Repair Painted Dresser

 This beautiful piece of furniture was going to be thrown out, until the owner contacted me to see if I could repair the painted dresser. This piece of furniture has been in her family about 50 years, there are several pieces that were split up between family members and the thought of loosing it was heart breaking. This hand painted, faux painted Bombay style dresser was originally made by the White Fine Furniture Co., purchased in New York City. There is a beautiful oriental scene on the entire front of the dresser and it flows onto the sides. What I loved about this nine draw piece was its size was unobtrusive, the color and the art work was not overwhelming.

So, what happened? Incense oil spilled out and over the top of the faux finish, melting away layers of paint, right down to the wood. The spill measured around two and a half feet,  several areas had quarter size holes in the finish. As you can see, it was pretty bad.

 The first thing I needed to do is to clean off any residue from the dresser top, sand the entire top with 180 grit and then apply a patching compound to level out the damaged areas.

The compound was sanded smooth with 180 grit and leveled off, dust was vacuumed and wiped with a damp cotton cloth. I primed the entire dresser top and when dried, sanded lightly with 220 grit. I then applied two coats of the base paint, which was a latex eggshell finish. After the first coat of paint was dry I went over the the top with 220 grit to knock of any dust particals. To apply the primer and finish coats I used a mohair mini roller with a 3/8 in. nap. This roller nap is fantastic for a quality finish.

         Finally, the top was faux painted to match using a dry brush application to create a subtle wood grain. Then a light splattering was added. The protective finish coats of urethane was applied using the mohair mini roller with a 3/8 in nap. Each coat of urethane was lightly sanded with 220 grit, wiped clean before appling  the last coat of satin finish.

 I was happy that I could save this furniture from being thrown out, but then you know that old saying, one person's trash is another's treasure.

Painting Accent Walls

Painting accents walls does not have to be so complicated, once your focal area wall has been chosen add a splash of color and your on your way to liven up a room.
Choose a color from fabric in the room or use your favorite color and add it to your accent wall. Just by introducing a new color to the area produces a whole new feeling.
The photo to the left shows an accent wall where the color was taken from the bed cover. To bring it up a notch a faux finish was added to give more interest.

The photo on the right shows an accent wall useing the same base color as the surrounding walls, a faux finish was used to accentuate this wall.

Both photos show accent walls which were faux painted using a smooshing paint technique.

The smooshing technique is done by applying a satin finish to the wall, dried fully and then apply a glaze over the satin finish. A large plastic sheet is applied over the glazed area, move your hands over the plastic and then remove the plastic from the wall. By removing the plastic sheet you will
notice many different lines in the glaze producing an instant design pattern to a once solid color wall.

Having another person to help with this project will make things go a lot smoother. Have enough plastic to cover the whole wall. You will need to work fast when applying the glaze. The color glaze should be a few shades darker than the base color. The glaze mixture should be 1 part paint to 3 parts glaze. Use a brush and roller to apply the glaze. Cut in and roll the wall from one end to the other before the glaze sets up. If its a large area the wall can be broken up in sections but leave a wet edge untouched for the following section.

Note: This project could get messy so tape off your base boards and any other moldings, have drop cloths in your work area. When rolling the glaze onto the wall use a 1/2 in nap and keep from overloading the roller.

Marble faux border

     OK! You're master bathroom has been faux painted but something is missing. There are great architectural lines in the room and they need to show. A great way to bring these beautiful lines out is to add a marble faux border. In this picture the marble matches the counter top and brings out the beautiful arch overhead. The glaze on the walls and the faux marble finish are from the same color.

     The rag technique was applied over a light beige eggshell finish with a diluted mixture of a deep chocolate latex paint in glaze. The marble boarder base coat was a full strength deep chocolate latex semi - gloss paint. To achieve a more realistic appearance use several lighter glazes over the base coat. Add veining with the lightest colors and run some darker veining randomly for depth. Apply water base urethane with a gloss finish to give that polished look  and to bring out all the color.

    Boarders can be applied in many areas of a room. Traditionally they were applied along the ceiling or across the room about chair rail height. Design your own boarder and add interesting lines to create some magic. Boarders will make a room look longer, wider or higher depending on were there applied and will also add that special touch you're looking for.