The little table who could...

This poor little table came to me looking like this:

Scratched up, battered and badly varnished.  I looked at her and knew that with a fresh coat of paint and some sanding she could be the little breakfast farm table of someone's dreams.

So I sanded and stained her top.  I love Jacobean by minwax.  Deep, coffee coloured- rich and warm.

I sanded using 40 grit paper, 80 grit paper, 120 grit paper and finally 220 grit paper.  Smooth, but with some of her character lines still showing.  I believe in preserving a bit of the wear and tear that these table tops come to me with.  It's their history- the fine lines that show laughter and weathering the storm.

Then I gave the lower half of the table a few coats of Miss. Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Lucketts green...

A bit of light sanding to bring out the beauty of this old girl...

I finished the top off with a coat of soft wax and hemp oil for the base...

 I can imagine her sitting in a farmhouse kitchen.  Two steaming mugs of coffee on top waiting to be enjoyed...

Perfectly Imperfect

Milk paint vs. Chalk paint...

I've used both types of paint and get asked a lot which I prefer.

It depends on what I'm looking to achieve.  For a washed out, unpredictable finish it's milk paint...

MMS in Ironstone....no bonding agent- but it stuck for the most part...

MMS in Ironstone, no bonding agent...ended up with a very chippy/distressed look...

I love how it just randomly clings to parts of the piece while leaving some rather large areas unfinished. It is a particular look, and not for everyone, so I have not used a lot of this on customer pieces.

Chalk paint is more predictable.  It's easy to use and I can control where the paint is distressed or rubbed off.

Both paints are very user friendly, require no prep work, can be sanded, waxed (dark or light wax) and buffed.

Home again...

I see lots of furniture in my line of work.  Pieces come and pieces go.  I am happy to let them leave my workshop and find a place in someone else's home.

Except for this one.

I painted her with MMS in Ironstone back in November and instantly fell in love with her curvy legs, castors, and dainty hardware.  She had me at 'lion's head pulls'...but I let her go, because I knew that in this business it's just what you gotta do.

So she went to the shop and sat.  And sat, and sat, and sat.  Not really sure why no one looked at her and saw what I did, but I'm kinda glad they didn't- because yesterday...

She came back home.

MMS Ironstone cabinet....

I just finished up this piece in Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint.  The colour is Ironstone (my fav so far)

The top was a mess, so I sanded, hemp oiled, and then clear waxed it....much better!

Perfectly Imperfect