Apologies for the delay today readers. I’ve got one or two things going on at the moment and this weekend so I’m leaving you with this post until Monday when we’ll be back as usual. 
I’ve got a little DIY before and after that I’ve been waiting to photograph in the light for ages. I hope you like it!
When we bought our house we also made a donation to charity in exchange for three pieces of furniture. An Edwardian gentlemans wardrobe, a modern bathroom cabinet and this little dresser. It was in a bedroom when we bought it, but I decided it would be great in the kitchen and would provide much needed extra storage. I decided to paint it grey (my planned kitchen shade and general favourite colour) and add some quirky Anthropologie knobs for a fun touch.
I decided to use Annie Sloan paint (in Paris Grey) as I tried it at the Ruby Rhino workshop with Hannah that I attended last summer and it’s famous for requiring no sanding or priming – just slap it on and it covers all manner of sins… more on that in a moment.
First of all I sanded the top and drawer fronts of the dresser with a DeWalt detail sander (thanks to Alice for the recommendation on that!) to remove the brown varnish and reveal the paler underlying wood for a rustic hand-finished look.
Next I taped off the mirror edges and the top panel and started painting.
So onto the paint. I’ll be honest, it was probably the most difficult paint I have ever used to work with! (I would normally choose an eggshell with a coat of primer underneath on a project like this.) It’s tremendously thick and dries extremely fast so it’s very hard not to get brush marks in your work. I later chatted with Hannah and she reminded me you can water it down and I would definitely do the same next time – to the consistency of double cream. After the second coat I ended up sanding a couple of more ridged area’s before applying the wax. You can leave it unwaxed for a chalky finish but I wanted to seal it as the chalk finish tends to scuff. You first smooth the wax on, then buff it off until smooth with a separate cloth.
I waxed the top and drawers too which brought the wood out in a lovely rich sheen, slightly darker than the very pale sanded finish but quite similar.
I chose a selection of woodland inspired knobs from Anthropolgie to continue the rustic theme and voila, a made-over dresser!
Have you got any pieces of furniture you’re thinking of making over or updating? I’m always looking for projects like this to feature, so do send them in to hello@florencefinds.com
Love,
Rebecca
xo
