Glossy turned Primitive: Farmhouse Dresser Transformed

This can't be a "wow" transformation because I didn't take a before picture. I know.....I know.

I picked this up and it had been sprayed (and not well sprayed) in a high gloss white and beige. It was awful. A crime, really.

I was going to repaint it, but Carver Junk Company needed inventory quickly last weekend (because the sale was ROCKIN!). So I took my orbital sander to it, to remove the old finish and repaint it..and ended up LOVING the look! I sanded off all of the paint on top and stained it and then used dark wax on the drawers to give it an even more primitive look.

Perfectly primitive! Someone liked it because it went home the next day!

~Allison

Petite, Primitive Secretary Desk

And when I say "petite", I mean child size or would work well for a nightstand. I've never seen a piece like this!

I picked it up last month while out junkin' one day and fell.in.love with it. I'm not sure why...it was dried out, missing the back and needed lots of glue. And by the time I got it home, it needed more glue because I managed to break off one of the legs getting it into my car :/

This before picture is AFTER my father in law worked magic with glue and added a back

I stained the drawer in Dark Walnut, put some crystal knobs on it and painted it a very distressed white.

This one is for sale at Carver Junk Company. We had such a fun sale this weekend...if you can make it out in April, it's worth your time!

~Allison

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Nightstand in Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint

Well, I finally tried a paint other than latex!

I have so far avoided chalk paint...aside from the DIY recipe with Plaster of Paris. I'm not at all against chalk paint, but I've had good luck with latex paint and considering I get most of my colors from the mis-tint bin for under $5.00, chalk paint seemed pricey.

Fast forward to last month when Carver Junk Company became a dealer of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint. I kept seeing the colors and hearing about the paint workshops they were teaching. And one afternoon, when I was working the February sale, I took the plunge.

I bought the color Trophy, which is a medium gray. I also bought the bonding agent, antiquing wax and wax brush.

This was the perfect piece to try it on, since a chippy look is what I was going for. Great bones, but look at that orange finish!

I mixed up the paint without the bonding agent. I'd heard tips to mix until wet and then let sit for 10-15 min and mix more. That seemed to work well.

I love that this paint goes on so smoothly and only needed 2 coats. Had I been going for a more polished looked, I would have used 3 coats. After sanding and distressing, I used a coat of clear wax (I used Minwax because that's what I had on hand) to protect the finish.

Here is the end result:

Overall, I liked the Milk Paint. It's a totally different process than latex paint. With latex, I almost always use a foam roller. Milk paint needs a brush. With latex, I stir once and with MMS milk paint, you need to keep stirring to maintain color consistency.

You can't beat the colors and the way it chips/flakes off to give a naturally worn look. I am looking forward to playing around with it again and again to see what I need to change about how I mix, etc.

If you'd like to try MMS Milk Paint, you can't go wrong using Carver Junk Company. They will ship to you and can answer any questions as they are certified dealers!! And if you are local, they offer MMS Paint classes!

This piece will be for sale THIS weekend at the CJC March sale.

~Allison

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French Drexel Desk in Blue

I found this gorgeous desk recently on an unexpected pick with my friend Kirsten from White Butterfly Furniture. It was probably about -10 and we were FROZEN, but it didn't stop us from getting a few great deals!

Now, I realize that this desk was in great condition. I did hesitate on if I should paint it or not, but ultimately, I decided it needed a little update. Just a little blue paint is all! Normally, I shy away from bolder colors, but I've done a lot of white and gray pieces recently, so I needed something different.

So would you have painted it or left as is?

~Allison

It's Overflowing
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Ugliest Before Picture in Fab Rehab History

I happened upon this dresser at Goodwill a few weeks ago. It definitely wasn't love at first sight, but for $9, I figured I could do something with it.

Solid pressed wood. Very heavy and sturdy...but not.cute.

My first instinct was to white wash and put jute on the original pulls. But that failed.

Second go around, I used a gray wash and bought pulls from Target. The pulls didn't match up with the holes and I'm too lazy to drill new holes for a $9 dresser.

I searched for 2 3/4" pulls and found the perfect bin pulls at Designer Knobs and Pulls. Very reasonably priced too and quick shipping!

How's this for a lack of staging!

So the moral of this story, is this: if you don't like your piece the first time, just put more stuff on it. Eventually you will love, or at least like enough to sell, the finished product. Moral #2 is, the hardware can make or break a piece!

I'm averaging about 1 blog post per month...hoping to triple that average if the snow ever melts here in MN! Thanks for sticking with me!

~Allison

www.missmustardseed.com
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