IT'S DONE!!

I can't believe I'm typing those words but ALL the painting is done! It felt so good to cross those items off my "to do" list in my sidebar. The painting was a ton of work with all the trim to do but it was definitely worth it. The house is completely transformed. After we painted the living room, stairway and hallway we kept on going....into the dining room. Once the other rooms were gray, the dining room yellow was screaming. I felt like I was in a McDonalds playland. So now it is the same color as everything else and it all flows.



I'll show it to you soon. My fellow decorating obsessed BFF is coming for a visit on Saturday and I want her to see it in person first. She is that friend, the one who listens to me gab on for hours on end about paint colors and window treatments. Someday I'll show you her home, it's gorgeous!

While I'm being a tease about the living room, I thought I would talk about painting furniture. I transformed a number of pieces for our living room project. Who has the money to go buy all new pieces for a new look? I sure don't. So paint is the thing!

This is my secretary before. It was red and served us well for a number of years but with the new wall paint, it wasn't going to fit in.

First I sanded it down really well......

You can see I was completely lazy and didn't even empty the drawers out first. I do need to clean them out though, yikes. Bits and pieces of everything.

After sanding I wiped it all down and primed and painted. Home centers sell tacky clothes that will pick up all the sanding dust. A damp cloth works just as well IMO.

Next I took the sandpaper to it again. I wanted the red to show through.....

Looking good! But still a little too white for me. I wanted it to look more worn.

Don't forget to sand extra around places that would have gotten a lot of use, like this keyhole...

The cheapest way to antique furniture is to use paint you already have. I've heard glaze works well but it's $13 a quart and I'm cheap..errr...frugal.

Pick out the paint color you want to antique with. For this piece I chose the gray wall paint. Water it down quite a bit and mix it up......

Then take your brush and wipe your paint/water mixture on. Be ready with a cloth because it's going to run!

Immediately take a cloth (or paper towel in my case, I was too lazy to go to the basement for cotton cloths) and wipe it off. Use circular motions to rub it into the crevices of the paint. You can leave your paint mixture on for a few seconds too if you want a darker look. Just don't leave it too long or it will begin to get tacky and that makes it difficult to wipe off properly.

I like to let it settle into the design of the wood if there is one. That makes the details really POP. I'm laughing as I'm typing that. It drives my hubby nuts when designers say that things "pop." Sorry hun, couldn't resist.

And you are all done! The great thing about this is that you can't mess up. If you wipe the paint off and find you want it darker, just repeat the paint/water mixture. If you have antiqued too much, no worries, just go over it again with your base color and try again.

I also want to thank Rue for featuring me on her blog this weekend. She is a sweetheart and if you haven't been to her blog, go now! If you came over from her place, thanks for visiting. It's great to meet new blogging buddies!

I can't wait to show you the room. I have a couple fun projects planned for it so stay tuned!

Have a fantastic Monday everyone!