Iris Beauty ~ Hand Stained Makeover

M&M Embellishments
by M&M Embellishments
I came across a Queen Anne accent table on Craig's List for a $25. I was expecting the piece to be a veneer and would probably paint and use for one of my stained art pieces.
But when I got the piece home, I realized it was solid wood, which made me want to keep the stain look rather than paint her.
I stripped it down and got to work on my staining technique of a bearded iris.
At this point, I was beyond frustrated! I was having such a difficult time "seeing" the beautiful iris as I stained. I was so close to scrapping it and sanding it back down. I walked away from it for a little bit and when I went back, things started to come to light for me.
At this stage I struggled with whether to paint, which would modernize the piece some or keep with a stained look. Most of the others' votes were for painting,because the iris would pop off the background better.


HOWEVER, "I" knew I could make it "pop" with stain! I'm a sucker for cherry and mahogany and the Queen Anne style, so I opted for staining the piece with some deep shading...


And she turned out beautifully!
I added some fun color to the little drawer with my Velvet Finishes paints. I mixed Handsome and Eloquent to come up with this lavender-ish hue to complement the iris.
I'm so glad I opted for the stain over paint. I used General Finishes gel stain to get this beautiful, rich color. And sealed it with layers of Varathane.
To see more of my unique, stained furniture art, please take a moment to check out my website! Thanks for looking!
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  • Donna Donna on Aug 21, 2016
    I saw this a few days ago, and can't get it out of my mind! Do you use a paint brush with stain to get the dark outline? After that, when using stain are you using a brush, how do you get so much control of the stain? I usually use a rag to stain wood so I'm confused how this is done. AND BTW - thanks for the info on the velvet paints. Unfortunately, I need just a small amount so a quart would last me for several lifetimes!
  • Deb Deb on Aug 22, 2016
    What do you use to strip the piece & how did you match the parts of the table top that weren't part of the iris so perfectly with the rest of the table? I have a table that looks very similar to yours that I inherited from my Mom when she downsized. It's got some dings & scratches, so I'd like to refinish the top but worry that it won't match the rest. Thanks for any guidance you can provide.
  • Anita Anita on Sep 25, 2016
    Such Beautiful work. I am not quite so artistic. Did you draw the iris by hand? Or is there some other way to get such a nice print?
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