Paris Grey Etagere {China Cabinet}

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Cottage in the Oaks | The Cottage Table Experience

I shared last week about the wonderful antique etagere that we found during our barn treasure hunt…..I thought I would share the finished project!

Here’s how we found her…inside the barn at this wonderful place…..

You can check out some more before pictures here.

Painted with Paris Grey Chalk Paint…..

And filled with white dishes……

I did not use any wax on this piece, but I did slightly rough it up a bit.

We are loving it! It looks perfect in the dining room, and has opened up so much cabinet space in the kitchen when we took all the white dishes out of the cabinets.

Now…you know what I’m thinking.

Yep.

You’ve got it.

I want to paint the walls.

I have some fun ideas……

This may or may not be a form of insanity.

I’ve always thought sanity was really overrated, anyway.

What are you up to?

Sharing with: Tip Junkie, Between Naps on the Porch, Thrifty Decor Chick, Funky Junk Interiors, DIY Showoff, Home Stories A to Z, Serenity Now, Savvy Southern Style, My Romantic Home, Jennifer Rizzo

French Linen Side Table Redo

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Cottage in the Oaks | The Cottage Table Experience

We’ve had this little side table by our front door for a while now….but it was looking sad. It needed some TLC……so a few weeks ago, it got some!

Here it is before I began….

Here it is finished in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, French Linen with Old White accents and a dark wax finish. I’m loving it.

It sits by the front door still….and holds some fun little special things……little shoes that made it through Ellis Island in the 1800’s, the original, working movie script of Lord of the Rings, etc.

I don’t think it looks quite as forlorn now. It even brightens up that spot a bit more.

Have you redone any furniture in your home lately? It is the quickest, easiest, and least expensive way to completely change a room.

Be sure to come back tomorrow…….we are having a fabulous Moen giveaway! Shall I say…Oil Rubbed Bronze, anyone!!!??????

Blessings~

Sharing with: Tip Junkie, Between Naps on the Porch, Thrifty Decor Chick, Funky Junk Interiors, DIY Showoff, Home Stories A to Z, a.k.a. Design, Serenity Now, Savvy Southern Style, My Romantic Home, Jennifer Rizzo, Miss Mustard Seed

Louis Blue Shelves….

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Cottage in the Oaks | The Cottage Table Experience

My youngest daughter is 12 and she is constantly designing. When our children turn 13 they get to totally re-do their rooms. She has a 3 ring binder full of product cutouts, colors, samples, ideas, price comparisons, etc. that she continually updates…getting ready for the big room re-do! She can’t wait.

She found these poor little chipboard shelves in our attic….and hauled them down. She had an idea that she wanted to give them an overhaul.

They were ugly. She’s really good at seeing past that. She found my Louis Blue ASCP and went to work. She painted them with one coat and then distressed them.

I think they turned out great…..and she likes these shelves much better than the ones she had. She calls them her ‘interim shelves’ while she’s waiting to give her whole room an overhaul. 🙂 ha!

Have you found anything in the attic or by the side of the road and given it an overhaul with paint before? {You don’t even need to answer that, Bliss, I’d pick you to be my dumpster-diving buddy! ;)}

Happy ~~Monday~~ Tuesday~

Country Grey Table and Chair {& College Visits}

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Cottage in the Oaks | The Cottage Table Experience

OK…so we visited and spent the day yesterday at another college. The oldest public university in the U.S.

So. much. history. Oh, how I love history!

By the time they got to showing and telling us about the two residence halls that were built in the 1700’s, and still have their original hardwoods, crown molding, high ceilings, and wainscoting…..I was deciding what I would like to major in. I had it narrowed down to 2-3 choices when my son elbowed me and reminded me that we were there for him…not me!

Killjoy.

So, I snapped out of it…..but had a little trouble the rest of the day.

Can you imagine? A DORM ROOM with hardwoods from 1793, crown molding, wainscoting, and high ceilings!!!???? And the original doors!???? Completely restored and refinished. Be still my heart…..I was ready to go back to school. Then I heard the word thesis, deadlines, research…….it was the only thing that caused me to change my mind.

Now that I’ve semi got my wits about me I thought I’d show you a few little projects.

{I’m sorry it’s not 1793 hardwoods, wainscoting, high ceilings, and crown molding. In. a. dorm. room.}

Here are two little pieces of furniture that I wanted to redo for our new master bath……a small vanity chair and 1/2 table….here they are before:

Here they are painted with ASCP in Country Grey….without any finish applied. Just the paint:

Here they are in the bathroom after finishing them with ASCP dark wax:

One of the lovely ladies from my small group Bible study sent me these pics of her project last week….and she had used Country Grey, too. I think she did a fabulous job and her desk turned out great! {Tara also finished her vintage desk with dark wax.}

Well, I’m still all discombobulated ……. I might need a cold rag for my forehead. Do you think they would let me move in and just be, maybe, like the resident artist/creative or something…without all the thesis and grades and exams, etc.?

Maybe if I got enough letters of recommendation…..

Blessings~

Paris Grey Mirror

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Cottage in the Oaks | The Cottage Table Experience

Still finishing up the details of our master bath redo….can’t wait to be able to have the completed finished project! Woohoo!

I thought I would share this great antique mirror that actually came with our cottage when we bought it….it was in the master bath. It was wood….a dark, mahogany colored finish. It was not in good shape, so we painted it gold to go with the direction we were taking in the master bath at that time. We loved the mirror, though….it is over 100 years old and has so much chippy character.

For our new master bath I painted it with chalk paint in Paris Grey, and then used the dark wax as finish. I love it!

Here is the best way to prepare mirrors for painting in my opinion….

I use whatever computer paper I have on hand and tear it into strips…and then slide it underneath the frame all the way around. {Be sure to tape it….or it will slide and make a mess! Not that that it has ever happened to me, ya know, I was just kinda suggesting it just in case…….}

I love Annie Sloan Chalk Paint! This entire project took me 20 minutes. I painted the mirror with Paris Grey, it dried in 10 minutes, I put the dark wax finish on it, and was done!

Here’s a few more pics….not great ones, the bath is not quite finished and the lighting was low…..but it will give you the idea.

What fun projects are you guys up to this week? My friend just did a vintage desk re-do with ASCP and I’m going to share it with a couple of the small pieces of furniture that I did in the same color soon….she did a great job!