Weathered Grey Nightstands Before & After

We love it when great pieces like these 

just turn up at the studio...

we have a fabulous network

 and they know EXACTLY what I love

I know, right?

GORGEOUS!

Made by my favorite manufacturer

White Fine Furniture Co

(sorry, no pics yet of the finished dresser...it is HUGE

and quite heavy)

Lately, I've been really loving the idea of making pieces

look old and weathered without actually distressing them

and I can't get enough of white and grey

Cage-front nightstands have gotten harder and harder to find!

Instead of our usual fancy finish with gold leaf, etc

we kept these pretty simple

with Snow White from General Finishes

On top of the Snow White, Black glaze, watered down

and heavily wiped back

In insides are fresh and clean with Snow White paint 

and several coats of General Finishes Satin topcoat

The hardware is a custom mixed color using One Step Paint

sealed with Satin topcoat from GF

The coordinating dresser wears the same finish

and turned out lovely

I can visualize this set in an all white bedroom

with touches of grey linen on the bed...

gorgeous!

You can find these pieces,

as well as the matching dresser

exclusively at 

607 Vintage MarketPlace

Thanks for stopping by!

M~

A Few of Our Favorite Things

No, I did NOT get a "before"

I know...I'm really terrible about that

close your eyes and visualize very light golden pine...

yep, you've got it. 

Not pretty.

Nothing, of course, that a little paint won't fix!

I call this my FAVORITE THINGS dresser

because I used some of my favorite products to complete it

 I've really come to embrace these dramatic triple mirrors...

they really make a huge statement!

(also, that little sign sums up my life...

it's not perfect, but my hair sure is!)

This is a much better representation of the true color

I used Luxe Grey from Amy Howard at Home's One Step Paint line for the base

(and on the hardware)

The hardware simply received two coats of OSP, wax, and Dust of Ages

Our wax of choice is Carnauba Wax from Real Milk Paint Co

I wanted the body of the dresser to be a bit more dramatic

(not as soft as the hardware)

so I used a custom blend of General Finishes Glazes

I'm crazy about how the glaze settled into the oak, highlighting the grain and the wear marks

(I know they are fabricated to mimic age, but who cares...they looks amazing!)

Here's a run-down of a few of my FAVORITE THINGS:

One Step Paint from Amy Howard at Home

Geneneral Finishes Glaze

Carnauba Wax from Real Milk Paint Company

What are your favorite, "go to" products?

M~

Farmhouse Love Affair

I LOVE that these piece have been painted again and again...and again!

Someone really loved them

We've simply cleaned them up,

reinforced where necessary,

made a few repairs,

and there you have it! 

Authentic patina,

perfectly rustic and distressed

We've held on to these pieces for years...

I just couldn't part with them, although we never used them

The table works well as a desk

Don't you LOVE the top?

Amazing.

I think there is at least a dozen different colors on these pieces

Original hardware...gorgeous!

All that crazing and chipping tells a story...this desk has seen a LOT

Would you believe I told Kenny to throw away the chair?

I know. 

It needed attention, and attention it got!

Now it's all shored up, sealed up, and ready for use again

Interested?

stiltskinstudios@gmail.com for more info

Thanks!

Michele

Overcast

It's raining buckets today in "sunny" Florida

The skies are grey and cloudy

The perfect day to introduce you to our newest Real Milk Paint color

OVERCAST

This little wash-stand has the sweetest details...

Doesn't the detail at the top remind you of waves?

We opted for a slightly cottage/beachy vibe

(watching the clouds roll in at the beach in the summer is always AMAZING...

and those memories inspired this piece)

OVERCAST is the perfect grey, in my opinion...

mid-range, not too cool, not too warm

not too dark, not too light

as Goldilocks would say, "it's just right"!

We dry-brushed a bit of watered down white milk paint to provide a beachy feel

and add some contrast

As always, milk paint distresses naturally and beautifully

The outside might look old and distressed

but inside, the drawers are minty fresh and clean!

If you haven't checkout out the new colors from Real Milk Paint Company,

we encourage you to do so...and thanks for stopping by!

While the Husband's Away...

