"THE" Antique Bench

I found this bench on a local yardsale site. I knew it had some potential to be amazing but it want until we picked it up that I saw how MUCH potential it had! The previous owner told me about how his parents owned an antique store and they ship most of their items from France and Belgium!?  he had received a few items as gifts over the yrs and this was one of them. The details in person were exquisite! I couldn't wait to get home and see my vision come to life!

 

My plan was to use Sweet Pickins Milk Paint in Sweetie Jane. with the age of the piece and the details I wanted an aged, chippy look so I knew Sweet Pickens Milk Paints was perfect to achieve this look. I did a quick sand over the whole piece and cleaned it up a bit. I got about 1 1/2 coats into it and ran out of paint ;(  I wasn't able to get more in time and was very anxious to get this piece DONE! so off to Home Depot to try to get a similar color so I could finish it up! Let me tell you, that was HARD! Sweet Pickens Sweetie Jane was dimensional, it is gorgeous! but it made it hard to match, which tone should I go for? I finally settled on 2 colors that were kinda close and mixed them together PRAYING it would be ok! I got home, mixed my paint, made my DIY chalk paint, and got to painting!

 

 

I wanted to gorgeous details to stand out more then if I just distressed it. One color was just not doing it for me! It was lacking something........ you ever get that feeling too?! So I whipped up some DIY chalkpaint in my favorite off white color (sorry I don't know the name, its a custom mix, but it is very similar to ASCP in old white) and started painting the details. The legs details took FOREVER with my ittie bittie paint brush. But in the end I am SO GLAD I did!!! It was well work the time! The white details just MAKE this bench! What do you think!? when I listed this bench it had thousands of views and a mile long list of people wanting it. It was the first piece that a little part of my heart dies when I saw it drive away..... but it was purchased by a wedding décor rental place so lots of people with get to enjoy it!

 

 

 

I LOVE the look that doing milk paint toped with chalk pant gave it. Its chippy but not too chippy, its aged, perfectly distressed and finished off with Sweet Pickins Clear Wax witch adds a nice softness to the finish.

Product List :

*120 grit sandpaper

* Sweet Pickins Milk Paint in Sweetie Jane
wwwsweetpickinsfurniture.com

*custom mixed DIY chalk paint

*Custom mixed white DIY chalk paint

*Sweet Pickins Clear Wax

This LIttle Bench

One of my dear friends from HS asked my if I would redo a bench for her. it was a fantastic Lane cedar bench, and let me tell you, it smelled FANTASTIC!  It had great lines, the top lifts for incredible storage, and a cute little key hole to boot! It definitely needed a facelift and I was thrilled that I got to be the one to do it!

 

Can you see the potential gold mine!? Regardless of which paint I use, I ALWAYS sand. If it is a no prep type of paint like milk or chalk paint, it is more of a quick, light sand to just rough it up a bit and give the paint something a little extra to grip too. We went with a white DIY chalk paint. When doing a light color like white, and a darker base, expect to do an extra coat or 2 depending on which type of paint you use. With this piece I did 3 coats of my DIY chalk paint. Next up is my favorite part.... can you guess?...... YEP! DISTRESSING! A light distressing took place. With the pic below I am about mid process and this is right after it had been hand distressed with sandpaper.

 

 

Miss J wanted more of a distressed look then what a light sanding afforded. I did a light all over stain with Rustoleum glaze in Java Brown. The nice thing about glaze is that you can wipe it away easier then you can with stain, which makes it perfect for DIY-ers or the beginner.  Miss J also wanted to ditch the gold hardware, good call! Don't you agree!? Nothing that a little metal spray paint cant fix! Add some new fabric and the end result is stunning! Can you say OOOH LA LA! I was very tempted to bribe her to let me buy it from her! Even the hubs was down with that plan, so that says something!

 

 

 

SUPPLY LIST :
* Glidden white base paint - no color added
mixed into a DIY chalk paint

* Rustoleum Glaze in Java Brown

* Rustoleum Satin Oil Rubbed Bronze + primer spray paint

* Verathane Water Based Heavy Duty Polyurathane