Decorating my own home has been somewhat of a struggle for me. It’s taken me a really long time to find my own style.
I’m notorious for buying and returning at least 3 or 4 different sets of curtains before I finally buy one I still like when I get it home. I love the styles in catalogs like Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Restoration Hardware, but I can’t afford to decorate my whole house from those stores. I’m a SAHM and my husband is a firefighter and we just don’t have that kind of cash. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to spend that kind of cash on furniture even if I did have it. So I started shopping thrift stores and Craigslist and antique shops and the coolest thing happened. I started to figure out what my style is. Painting and transforming an existing piece of furniture (or lamp, frame, shelf, etc) really helps to hone in on exactly what you’re envisioning for your home. Instead of forcing something store bought to work, you’re creating pieces that fit your vision exactly. And bonus, it’s a heck of a lot cheaper, not to mention fun!
This table is one of the pieces I recently made over for my own home. I found it at a local second-hand store for $20. The existing paint job had a bit of a country vibe going on, but the size was perfect to use as an end table in my living room.
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I decided to paint it with Annie Sloan’s duck egg blue. The top was stained and had a weird oily residue so I sanded it down to bare wood before painting (this is my favorite sander). The body and legs were fine so I just painted right over the existing paint. I distressed it with a fine grit sanding block after painting.
I sealed it with clear wax, then dark waxed the entire piece. I’m not typically a heavy dark-waxer but I wanted this piece to really look distressed and worn and even a little farmhouse-y and dirty. The new knobs are from Hobby Lobby. (Note: here’s a link to the knob on Amazon so you can see exactly which one it is, but don’t buy it from Amazon. It’s way cheaper at Hobby Lobby).
I actually got a little too carried away with the dark wax and had to remove some. You can usually rub clear wax onto dark wax to erase some of it, but the whole piece was so dark that I just went over it with a fine grit sander to remove some of the dark wax. I gave it another coat of clear wax the next day to seal it.
I’m on the hunt for an end table for the other side of the couch now. Something similar in size, and I plan to paint it the same so even though the tables will be different styles they’ll still be somewhat similar and will hopefully look cohesive. That’s my plan anyway :).
What projects are you working on this week? Hope you’re doing well!
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Love this Amy! That color is to die for! Since you asked, I’m hoping to get started on a farmhouse table for our home this week. I’ve enjoyed seeing you on Periscope 😉
Thank you so much Rebekah! I can’t wait to see your farmhouse table when you’re done. You’ve been doing so many cool projects for your home. I’m enjoying seeing you on Periscope as well! It’s so cool to get to interact a bit and hear voices etc, of bloggers we’ve been chatting with online for so long.
Girl…we love this end table! The color is beautiful and the finish looks great! We had a coffee table one time that we added too much dark wax…way no fun! Marvelous job!
Thank you! It’s easy to get carried away with the dark wax, isn’t it?!
Love this cabinet transformation! Somehow pieces for me seem to end up at the bottom of my to-do list. I really need to change that!
Thank you, Marcia! And I agree, projects for my own home always end up last. I don’t know how that happened but I also need to change it :).
I ADORE the final result, it looks great & the color is everything! PS your blog is amazing (I love the idea of a family run blog…ours is written by myself & my two amazing cousins). What a great way to bond with each other & also to share your projects with the world!
Thanks so much, Sam! It’s a lot of fun to have a project you can work on together with your family, isn’t it? My mom doesn’t post on the blog a lot but she does tons of work behind the scenes. Thanks so much for stopping by. I really appreciate your comment!
I am head over heels in LOVE with this piece Amy! The dark wax adds SO much character!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how this turned out!!!
Thanks, Kristi!
It’s beautiful, Amy!! Love the duck egg blue and the waxing gives the perfect distressed look! I found an end table for our living room last week too so I started working on it! Hope to share it soon 🙂
Thanks Kendra! Can’t wait to see your table!
Amy! This little cupboard turned out so pretty! I love the color! I am stopping by to invite you to share this project (and others hopefully) over on my blog! I am hosting my first ever linky party exclusive to furniture this coming Thursday August 6 starting at 6:00pm (MST). I would be honored if you would join in!
Smiles!
Terry
Ooohhhh a link party just for furniture!? Sounds like fun! I’ve already added your party to the link party list on my blog and I’ll be sure to stop by. Thanks so much for the invite :).
