Shades of Blue Interiors

Garage Sales and a Minty China Cabinet

43 Comments

I love this time of the year. Here in Missouri, we have garage sales on Wednesday mornings (which often run later in the afternoon), sometimes on Fridays and always, always on Saturdays. I have such fond memories of finding good deals at garage sales when I was a child. Well, not much has changed in 20+ years. I still get giddy with excitement when I find a good deal at garage sales! I LOVE it! Just the anticipation of the potential out there… and the whole atmosphere! I can think of nothing I’d rather do on a Saturday morning than wake up early to blue skies, grab a donut and head on out, hunting for my next project!
And I love seeing what people find, so I’m going to share with you some finds and a makeover! 🙂
See that big china cabinet in the back? My fav. I just love the legs and the ornate carving and details… *sigh* I picked that up at a garage sale.
The desk I got at an estate sale, as well as 2 of the chairs you see there. I really liked their cane sides and could imagine it really cute with some grain sack-esque reupholstery. We shall see when I can get around to them! My sewing machine needs to be repaired. 🙁
Anyhow, I agonized for 2 weeks about how I was going to finish the cabinet. I saw lots of inspiration online, but so many things just seemed too dark to me. I wanted something with a little color, but not too bold. I wanted it almost white, but not. Something pastel, but with character. I fell in love with this inspiration:
Mint-Color-Painted-Bathroom-Cabinet-500x734
I love the idea of having something minty in the bathroom. And so I created my own minty cabinet for a bathroom.
I think my minty color has a little more blue in it perhaps? But I love it. I was originally going for what Annie Sloan calls “Cricket” (a mix of Provence and Old White). But when I mixed 8 parts of old white with 1 part of Provence, it looked nothing like that little color swatch.
Turns out, half and half makes a lovely shade of pale aqua that looked more like what Cricket was supposed to look like!
It was a little bright at first (which would be lovely for something!) but for this piece, because the shape was so antique and ornate, I wanted to give it a little texture and tone down the brightness.

I dry brushed it with white, then dark waxed it to bring out the cool lines and details that had gotten lost with the previous coats.

 

On a side note, I picked up this antique chair on St Vincent de Paul for only $12! Such a cute chair, and I just may keep it as is!
Can we talk for a minute about this awesome door? It originally had glass just inside the door, but I didn’t really like it. I wanted the inside to be able to breathe! Any of you who have bought antiques know how important it is to air those babies out! 😉
The center emblem really is the perfect amount of ornate and simple.
Let’s peak inside, shall we? 🙂 Those coral washcloths were begging to be paired with all this mint!
Linens and towels, sea grass baskets, and of course some bathroom essentials like: cotton balls, q-tips, bath salts, imported soaps, hand creams and hand washes.. all in some vintage Ball jars, or in clear canisters.
I placed some old bottles I had collected that had that lovely blue/green tint to them. Not a useful purpose, but pretty! And it visually balances out the wire/burlap basket holding toilet paper.
I really can’t get enough of these flowers! Paired with an old tin pitcher, and you have a juxtaposition of old and new that really never gets old! 🙂

 

 I am in love.

 

Comments

  7. Carol says

    This is so totally beautiful!!! it would look fantastic in my bath…but
    I think it’s too wide 🙁 I love a good garage sale ♥

    Reply

    • Rachel with Shades of Blue says

      Susan, my bathroom isn’t that giant but I bet if I moved some things around I could fit it in! His would be great for a bathroom that didn’t have a closet or much storage initially. I staged this in my dining room bc it has more light, so it appears to take up a whole wall, but you get the idea! 🙂 thanks for the love!

      Reply

  9. Ivy and Elephants says

    You are amazing. These pieces are simply gorgeous. There is nothing like vintage furniture in a bathroom. I love that feel. This is such an awesome post. I would love it if you would share this post at our WIW linky party. Hope you can join us!

    Paula
    ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

    Reply

  11. Nita Stacy says

    Oh…my… this is so so so pretty! What a beautiful paint job you gave it. I’d love to have this in my home. I’d love it if you linked it up at my weekly linky party…on Monday – Mod Mix Monday at Mod Vintage Life.

    Reply

  14. Amanda says

    Fabulous makeover! So fun to see your garage sale finds, too! Now I’m in the mood to go shop! I love the color you came up with here and the white dry brushing is perfection! I will be pinning this one to my “Paint it Annie!” board! Thanks so much for the inspiration! You do lovely work!
    Best Wishes and Blessings,
    Amanda

    Reply

  15. RPK Interiors says

    This is a very beautiful transformation. Provence is a strong color…and cutting it with Old White and then a little dry brushing made for a soft treatment. Beautifully executed. Hope you don’t mind but I pinned it too!

    Robin

    Reply

  18. Lisa Marie Wells says

    Ok LOVE this. I am very new to the whole ” chalk paint” thing. how much exactly of each color did you use? I have used Anne Sloane chalk paint before but I’m very hesitant to mix colors…. I adore this color and would love to replicate.
    Thanks!!
    ~Lisa

    Reply

  19. Lauren Davison says

    wow, I must say I did not “see the beauty” behind the before beast in this one. it turned out gorgeous!!!!! I would have walked right by it and sadly missed out, good catch!

    Reply

  21. Ivy and Elephants says

    Your gorgeous cabinet is a feature this week at Ivy and Elephants! Thanks so much for linking with us. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured button.
    Happy 4th of July!
    Patti

    Reply

  25. Anonymous says

    Hi, this is beautiful! I am new to Annie Sloan chalk Paint and have just painted a pair of bedside cabinets in Provence. I would like to do Old White over the top as they are a bit bright but I’m not sure what dry brushing means?! Could you explain please? Thank you! Harriet x

    Reply

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