guest room redo continued

Ah, only 70 out at 7:30.  Time to get out into the garden.  I love to garden but the last few weeks with traveling, redecorating, grandma time and the unrelenting heat my garden beds are looking pretty bad.  The grass in the cracks of the patio and my herb bed are first today.  Who would ever think highs in the mid to upper 80's was a cool wave.


 OK, if you're one of those wood purist who thinks you should never, ever paint wood, close your eyes, cause I'm gonna do just that.  As part of the guest room redecorating, I really wanted to lighten things up.  There are already two large cabinet in the room that are stained wood, so I decided to paint these two pieces.  Neither piece is a fine antique or has much value, but some people just can't stand the idea of painting any wood, what's with that?  The top piece is a GS $5.00 find that was missing it's drawers.  I just had the lumberyard cut 1x12's to size and slid them into place.  The box is a leftover blanket chest from when we made small furniture for a nearby theme park.
When I start a painting project the first thing I do is clean everything off, trying to get all the dust bunnies and cat hair.  Let that dry and apply a good primer, I use Kilz.  Let the primer dry a few hours and then apply your paint, check for drips and runs and let that dry.  If you have a box like this prop open the lid with a rock or twig so it doesn't stick.  I didn't bother to paint the inside of either piece, but you could if you wanted to.  When the pieces are dry if you want an antique look, sand, especially the places that would show wear and tear, like the edges and  around handles and feet.  Use regular stain, or my cheater stain recipe which is 1 part burnt umber acrylic paint and 4 parts water.  Wipe or brush it on concentrating on the

dings  and cracks, wipe off immediately.  The advantages of the cheater stain, are water clean up and you just make as much as you need at one time.

 Let everything dry and haul your new pieces inside.  Accessorize as you like. 
The only other advice I can give you is don't be an idiot and do this when it is 95 with a heat index of 107 outside.  That's just crazy.
I do think I'll make a burlap curtain for the dresser.  Just hem the fabric add a casing for a small round rod and attach with cup hooks screwed into the top edge of the dresser.  Since the top of this piece is in really bad shape, the next time we have a piece of MDF laying around I'll have AH cut it to fit and faux paint it to look like marble.

Most of the room is finished with the exception of a few details.  More projects and the reveal coming soon.