Hi! This is a great project, and I am glad I ran across it. I am looking for a good mint green color, and the duck-egg blue color you used shows up a bit mint green on my monitor. Is it more blue or green in real life? Thanks for the waxing details you offered. I’ve never used chalk paint, and I’d like to give it a try on a new piece we just came home with from our neighbor’s trash… 🙂
Hey Kelli! Duck egg is a funny color. I do think it’s more blue than green in real life, but it definitely pulls both colors. I think the dark wax gives it a greener look, but I wouldn’t call it a mint green. If you have a CeCe Caldwell retailer near you I’m almost positive she has a minty green color. I was just browsing her paint selection last week and remember seeing it but unfortunately I don’t remember the name. Tomorrow when I have some good natural light I can snap a pic of the duck egg blue paint in the can and email it to you so you’ll have a better idea of the exact color.
p.s. I love that you saved a piece from the trash! Best of luck with your first project and feel free to message me if you have questions! ~Amy
I’m not sure if we have a CeCe Caldwell dealer around here or not. I’d have to check. Almost everything we use is from Ace…whether it’s Benjamin Moore, spray paint, or chalk paint. I’m having a hard time finding the perfect fresh mint green color. Thanks so much for your help!
Love the transformation Amy! I have to admit, dark wax intimidates me a bit, good to know there’s a trick to getting it off!
Thank you, Chandra! Dark wax is a little tricky to work with. You can also mix clear wax with dark wax and it makes it a little easier to use. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Amy –
I still can’t get over how beautiful this table is. You’re like me, its takes a while to find each piece, but the wait it always worth it. Aside from that, I think you have amazing style! You do such amazing work! Thank you for sharing at Dream. Create. Inspire. Link!
I finally got up the nerve to paint a cabinet I have in my foyer and try chalk paint. I put my first coat of duck egg blue on it last night and was so excited to see your post this morning. I was debating on using a little of the dark wax and you helped make my decision. Your table looks awesome! I am off to put on my second coat of paint!
Thanks so much, Judy! Dark wax looks fantastic on duck egg. Best of luck with your project!!
The table came out great! I am in the process of turning an old buffet into a bar cabinet and want to know why did you choose to use chalk paint versus acrylic paint?
Hi Denise! Chalk paint is just a personal preference. I love that it’s easy to work with, adheres to most surfaces with little to no priming, distresses beautifully, dries super fast, has very little odor, and cleans up easily. Acrylic paint has a lot of the same qualities and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. You’ll get fantastic results with either. Good luck with your project! Such a cool idea to turn it into a bar cart!
I love the duck egg with the dark wax Amy! I know it can be a little tricky with the dark wax but truly it looks so good. It took me forever to find my style but I feel like I’m finally settling in now. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us. Hugs, CoCo
Thank you so much, CoCo! That dark wax is definitely tricky stuff but I just love the look of it :).
You’ve done a lot of amazing furniture projects, but this is probably my favorite ever. There is something about the color and the dark wax combined with the beautiful details of the piece that made me fall in love the moment I saw it. And for what its worth, I think you have a great style even if you do return things and shop thrift stores over the expensive places. That makes your style even better because you take the time to experiment with what you like and you make it custom for your home.
Jamie, thank you so much! This is quite possibly the nicest comment ever left on my blog. You seriously just made my day. xoxo
I LOVE what you did to this cabinet. And I can so relate with the joy of making something to perfectly suit your style. Now I really prefer something that needs work, so I can make it perfect, the chances of finding that in a store are slim to none (partly because I live in Alaska and we have next to no selection, all those beautiful expensive stores you mentioned don’t exist, nor do they ship here for large items, —ok, having a little pity party here). There is so much joy in creating and you did a beautiful job of re-inventing the very 90s country cabinet. 🙂
My son saw this as I was browsing through and he is in LOVE. He is always drawing old ships like this. I think this will be inspiration for his next big boy dresser. Beautiful job!!!!
Ok, I meant to leave that last comment on the Ship Silhouette Chest of Drawers. My apologies.
I totally knew which post you meant this comment for! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such sweet comments, Cheryl!
Thank you for joining in this week on my Broken Made Beautiful furniture party! I love what you do and I would love for you to come again to share with us and inspire us with your talents :0)!
Smiles!
Terry
Great job! I love the color you chose and the dark wax just “makes” it. I totally feel like I am still trying to find my style. I love so many styles that its hard to just choose one. I mix and match, buy and sell (thrift stores and yard sales too 🙂 ) until I am happy… At least for the moment. 🙂
Thanks Misty! And I’m the same way…I don’t like one specific style so it does make it a little harder to make decisions! I’m convinced I’m the world’s slowest decorator.
I was having trouble with the site earlier and I’m not sure if my comment made it through. If it did, delete this one! I just wanted to let you know how much I loved this piece and the color is gorgeous. I was thinking of you a few weeks ago when I stopped into a Annie Sloan Dealer and I couldn’t resist! I am all set to paint my coffee table and you ladies have really inspired me.
Thanks so much, Rachel! Your first comment did not come through. I was having multiple hacking attempts and I amped up the security on my blog for a bit until it calmed down. I inadvertently put my blog into read only mode so no one could comment. Everything is back to normal now and thank you for stopping back! I can’t wait to see what you do with your paint!