Thursday, June 9, 2016

A little antiqued French Cabinet


I am always practicing my painting skills and trying to learn new ones in order to take my painted furniture to the next level. I want to try using more glazes and layering so when a piece needs a less-clean look, I can make it look authentic. I have been experimenting with different paints, glazes and waxes in order to achieve this effect. 

This beautiful French cupboard was already painted when I bought it but it was very rough and there were drips everywhere. I gave it a very good sand and then got started painting. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. How beautiful are the carved details.



I think these colours together are just delicious and will be definitely using them again. I am already using this mix on a gorgeous tall cocktail cabinet that I'm hoping to finish later today.



Just after I had finished it a friend dropped in to pick up his boys who I mind on Tuesdays after school and he kept saying to me "but you didn't paint this did you? it's from 300 years ago?" so I think I must have got the aging and antiquing right :)

Even though I'd like to be able to make furniture look a lot more antiqued and "grungier" maybe I can feel a bit less dissatisfied with my skill level :)

If you want more information on glazes and antiquing I have a few blog posts here that might help:


Fiona xx

4 comments:

  1. I think it looks great with that paint job.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fiona, may I ask the two Annie Sloan colors used? Thku!

      Delete
  2. Fiona, do you think you will ever be happy with your skill level or is it more of a process of learning which we should never try to stop working on...that has got to be good for you and your brain? I think with anything that you do by hand you are always more critical of yourself than others would be...sometimes perfection isn't what is required or even asked for! Although I don't think we stop trying to achieve that and I think that can only be a good thing! I love how this cabinet turned out and the quality of your painting is something I would love to achieve!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with Di! To me painting of your quality is something I cannot imagine achieving - I'm still frightened of distressing - paint and clear wax is about as far as I've gotten so far! Thinking about trying white wax on some Napoleon Blue since it is reversible...

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Sorry if you have trouble commenting, you can always email me at lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com