My very lucky husband, Kenny

got to head for Austin, Texas last week

to attend the Inaugural Circuit of The Americas 

He was gone for a week, which left me time to tackle some projects

in our own home...much like the cobbler's children with no shoes

our house always comes last

With no one to talk me out of it, 

I jumped right in..

First, I painted the walls a pale grey

the color is called "Abalone"

from Ben Moore

See that giant mirror? The perspective is odd in this photo,

but it's over 5ft long, solid wood, and weighs a TON!

I avoided painting it because there are about 200 tiny staples

holding the three mirrors in place

I didn't love the gold finish against the new wall color,

so I just dove in...

Mack and I spent two hours with Exacto blades, razor blades, and our finger nails 

scratching off all the paint from the glass

(see all those beautiful carved wood details that flow out onto the glass?

Yeah, totally NOT fun trying to get all around those!)

I typically don't paint things white...

but in this  case, it works really well

It's soft and elegant 

I love that it makes a statement, but doesn't hog all the attention

The couch slipcovers stayed the same, as did all the pillows...

 Around the corner, at the front door

we have a closet whose door mysteriously vanished

(ok, *maybe* I tossed it because it was hideous!)

This curtain is actually a shower curtain

It was too short, so I added a gorgeous bit of antique lace

(salvaged from a nightgown!)

I used a tension rod, which meant I needed a pocket

instead of the hook holes you normally find on a shower curtain

I quickly stitched a length of canvas along the top, creating a pocked for the rod

works perfect and looks adorable!

We had a very plain cedar chest under our bay window...

I dragged this gorgeous French cedar chest home from the studio

and painted it Paris Grey with lots of dark wax

the raised details are painted in Pure White

This might be my favorite new piece...

it's definitely Kenny's favorite!

I purchased this fabulous chair at the Salvation Army

it's new (I've seen them at HomeGoods)

but I didn't have to do a thing to it!

I grabbed that table from the studio, too...

you can see it here

Once I finished all of this, I noticed our buffet-turned-entertainment center

looked so DARK...especially with the giant flat screen on top!

The TV is actually going to be wall-mounted, but that is beyond my skill!

(Kenny mounted a flat screen in our bedroom and it's awesome!)

So I stuck some cardboard under the feet, and started painting before I changed my mind!

In the "before" pic, you'll notice some drawer faces are missing...

we removed the body of the drawers, and mounted the drawer faces

with hinges that allow them to fold down so we can store electronics inside

 I wanted a chippy, milk paint type finish

but only brought chalk paint home from the studio...

plus, I did not want the mess of milk paint in my living room...

so I tinkered around and ended up with THIS!

Can you believe that's chalk paint??

Totally looks like chippy, distressed milk paint to me!

The room was looking a little too feminine, so I wanted a rustic,

very old looking piece here...
I couldn't be happier with the end result!

(disregard lack of staging and cardboard STILL under the feet!)

I accomplished all these projects primarily on my own,

in about three days time...

so stop procrastinating, and tackle the things you want to change in your home! 

What have YOU been dying to change but just keep putting off??

Cottage Cutie

This is one of the pieces Kenny brought home

from his solo day out shopping...

It had some issues,

including this ugly repair on the door

While I was scheming about what color to paint it,

I was informed by my dear husband that he was painting it

and it was going to be green...

so green it is!

So he mixed up green milk paint

from The Real Milk Paint Company

and got busy...

Because this piece was solid wood,

and most of the original stain had worn away

he didn't need to sand it, or add bonding agent...

just paint mixed with water

The above photo is after two coats

but before waxing and distressing

 hand distressing looks so much more authentic

than anything you can accomplish 

with a mechanical sander, in my opinion!

 four coats of Good Ol Brown Wax

helped richen the color

and protect the finish...

now it's smooth as silk

Good Ol' Brown Wax

is a lighter shade of brown

and definitely not as scary

as some of the darker, deeper waxes!

 The hardware is original, and is pretty amazing!

This turned out darling...

we added new casters

and I can visualize this piece

loaded up with holiday yummies

being wheeled around the dining room 

before finding it's resting spot

right next to the kids table!

You can find this piece in our Etsy shop!