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Shabby Chic (Before & After)

My friend, Melissa, has a gorgeous living room which she’s just redone.  Light, grey green walls with beautiful trim, a neutral sectional paired with a lovely rug.  She also has some antique furniture which has been passed down in her family – absolutely beautiful pieces I think from her great grandmother.  She just felt her coffee table didn’t fit her new style:

Coffee Table (Before)

As you can see, it was a fantastic table.  Very heavy and solid with lovely turned legs, but it just didn’t match her current room.  She asked if I could help.  We decided on ASCP Country Grey under Duck Egg Blue with some distressing and clear and dark wax.

This is how the table came out:
Duck Egg Blue Coffee Table (After)
I have some other ‘after’ photos at the end of the post in Melissa’s living room (the coffee table fits much better in there – it looked huge in my kitchen / studio).
Many of you have been asking for some chalk paint / painting advice.  So I’m going to do a bit of a step by step for this one, but will also write a more detailed posts on the paint and different applications.  So I first started by washing down the furniture with mineral spirits, denatured alcohol and warm water.  It just gets anything off – pledge build up, dirt, etc.  Then I spot primed all the knots (and there were many).  I didn’t want them bleeding though the chalk paint:
Zinsser primer on the knots

Then I did two coats of clear shellac.  I wipe the shellac on with a rag.  It takes about 15 minutes for each coat to dry.  Once dry, I got my County Grey out and did two coats on the top.

Then I did one coat of my favorite chalk paint, Duck Egg Blue.  It is such a dreamy color and works great for so many different styles of furniture.  Once that was dry, I started sanding with a fine grit sanding block.
Sanding
I usually like to do this outside, but it was wet so I had to do it indoors.  It is very dusty and messy.  Annie Sloan likes to wax first but I prefer to do it this way.  Here’s a look at the beginnings of the distressing:
Distressing
The top of the table had a design which I didn’t want to show through.  So I was very careful with the sanding block. Then I decided to do a method I learned from Nancy at the Sea Rose Cottage.  There is a way of using the brush with water to distress.  First do a thin coat of wax all over the top.  Then I dipped my brush in water and rubbed it against the top.
Distressing with wet brush

It is a great way to control the distressing without going right down to the bare wood.  See you can just see the Country Grey paint underneath, but it didn’t damage the wood or show the design that was on the original table:

After distressing, I did two more coats of clear wax and then dark wax.  Here’s how the dark wax looked.  Close up of the side and leg.  I love how the legs look lighter and more feminine than the original, heavy stained wood legs:
Here’s a close up of the edge:
In addition to the coffee table, she also had a sweet little table that had been in her family.  I think somewhere along the line someone tried to refinish it, but it was looking for a little love:
Side Table (Before)
Here’s a close up of the top before:
Top (Before)

This is how the table came out:

Old White Table (After)
I did all the steps, as the coffee table above except for the spot priming.  Then I did some ASCP in Graphite – to give it an even black surface:
With ASCP Graphite
After it dried,  I did two coats of ASCP in Old White and some distressing on it with fine grit sand paper to let some black show through.  The little table got two coats of clear wax to protect it and a mixture of clear and dark wax to give it an aged look.
dark wax

I snapped a few ‘after’ pictures before bringing it over to Melissa’s house:

Close up of distressing and dark wax
Here’s a close up of the leg:
And the other side of the table:
Here are a few photos I took at Melissa’s house:
Melissa’s living room and the Duck Egg Blue table

A close up of the table:

The little side table with a bowl of shells:

A close up of the top:

 

She’s so happy with how the pieces turned out and they fit in perfectly with her new shabby chic living room.  I’m so glad that she’s happy and feel the furniture looks as though it has always been that way.
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26 Comments
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beachcomber
11 years ago

i love the effect of the chalk paint on both pieces & the duck egg blue is beautiful.
great job!
x

Deborah
11 years ago

Just gorgeous! I love duck egg blue as well! That table is amazing and the little side table too. Thank you Annie Sloan for chalk paint! 🙂

Deborah 🙂

Deborah
11 years ago

P.S Im following you now in friendship 🙂

Deborah

Paige
11 years ago

The duck blue table looks fabulous! It surely fits now!!!

fiona anderson
11 years ago

Both pieces look great Danielle. The Duck Egg Blue table looks so amazing in your friends living-room, which is gorgeous. Love the other table too – your friends must love knowing someone like you !!

suzyq
11 years ago

Both pieces turned out beautiful but I’m in awe of the Duck Egg Blue table ( my favorite ASCP color )
Hugs,

cathy@my1929charmer
11 years ago

Love both your pieces, they came out beautifully. I haven’t used Duck Egg Blue but maybe I should. Love the debt on the smaller table. Very pretty and great job. Your friend should be very happy! So glad you shared your creative inspiration with Sunday’s Best – your creativity helped make the party a success!

Danielle
11 years ago

Cathy, you’d love duck egg blue. It is my very favorite color by Annie Sloan.

It's All Connected
11 years ago

The table colours are so light and pretty in that room and you did a wonderful job of reinventing her family pieces! ~ Maureen

Jeanette @ This Dusty House

I love the small, taller table! Both pieces turned out so nicely. Nice work!

Danielle
11 years ago

Thanks, Jeanette!

Cynthia
11 years ago

Both pieces came out just lovely! Great job.

Tammy
11 years ago

They look perfect in her home! You did a great job on both. Thanks for the tips too:) Thank you for linking this up to Rustic Restorations Weekend!

Denise
Denise
11 years ago

Both tables look beautiful! You do such great work! 😉

Danielle
11 years ago
Reply to  Denise

Thanks, Denise!

Julie
11 years ago

I love these! The coffee table is my favorite! Thanks for sharing on Marvelous Mondays. 🙂

Inspired by you
11 years ago

Love those tables. I really like Duck Egg Blue too.

Susan @ homeroad.net
11 years ago

I love both of your projects! That duck egg blue is gorgeous… my next purchase will be that color and the dark wax.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Susan
Homeroad.net

shopannies
11 years ago

very nicely done

come see what we shared at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

Heaven's Walk
11 years ago

Beautifully done, Danielle! I never heard about the wet brush technique before, so I’m anxious to try it out! Isn’t Duck Egg the most beautiful blue??? 🙂

xoxo laurie

Donna Wilkes
11 years ago

Came over from Twigg’s. Great post with very informative details about distress painting. The two pieces look great and fit nicely in their new spaces!

Julie
11 years ago

Hi Danielle! Just stopping by to let you know that this project has been featured for last week’s Marvelous Mondays party. The post will be up later so be sure to stop by and check it out!

Jenn
11 years ago

Love that color of the coffee table!

Nicole Estes
11 years ago

VERY AWESOME TUTORIAL! Okay I thought I was an expert on chalk paint but I learned a lot from this tutorial! Thank you so much for sharing your tips. I will try the wet brush technique. And, I agree with you on sanding before waxing. I’ve tried it both ways and most people including Annie say to sand after waxing and even though it’s less messy… it’s harder and I don’t like it at all! I love to sand after painting. Anyway, I will be featuring you this Friday at my link party so be sure to grab a button… Read more »

Jenny@daysofchalkandchocolate

I’m so happy to feature your tables this week! Thanks for linking up!

http://daysofchalkandchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/08/features-and-fridays-link-party.html

michele
11 years ago

looks fabulous. found you via MMS’s party where i’m partying too. would love to have you as a follower.

smiles and happy weekend.

michele