. During the mid to late 80's I was heavily into country decor. I never liked the goose and duck look, however I did like mauve and Williamsburg blue. My living room had floral Bishop sleeve curtains in shades of mauve, cream and Williamsburg blue with lace panels in between and matching floral slipcovers,(whew that's a lot of flowers).Those colors led me to believe it was a good idea to assault the armoire with a mauve pickling stain! What was I thinking? Then I decided on a whim one day to paint it brown, I hated it right away and halfway through aborted that mission, so it sat like that for years! 



This is what I started with, WARNING!!! it's atrocious.


See I told you it was baaaaad.  To get the ugly out of your mind here's another after shot.

please forgive the ugly wall and unfinished baseboards we are prepping to paint and put in new floors


 I bought a can of flat white paint and added about 1/4 cup of whiting. That thickened the paint. The  idea was to give it a chalky texture, like that famous paint,you know the one that's not in my budget LOL, then I added black pigment to the paint until I got the shade of grey of wanted.



My husband cut crown molding for me and we attached it to the top to give the armoire a little more presence.  Then I painted it with my homemade concoction. I used a cheapo paint brush and slap dashed the paint on to give it variation in texture and color. After I painted it I put a coat of clear wax on and while the wax was still wet, I applied another coat of wax that I tinted white with one part pigment to five parts wax. I wiped off the excess wax and after it dried I applied another coat of clear wax and after the wax dried I buffed it lightly.




The white wax softened the gray and it has an aged and sort of whitewashed appearance. This was my first time trying this technique and I'm pretty happy with the results. If you wanted too you could distress it further but I elected to keep it this way, I wanted it simple and just softly worn.



This will be going in my bedroom, another huge undertaking. Thanks for looking. I'll be joining these great parties this week,


                                                 Blue Egg Brown Nest

                                                Debbiedoos

                                               Savvy Southern Style

                                                        My Romantic Home

                                           

                                           

34 comments:

  1. OOhhh.. I luv the look Karen. Now I must remember what you did :-) as I will be wanting to try your technique. Likewise... that other chalk paint is outside of my budget as well.
    Luv it!!! I really do. Can't wait to see it in it's final placement.
    Cheers, Gee

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  2. Purdy purdy! Love it.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

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  3. You and I must be roughly the same age--I had a look in my first house based on Country Living magazines--lots of mauve, sage green, and Williamsburg blue. I added some peach to "mix it up." It looked like Miami Vice came in and did the whole thing. I love the new look of the armoire!

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  4. I'm happy you had another go at the armoire, it looks beautiful and it really is a nice piece. You are really good with mixing your paint and waxing techniques...wow, I wouldn't know where to start. It's going to look gorgeous in your bedroom! :)

    XO,
    Jane

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  5. It turned out great, what a terrific piece. I cracked up when I read mauve, I was also a victim of that color scheme. It is the perfect color now though:)

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  6. Such a great shade of grey, Karen! I remember mauve well. : )

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  7. What a beautiful armoire! I love that you used your own paint and wax concoctions. And the crown molding is the piece de la resistance!

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  8. Thank you Karen!! I have this same armoire and it's on my list of things to paint this year. Mine is still sporting its mid-nineties paint transformation and you can see it here: http://daranger911.blogspot.com/2011/12/these-are-few-of-my-favorite-things.html

    I love the addition of the crown molding to the top of the armoire. I've always thought the original molding was a little nondescript and you've solved that problem! Great transformation!

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  9. Gorgeous piece Karen! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. The armoire turned out very pretty! The crown molding really gives it a nice finish!

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  11. This is just STUNNING !!! You did an amazing JOB !!! I know that you are proud.. I loved it and the color you chose is just awesome.... LOVED IT (DID I SAY LOVE IT ) can you tell : ) YOU ever get tired of it sister ..... I have a spot where it would look amazing....... LOL .. HUGS and blessings for a wonderful week : ) LOVE< Sherry @ The Rusty Pearl ...........

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  12. That piece of furniture has had quite a life already. I think she likes her new, quite look. I know I do!

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  13. Tons better :) I like the soft, worn look. I smiled at the description of country back then. Seemed like most I knew had that look going on, plus the geese. LOL --Susie

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  14. I think it turned out wonderfully-I like the softer look and that crown accent is just enough.
    Have a good week.

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  15. What a beautiful transformation, Karen. I love that color, and the crown molding is the perfect touch.

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  16. Luckily, I escaped the days of ducks and geese but I did have a really bad period in the early 90's of maroon and green! Luckily, I was cured and glad to see you took that beauty into the 21st century!
    Kelly

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  17. By the way, what part of Jersey do you live?
    Kelly

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  18. It is absolutely stunning. I love it. And what a wonderful piece of furniture it has turned out to be.
    You are so fortunate to have this piece! Yay!
    blessings,
    Debbie

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  19. Beautiful transformation! I love the color, the added crown, and the light distressed look!

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  20. You and I are kindred spirits!!! I've done the EXACT same thing in our house to all of our 1980's unfinished furniture that was stained dark Jacbean during my primitive decor years! I still have my blue (sturbridge plaid) sofa, loveseat, and wing chair, but theyr'e now covered with white slipcovers! And within months (fingers crossed) we will be doing our sadly neglected, much-in-need-of-a-makeover bedroom!!!!

    Donna

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  21. I love your armoire. It is funny the stages we go through. I think about things that I got rid of because they were chipped or broken. I wish I knew that one day I would like chipped and shabby.

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  22. I just found your blog-full of fantastic ideas!

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  23. Well you know, ten years from now a LOT of women are going to be tearing their hair out saying to themselves "What WAS I thinking?" with everything in their house painted white including priceless antique wood finishes, faux antlers stuck willy-nilly in powder rooms and such and mostly poorly executed painted Union Jacks on dressers, coffee tables and end tables. Tastes change over time, as do styles, and that's a good thing for us -- to keep growing and adding to the wellspring of who we are as individuals. Thanks for not showing us any photos from your mauve and blue days, LOL! I love the armoire, a great piece that will happily be refinished multiple times as you pass it down and it gets passed down in turn, through the generations.

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  24. What a great transformation, love what you did. I need to keep this in mind, so when I see a piece and wonder how to transform it. The molding was a great idea. May I ask what whiting is, and what kind of wax you used. This is a big piece, can't imagine waxing it numerous times. Thank you.
    Jeannie
    The French Hen's Nest

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  25. Oh, I found you through My Romantic Home
    Jeannie

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  26. What an amazing makeover...your armoire looks fantastic. Thanks for the tips on how to achieve the look as well.

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  27. Well she looks pretty good cleaned up! Wish I could figure out a concoction that would make me look that good! Thanks for sharing your technique on this, it's just beautiful!
    ~ Pendra

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  28. What a huge difference. You must be happy that you never got rid of that piece now. I finally painted an old piece the other day and can't believe I waited so long too. Btw I add sanded grout along with whiting to my latex paint and like the way it grips the wood.

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  29. Thank you for your sweet comment at Chelsea's Garage! I had to pop over and check our Shabby Sweet Cottage :) Love your blog and love this piece! I have never had much interest in refinishing an armoire. Now I'm inspired!

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