Painting the month away…

 

As I was putting away the Christmas decorations, I spied the paint cans and brushes on an adjacent shelf and thought, “No time like the present.”  I started off in the front hallway by painting the interior side of my front door and the front hall closet.  Before the doors were an almost “black” and although the colour worked well with the black and white tiles on the floor, the area seemed dark considering I always have the lighting dimmed in that area…not    wanting to blind my guests when they arrive at the front door.  I chose Benjamin Moore’s ‘colour of the year’ “Metropolitan Gray” for all the doors and was able to create the desired effect I was hoping for.

 

 

From there I moved onto the staircase and repainted the stair treads and risers in Benjamin Moore “Ivory White“.

 

 

       

Now onto a fun project…the front hall table.  I’m sentimental about this table, buying it from a store my friend had many years ago. It’s a little over the top and wouldn’t suit many decors, but it has stood proudly in my foyer all these years. Originally the trim around the top was painted green, but the rest was stained.  It was dark, and I thought that the carving detail was lost, so I have painted it many times over the years.  This weekend I added another layer of paint using Annie Sloan paint.

 

I started with a coat of Paris Grey and then a dry brushing coat of Old White. After a light sanding, I mixed a bit of dark Annie Sloan wax (giving a distressed, antique look) in with Annie Sloan clear wax and polished the entire area. On some of the raised areas, I rubbed a small amount of Annie Sloan Old Gold burnishing wax.

 

 

 

What I like most about Annie Sloan paint is that there is very little (or no) prep work.  When I decide to do something I’m usually anxious to get going on it without spending too much time preparing the project.  I want a quick turn around time…all the paint cans, brushes, and rags on the kitchen island are not something I want to see for days on end!  This was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon lost in the process accompanied by my favourite playlist.

 

Annie Sloan is a decorative painting artist from the UK.  She developed Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in 1990 with the following criteria in mind.

1.  requiring little or no sanding or priming

2.  can be used indoors and outdoors

3.  can be painted on almost any surface…glass, wood, metal, plastic, cement, brick etc.

4.  paint colours are mixable without becoming muddy

5.  wax to protect the finish and add durability

Many of you probably have an old chest of drawers or a small table (or whatever)  that could be repurposed with little effort.  I encourage you to give it a try.  I am by no means a decorative paint expert like Annie Sloan, but I have been happy with all the projects I’ve tackled over the years using her paint.  There are numerous “youtube” videos online using her techniques.

This week I’m redoing my dining room table…

 Who says January has to be a dull, dark month?