“Key West Chic”

Whenever I think of Key West, I think of traveling all those miles in an un-air-conditioned Chevrolet with the windows opened and the fresh smell of sea and sand as we all made our way to the small hotel where we would vacation…

The thing about the Florida Keys is the Cuban and Caribbean influences as far as color is concerned…You will see a lot of “Sherbet Colors” as I call them…paler shades of pink, orange, yellow, blue..more pastel in nature.

So, I set out to create a cute piece of furniture that recreated some of those images…First, I wanted a softer paler green…I achieved this by mixing Antibes Green with Pure White.
I then added a small amount of Florence and a tiny bit of English Yellow.  Remember that one of the beautiful things about Annie Sloan Chalk Paints® is the way they blend together so easily giving you hundreds of possible combinations. Get creative!

The piece after a quick cleaning.

1) I took a small chest and wiped it clean of dirt.

Preparing to ‘ModPodge’ the map to the table surface.

The top of the chest after the first round of ModPodge, and trimmed to fit.

2) In order to make the top of the piece unique and thematic, I took some wrapping paper styled as a huge map.  I applied MogPog to the entire surface to help seal the map onto the wooden top. I pressed on the map trying to get out any air bubbles – use a dull, flat surface to push the air bubbles to the edges to get rid of them. While it was drying, I took a razor knife and gently cut it to size removing extra ‘map’ hanging off edges.  After it was dry, I took some watered down mogpog and painted a coat over top to seal the map and it’s edges.

The chest after its Pure White coat.

3) I then painted my chest with Pure White.

The chest painted in the hand mixed green.

4) Then, I painted on two coats of my ‘hand mixed’ light green that I prepared with Antibes Green, Pure White, Florence and a tiny bit of English Yellow.

5) When dry, I applied a layer of Annie Sloan Clear Wax to the entire piece, including the top, and let dry.

A closeup of the results of distressing and a light Pure White coating.

6) I distressed the piece heavily so that it would have that sun bleached, weathered patina.  I lightly painted the hardware with Pure White.

The final piece!

7) I finished it off with another thin coat of wax and then buffed…and, what do you think??  I can definitely see this in a Key West Bed and Breakfast!! Give it a try!

– Cindy

Revive Tired Furniture with a Nautical Look!

As an Interior Designer, one of the most common problems clients face is what to do with outdated furniture that are simply too good to part with.  The finishes are often dulled and dirty from years of use, but the quality of wood and workmanship make it a valuable piece….One such client was Barbara.  Her Henredon dresser had been an big investment 25 years ago and she hated to part with it, but it didn’t match her new Florida home.

The original Henredon dresser.

Her bedroom had been painted a deep royal blue.  She loved Nautical decor and “beachy” looking accessories since she had lived up north most of her life…

My suggestion was to ‘paint’ the dresser with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Barbara was extremely nervous at the prospects of the dresser never being the same again…Would she like the finished piece?  Would it look good in the room?

I supplied Barbara with a small example of the finish to take home and ‘live with’…After a few days of looking at the sample board, she agreed to have the piece painted…

A sample board of the proposed finish to the dresser.

First, I painted the  whole piece Napoleonic Blue.  After it dried, I painted over the whole dresser with Pure White.  I then waxed it with clear wax, and distressed it  with sandpaper.

A closeup of the distressed corner, with the Napoleonic Blue shown under the Pure White.

I diluted some of the white to do a ‘white-wash’ effect on the very unique hardware on the piece. This allows the ‘metal’ finish to show through but freshens up the oxidized bronze hardware. I always try to use the existing hardware as not  all knobs, handles are with created equal and the right size can be hard to find.

Tape off the hardware to for the first pass of Pure White Chalk Paint.

The freshened up hardware.

Hardware that has been ‘white-washed’.

I re-waxed the piece with clear after distressing and buffed it with clean t-shirt cloths.

The finished product, complete with Nautical-themed accessories!

The end result was a Nautical themed dresser that looked amazing against her blue walls…Now, she can enjoy the piece for another 25 years!

If you’re interested in having a piece of furniture you own revived with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, you can reach me at 321-368-5138 or visit our website: http://www.designdrapesanddecor.com/

– Cindy

 

The Diverse Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® Color Range