DIY DAY TWO: Chest of Drawer Wars and Maison Blanche La Chaux FrenchLime Paint Review

When I bought this chest of drawers to refinish I had no clue how much work or how complex it was going to be. 

Before 

This was my first major piece to upcycle that was not a piece I already owned.  What I learned is:

-Always open all the drawers to make sure they slide easily,

-Always inspect all the drawers carefully for cracks, 

-Inspect all sides of the furniture for water damage, veneer damage, and just general pulling away of 'stuff'.

I spent a lot of time sanding swollen drawers down, gluing dovetailed drawers back together and regluing veneer on which I wasn't completely prepared for when I purchased this piece.  It worked out okay but it was a lot more work then I originally realized.   

After primer 

Once I had everything glued, sanded, and ready, I primed this piece because I wasn't taking any chances.  I hadn't used the paint product I was about to work with before and this piece is old and had some different veneer on it than I had ever seen. 

Drying process-La Chaux 

La Chaux by Maison Blanche is an amazing Lime Paint product.  I absolutely love it. My husband was on his 7th annual guys only (thank heavens) camping and fishing trip last weekend and I took advantage of the opportunity of a boat free garage to paint and free up some space. 

 First I covered the piece in Maison Blanche Maison White paint then...

Amazingly thick! 

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La Chaux French Lime Paint in Garconniere.  The French Lime paint is different from regular mineral and chaulk paint.  It is super thick and after you paint it on, you go through a process including swiping your piece with a plastic credit card type obtect when it is not quite dry and polishing with a plastic bag when it is still not dry...

Here is the video I watched about 5 times before doing the project. 

Now, an aside here, I didn't follow Annie's process completely.  After I was done swiping with a plastic card I found some areas where too much paint had come off so I went back and loaded paint on the plastic card and swiped paint directly from the card onto the chest which may be why my piece looks a little bit like leather or marble.   This process isn't hard but I wouldn't call it easy either.   It looks great when it is done but you have to be willing to stick with it and not give up.  Also, I wouldn't do this again on a day that is below 70 degrees.  I painted on a day that was 56 degrees and it took forever for the paint to dry.  I was, luckily working on two projects at once so I had something else to occupy my time but this took more than a day to finish.  (The end tables from Monday's blog were my other project).

Once it was all dry, I covered in a coat of polycrylic then clear wax and I added black lime wax and Silver Organza wax also from Maison Blanche and another coat of clear wax.   I guess you could say this thing is well sealed.  

Almost done-how rich is this? 

The paint dries with different tones to it based on the way you manipulate it.  It is truly amazing.  It has such a depth and when you add the wax it just brings it out even more.  I really love it and look forward to using it again on special pieces.  It isn't for everything, but for special pieces.

Center after Black Lime Wax 

This piece turned out to be special and I learned so much from it that I can say, it was truly worth the growing pains.

Shadows effect thie look on this photo a little but I wanted a pretty setting 

I love how this piece turned out in the end.  If I had thought ahead I may have filled the handle holes and totally changed out the hardware but I went with the original and I like the slightly masculine feel they add to a piece that seems dainty to me with the floral inlay.  

The final product!

And it is finally completed!  

*Nobody asked or paid me for this review.  The opinions expressed are mine.

Towel and Trade: Craft Corner

This past weekend was 3rd Monday Trade Days in Mckinney, Tx. This was my 1st 3rd Monday but I plan on making it a regular thing. If you have never been to a Trade Day it is like a giant flea market. Tons of venders selling everything from antiques to food.  We even met an author who autographed a book for my daughter that she can't wait to read.  (The child was actually disappointed I didn't buy her more books from him.)

I found this drawer front for $2 and the antique or vintage hardware was $2 each and comes from Amish country in Indiana. I was born there so I was pretty happy to add a little Indiana to my little piece of Texas.




First it got a coat of red chalky paint I made with a Valspar sample and Calcium Carbonate.



For those curious about what chalk is, I googled it for you! :-)

There are amazing boutique brand chalk type paints. Annie Sloan owns the term "chalk paint" so I will refrain from using that term in my blog even though I think it's silly that she has her attorney sending letters to individual people to stop using the term. My homemade paint is paint plus chalk. Just a little aside here, people can get very militant about paint brands.  I have never seen anything like the paint wars I have witnessed on some websites.  Simply put, use what you like.  If it works for you, it's a good paint.   Also, in talking with one of my friends this weekend we talked about how when you take painting classes you hear over and over "What if I mess it up?"  It's just paint gang.  Paint over it.  Do not be afraid of paint.   Paint is your friend.

Anyhow, I digress. Once the red was dry I covered it with a light blue and let the piece dry overnight. I then stenciled the "towel" on and covered in a polycrylic spray. I have some black lime wax I may try...I'm still debating but I love how this easy project turned out and it is going to be totally functional!

Meanwhile I continue working on "The beast"


Sanding and priming at done. I hope to finish this before I die! :)   This piece is pushing my capabilities but only because there is so much repair work I am doing.  I didn't realize when I bought this baby that I needed to fix all the drawers.  We will see how that works out.   I am googling like crazy to do this right.  

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