Vintage Silverware Chest Turned Into Old World Charm
9 Materials
$60
2 Days
Advanced
I saw this pieces and just knew I needed to get it and give it some character and life! Here's how it all played out...
Adorable...but slightly outdated.
First thing I did is dust and vacuum it out then did a good sanding to get all of the old finish off and all of the product that the previous owners may have used. (Pledge, oils, etc.) I must admit, I really dread this part of a refinishing job, but it is very necessary and should not be skipped!
The dreaded, but necessary prep!
Next, I cleaned well with denatured alcohol and a lint free cloth. You can use tee shirt scraps that they sell at Home Depot and Lowes. They are always lint free. Now she was ready for a coat of bonding Primer. I used Stix by Benjamin Moore. This stuff really does stick to everything and anything!
Primer time!
Next, I put the first coat of paint on. I chose a really pretty beige color. It almost looks like a Blush color. Very pretty!
Pretty base coat Blush paint.
Next, I put another coat of the Blush paint on and let it dry for a couple of hours. Now the real fun begins! I had made some Mould appliques for this piece to doll it up a bit. I used Paper Clay and Prima IOD Moulds
I made the appliques and applied them while they were still pliable because I wanted to be able to mold them around the legs and feet. I applied them using some strong Tacky glue. I let the piece sit overnight at this point so that the appliques would be completely dry before I applied any more paint.
I decided that it needed some detailing on the drawers. So I found a stencil in my stencil stash and did a raised stencil using Joint Compound.
I put a coat of the base color on the raised stencil too.
The next day I put on more coat of the base Blush color and let it dry. Then I took a few tablespoons of the base coat color and mixed in a tiny bit of white to lighten the color a bit. I Also added a couple Tablespoons of clear glaze to make it more workable and less opaque. I used a sea sponge and pounced the lighter color over the entire piece. This step was done to create the look of age.
Almost done! I decided to sponge some chocolate brown color over the entire piece to create more of an Old World look and feel. It's hard to see in the pic, but the chocolate brown color just settles into the detail areas and adds a subtle look of age to the entire piece.
Here it is all done!
Now, after all those steps, she's done!
I applied two coats of Valspar clear coat to make sure the custom look would last for years and years!
Finished with drawer pulls!
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Comments
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3 of 896 comments
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Absolutely beautiful!!
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Thank you
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It is beautiful! all the discussion about the drawer pulls is purely personal preference on a beautiful finished piece.
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I love this and can truly appreciate the hard work that this transformation took. I wondered as I noticed the almost finished product, would it look less bulky/busy if you had used circular knobs in the center of drawers instead of the old knobs made darker?!? Just a thought. Otherwise nice piece!
Id love to learn more about how you did the raised stencil. What a beautiful piece!