Ya’ll, I’m having one of those days that I think I suck at everything. haha…. It took me waaaay toooo long to stage furniture and photograph, and in the end I wasn’t really happy with anything (except a cutting board gallery wall I did for another shoot). Ah well.
Here is what I came up with for this amazing mint and gold dresser I finished before Vintage Market Days in NWA, but never really photographed. I wasn’t too disappointed it didn’t sell because I looooooove it.
It is actually my version of a little mint cabinet with gold leaf knobs that Ashley over at The Handmade Home has. I kept swooning over it when it would pop up occasionally in her Instagram feed, and I had been waiting months to find the right piece so I could try a similar look.
After I found this one, I then had the task of mixing the right color. Because no paint line that I use has the perfect shade of mint, currently, I grabbed some Chalk Paint and mixed a little Provence with Antibes with Aubusson with lots of Old White. I have no idea the ratios. I just added a little until it got about right.
A close up of my staging, that I have mixed feelings about… I felt compelled to use my little air plants that I got in Florida. 🙂
I decided, with this one, since it was sooooo old (like mid-1800s), I wanted to create a finish that looked a little authentic to it’s age. So I painted it on, extra thick in some areas (like around knobs and keyholes) and then pulled out my hairdryer to create a little crackle.
I know using dark wax would have made the crackle stand out more, but that would also have changed the color of the mint, completely. So I just used clear wax.
I will say this: it is easy to go overboard with the hairdryer. I was careful to only use it until the crackle I wanted, developed, then stopped immediately. It only takes seconds to go from pretty crackle to hot mess (way too much crackle). Thankfully I figured it out pretty quickly and every part of this piece that got some crazing, turned out beautiful (in my opinion).
The original knobs on this were similar to what I used, but they were larger and coming loose and one was sheered right off. This wasn’t a dresser that had removable knobs, like most dressers. This was a hand-built dresser by a skilled carpenter and the knobs were built into the drawer. So I had to cut most of them off and re-drill holes to retro-fit them for these other wooden knobs that I used gold leaf on. Gold leaf makes everything fabulous.
Am I right or am I right?! 😉
I’m headed to Haven this week! There are some of you fellow bloggers who are going, so please, if you see me, come say hi! I’m terrible with names, so I’m asking for forgiveness in advance if I don’t remember your name or face right away! I still want to connect blogs with faces!
Linking up with:
Linking up with:
What is it about this business that allows some self doubt to creep in every now and then?? Especially for someone as talented as you …crazy! It’s beautiful and so glad to learn of the hair dryer tip to get the paint to crackle. I’ve read that somewhere else, but had forgotten about it. I’ll have to give it a try! Have fun at Haven and bring back lots of inspirational stories for your readers that won’t be there! (Hint Hint)…
Robin
You are right! What a gorgeous color combination!
Sooooo beautiful! LOVE the mint and gold. Yummmy! Oh, can’t wait to see you in only one more day, roomie! x
Love the colors here. The mint and gold combo is becoming one of my faves. Thanks for linking up at The Makers!
Corey @ TinySidekick.com
Love mint and gold together! 😉
Just catching up on your blog and I looooove this. Mint and gold, ooh la la – gold leaf definitely makes everything better. I just finished my first chalk paint piece and despite all of Danielle’s amazing advice I SUCK at applying wax. WHAT is the secret???