Category: Furniture Painting

It’s finally time to reveal the shoe bench.

Are you ready?

It took a while. First, I had to decide on a color. Then I had to make the time.

Originally, I was going to do the bench in black. Or red. Or some combination of the two. But then I decided to borrow a blue from one of my lighthouse images.

This is what I started with.

Hubby is very proud of this bench. As he should be. He designed and built it from scratch. Using raw, un-milled lumber.

The shoe compartment is quite clever, don’t you think?

It makes that corner of our breakfast room much more orderly. And that’s just what he wanted.

I didn’t use any special techniques. It’s just Napoleonic Blue Annie Sloan Chalk Paint finished with Clear Wax. I sanded it lightly after waxing, intending to apply Dark Wax, too, but I like the way it looks as it is.

The thing I like about painting items is that they evolve as you paint. I hadn’t planned on adding any decorative elements. And I thought I was going to make the armrests white.

At the last minute, I decided the armrests should be the same color as the bench. The more I looked at the bench, the more I thought it needed some sort of design. So I decided to stencil our name on the back, along with the year we were married.

Of course, I didn’t have any stencils, so off I went to see Janet Metzger, my favorite ASCP Stockist, to get some letter stencils.

She didn’t have any in the size I needed. I told her I’d just run to Wal-Mart, but then she said, “You don’t need a stencil. Just do your letter on paper, rub chalk on the back, and trace on the front to transfer the stencil.”

It sounded easy enough. But after I did what she said, I ended up with a scary, chalky mess.

Honestly, at that point, I was scared that I’d wrecked the piece. Or at least did enough damage to require another coat of paint.

The outlines were there, though, so I pressed on. I had to do some freehand painting to fill in the letters, which was a slow process requiring a steady hand.

When I was finished, and sure the paint was dry, I cleaned the bench off with a barely damp paper towel.

Then it was time for wax.

I am really very pleased with the end product.

And here’s the bench, again, in its place.

Do you love it as much as I do? 🙂

As I mentioned in my last post, this past Saturday I attended another Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® (ASCP) Workshop. It was presented by my friend and local ASCP Stockist, Janet Metzger, owner of The Empty Nest in Warrenton, Virginia.

I’ve mentioned The Empty Nest here a lot. It really is a lovely store. And it’s run by an even lovelier, multi-talented woman. She doesn’t just paint furniture, she paints pictures, too. And she sews. You should see the stinkin’ cute stuff Janet makes and/or alters. Don’t miss her aprons either.

Be careful when you look, though, as you may find yourself itching to get out there and buy some vintage linens. Oops, did I warn you too late? Sorry. If you are already inspired, there are quite a few tutorials on Janet’s web site.

Back to painting… Janet is quite passionate about ASCP. And Annie Sloan the person. She says Annie is extremely down-to-earth, really enjoys meeting her many admirers, and is very supportive of her stockists.

There’s me with Janet, just before class.

One of the ladies scheduled to be in the class was stuck in traffic, so Janet took a few minutes to show us the sort of things that can be acquired and painted. Even the chandelier in that photo has been transformed. ASCP sticks to practically anything.

From the top of Janet’s board down, the finishes we learned were Modern, Layered, Washed, and Rustic.

Dark Wax is a key component of the rustic finish. The dark brown wax leaves behind a hint of residue in the cracks and crevices, which provides an aged patina

ASCP is cool stuff. Really.

And I must say, living within walking distance of The Empty Nest is awesome. I can pop in for tips anytime. Of course, I try to be mindful of Janet’s time. So I don’t linger too long. But it’s great to have an expert on-hand in a crunch. Last week, she solved my stencil dilemma and I am super-pleased with the result. But that’s for the next post.

Thanks to Janet and all of my classmates for a fun and informative Saturday afternoon!

I’ll leave you with one final shot from Janet’s shop. This decked-out bird makes me smile.