A few weeks ago I shared a sneak peek of my latest project… a bit of sneaky stenciling to brighten up a sideboard that I’ve got a little crush on!
I finally finished the sideboard… painting, waxing and all (well…. Jeff finished off the waxing…) and we’ve got a few tips and snapshots from along the way!
Let’s just get the before and after out of the way… shall we?
Isn’t that a lovely one?? Red Velvet, indeed!
Here’s what we used for this project
- One dinged-up sideboard
- About quarter bottle of Citristrip
- About a quarter can of Annie Sloan chalk paint in Primer Red
- A bit of Annie Sloan wax – clear and dark
- All the stenciling goods outlined in our stenciling post….
We LOVE Citristrip – it’s super-duper gentle for when chemical stripper is in order. I’d rather skip the stripper and sand or just leave some funky weathered patina, but in this particular instance I wanted to leave the top unfinished and the lovely walnut wood had been covered with some sort of crazy-dark paint…stain…pigment….
Here’s why Citristrip is good… no real smell and minimal chemical burns (and really… what could be better than minimal chemical burns??) In fact, it’s so mild, we used it IN the shop during our open hours. The other thing that I really like about it is that it’s very thick and will stay workable for up to 24 hours. It doesn’t work as quickly as the more caustic chemical strippers out there, but with a little patience and work, it creates lovely results – here’s a closer shot of the top stripped and with a coat of Annie Sloan clear wax- it feels lovely and silky now!
One of the reasons I wanted to go with an unpainted top was that I thought the warm wood would be all cozy with the paint. This was my first time using Primer Red and it was a little scary! After the first coat, the paint looked almost pink!! I checked out the interwebs, though, and was reassured… This is one of those paints that really warms up and deepens after a coat of wax. I wanted it extra deep and sassy, so I added a nice coat of dark wax after a coat of clear wax.
Here’s the half-dried pinkish layer that startled me!!
And here’s a full shot of our fun inside-stenciling treatment! This is a great piece and would make a wonderful bar or storage for something else tall… like books. It would also be nice for linen storage or in the dining room for those extra large serving pieces!
I just LOVE that hidden detail!!
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