Tuesday, April 3, 2012

A Balancing Act and a Table Makeover



I didn't do a lot of painting last week and I didn't do a lot of blogging either.  My excuse...I had to clean my house for guests!  I don't know about you, but if one area of my life is organized and productive, another suffers.  I am learning to accept that and just do the best that I can!


If you walk into my house and the living room is clean, be assured that the beds are not made and I probably have piles of laundry on my bedroom floor waiting to be folded and put away.  If my space at the antique mall is fully stocked with freshly painted pieces, then I probably have a sink full of dirty dishes at home and I most likely haven't washed my hair in 3 days! 

So, I just wanted to say to you, my readers and friends that my world is happy, but far from perfect!  If you see a picture of a room in my house and everything looks neat and tidy, know that I was busily tidying up and "staging" just for that photo.  Chances are that the rest of my house is in disarray, and that's okay! 
Now, onto the makeover!  By the way, this was completed 2 weeks ago...before I started cleaning house!


Presently, this table is in my living room but I am working on a set of chairs that I think will join it at the shop next month!  In the meantime, it's a great place to set up Monopoly Golf.  I should have left the game sprawled out on the table top for this photo, instead of tidying up and staging!  I didn't know where this post was going until I sat down to write it!



These close-up shots really exaggerate and demonstrate the effect of the waxing.  I think it's interesting, and helpful to see especially what the dark wax does to the finish.





To achieve this finish, I used short, varied brush strokes instead of the traditional long, back and forth painting method.  This is Annie Sloan's method for an old world paint finish.  I loved watching Annie paint at the workshop I attended.  Of course she makes it look absolutely effortless.  I am still working on getting that perfectly imperfect old patina.  I played with a few variations of Paris Grey and Old White on the table top which gave it almost a marbled look...not what I had in mind exactly, but I like it!




Something that Annie talked about at the workshop was the importance of allowing the wax to cure, specifically on a table top before it is heavily used.  She admitted that her own dining table has her son's signiture imprinted on it because he sat down to sign a paper just a day or two after she had finished waxing it!  I think this is a good tip to keep in mind.  I've had a table cloth on this table and it's really only been used for board games.  The finish is holding up great but I am happy to give it time to fully cure before I take it to the shop and cover it with vintage treasures!


Thank you for your sweet visit!  I hope you are having a fabulous week!  I am back to painting, and my house is no longer clean.  Se la vie!

Best Wishes and Blessings,
Amanda



I will be joining in on these fun parties!
Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
What's it Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
Creative Things Thursday at The Vintage Farmhouse
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Home
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday with Miss Mustard Seed