Fitzgerald Drum Table (Before & After)

When I first spotted this table, it was tucked in a very dark corner of an antique store.  It seemed to have been forgotten over there, but I could see the glint of brass and I really loved the round shape.

Before

I also loved the bamboo detailing.  The wood had a great quality, the antique dealer told me it was fruit wood.  It is a very heavy, solid piece by Weiman (from the 60s).  As you can see, it wasn’t in the best condition on top and in the front:

Top (Before)

Some damage on the front:

Front (Before)

I thought this would be a perfect candidate for an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint makeover.  You all know how much I love blues and soft sea glass colors, but I had another vision for this piece.  Antibes!  Annie Sloan’s bright green which she named for a town on the French Riviera and the color was inspired by 20th century paintings.

Antibes Green

And here’s how the table came out:

After

After washing down the piece and doing two coats of clear shellac.  I taped off all the brass hardware.  I had a little help with this:

My assistant, Conor.

The cabinet is so big that Conor thought it would be a fun hideout or club house.  Then I got painting.  I really wanted to do a rustic finish on this piece to give it some age.

Adding texture

So I added texture by swirling the paint and also painting strokes and then dragging the brush through as in the photo below:

Adding brushstrokes

Here’s how the paint looked with out the dark wax:

Antibes without dark wax

Before I started I knew I wanted to do the dark wax which is why I did the textured effect.  The wax will go into all the grooves and texture I created.  I did two coats of clear wax and then did dark wax in sections.

ASCP dark wax

Here you can see the difference the dark wax makes:

clear wax on left, dark wax on right

After

Inside (After)

Antique books

Top

Brass and bamboo detailing:

Little details

I’m thinking this drum table would look perfect in a sun room with loads of leafy palms or in a clubby reading room (a la ralph lauren).  Perhaps you have just the right spot in your home for Fitzgerald.  What do you think?

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