Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Hi friends! Every now and then we have the pleasure of refinishing a matching set of furniture, per custom request. Whenever a set comes in, whether it's a coffee table and end table set for a living room, or a matching bedroom set, it's always fun to imagine the room created around the pieces. 

I was definitely day dreaming about this while working on a bedroom set that was requested to be finished similarly to this beauty:

The dear gal who purchased this piece asked if I could use the same ultra distressed technique on her daughter's bedroom set. After she sent pictures of her daughters pieces, I knew it wouldn't be a stretch. The set had great bones and lines already! Here's what I came up with:

How to get this look:

I refinished these pieces in several layers, just as I did the large dresser several weeks ago. I painted them in Old White, by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Then I went over in Layla's Mint by Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. The final coat is a mix of Pure White, (by ASCP), and Grain Sack, (by MMSMP). The mix of milk paint to chalk paint gives a chippy-er finish, drawing the paint up a bit so it flakes off easily. I finished by taking my electric sander with rough 100 grit sandpaper over both pieces and removing as much paint as possible in a few key spots - on the dresser I heavily distressed the frame of the drawer fronts and the protruding side panels. On the headboard, I focused on the protruding middle section, as you can see below.

The most important piece of information I about on the girl who this set will live with is that she is NOT a girly-girl. Her sweet Momma told me that she wanted the white distressed look, but nothing too 'sweet'. I think with the extra distressing, these pieces have an edgier, butt-kicking, 'don't mess with me' kind of look. Do you see it? :)

Love, love seeing side-by-side Before+Afters! These pieces were in great shape before - just needed a bit of character.

But then again, my stance is anything can be improved with a bit of character. ;)

Thank you all for stopping by!

Sleek, glam desk || Before+After

Hi friends! Quick rhetorical question for ya: Would you bring this desk home with you from a thrift store?

It certainly wasn't much to look at when I saw it a month or so ago. In fact, I passed it by twice before removing all the junk stacked on top to take a closer look. And let me tell you, the closer look did NOT help! Peeling contact paper on the drawer fronts, unattached corners of veneer, and what appeared to be a coded treasure map etched into the top surface. So, I took all of this and weighed it against the one pro - the shape! I thought, if I can do something, anything to help this desk, it could be da bomb diggity!

So I painted it glossy white and sprayed the handles gold. Done and done.

It's not every day that a simple coat of white paint impresses me this much, but if there were ever a piece to paint white and be DONE with it, this was the piece! I used Glidden's Trim, Door, Furniture paint in Bright White. I've shared this paint before with this custom three-piece set, but let's just say it again: If you want a high gloss finish that's as easy to achieve as the no-prep chalk paint, THIS is your paint. It's thick as molasses, and adheres to anything. I didn't do any prep on this piece other than cleaning it up a bit, (and I did use strong wood glue to reattach the veneer and peeled off the loose contact paper). But with a paint this thick, it's going to hold everything together anyways. 

When dry, the surface settles to a smooth, glassy finish that is reflective and durable as anything I've seen. I've banged pieces covered in this paint and not a single thing happens. The paint won't chip, peel, or get a single ding.

This piece is now available for sale to the DC metro area
46.5"W x 28.5"H x 23.5"D
$275
Contact chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested!

Check back tomorrow for you know what! ;) Thank you all for stopping by!

Celebrating this one turning 4 today! Happy Birthday to our Mason! You are larger than life and it's a pleasure to be your Momma.

Rustic Farmhouse Buffet ||Before+After||

We've got some fresh meat in the Garage Shop this week! Who's hungry?

I, for one, am ravenous! Since much of my free time, (i.e. my children's afternoon nap), is spent in the garage painting and flipping furniture, the winter gets brutal after I've been away from 'my office' for a couple months straight! It was time to lean into what I know, despite the negative temps and cue of snow storms.

What you're looking at above, (but doesn't pick up so well in pictures), is layers of varying hues of white and green, and lots of chippy charm. Getting this finish was not difficult, but lets start with The Beginning.

Not bad! Not bad at all. And major bonus - this beauty is on hidden casters! So, to begin, (nothing like a rogue 55 degree day to jump start the process), my Shire and I slapped on a first coat of Annie Sloan's Pure White and Old White. (We didn't mix the colors, we just worked side by side, Shire had the Pure White and I had the Old White). Since I knew I'd be layering multiple colors, the first coat didn't matter a single bit.

Oh how I love painting with this one! After a couple coats of white, our piece here was looking perty!

And then it was time to rough it up! I used 220 grit sandpaper in my electric sander to get a good bit of the paint off. I knew I'd be going over this with milk paint which crackles beautifully over smooth, non-porous surfaces. Chalk paint is extremely porous, so it was important to sand down to the wood a good bit so the milk paint would crackle and chip off in those spots.

And the milk paint did not disappoint! I used one of Miss Mustard Seed's newer colors, Layla's Mint. You can see here where it had crackled down to the wood on the side, and with gentle sanding, (I used a medium grit sanding sponge), revealed the white underneath.

The last coat of paint was more white on top of the green. Again, I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White for the final coat.

After 4 coats of paint, it was time to get started on bringing this piece to life! I used fine 220 grit sandpaper again in my electric sander and just lightly went over most of the edges and corner surfaces - just a gentle touch with the sander took the already crackling and peeling paint off beautifully!

I circled a couple spots in the photo below where you can see the layers of green and white. I'm crazy for layered colors on a piece! It just has a way of adding decades of charm!

For the top surface I removed quite a bit more of that final coat of white in order to get down to the green underneath. 

On deck are two sleek and modern looking pieces! A far cry from today's time-worn goodness. We are style mutts here after all... :)

Charming Chippy Dresser, (or buffet or media center)
Available or sale
66" x 31.75" x 20"
$685
Contact chelsea@stylemutthome.com if interested in this or a similar custom order!

Thank you all for stopping by! 

Got any piece which you've shown some TLC? We'd love to see your handiwork! Share them directly to our Facebook page or tag #stylemuttrefinishes on Instagram!