Before and After : Vintage Drexel 4 Drawer Lowboy Dresser / Chest in Onyx

I will be the first to admit that I had a hard time getting started with black furniture, because I always seemed to gravitate toward bold, bright colors. I have had several requests and done custom work with black paint over the last year or two and have grown to really embrace this gorgeous, chic and always classic. It's like a little black dress for furniture! Lately I have been using Pure Earth Paint in Onyx as my go-to black.

I am pretty much beside myself with happiness on this transformation!! It is amazing what a few coats of paint, a small amount of distressing, and some gilding wax on the hardware can do to turn a (not so ugly) duckling into a swan!

Are there colors you shy away from, but would love to give a try? Or techniques that seem daunting? Let me know about it! I'd love to explore those also!

Before and After : 5 Drawer Farmhouse Style Pine Dresser in Louis Blue

One of the first chalk paints I tried when I was first starting out was Annie Sloan Louis Blue, and I confess I had a lot of difficulty with it! I would always end up with darkish blotches in my wax application, whether I used a rag or a brush to apply, whether I used straight strokes or small circles, and whether I applied a tiny amount or a moderate amount at a time. (This is before I realized there were options other than wax!!) Finally I managed to find a technique that worked for me, which was to mix a small amount of paint into the wax to tint it, and I came out with a much smoother, more refined look.

Fast forward to this week, and this sweet classic pine 5-drawer dresser. It is the perfect size for any space, but needed an update from the 60's / 70's wood color. I adore a good textured wood surface, with little grain, nicks, dings, whorls, and generally just a lot of personality!

How did we get there? Read on for the techniques!

Before and After : Mid Century Modern Style Vintage Chest of Drawers

This gorgeous chest of drawers / dresser is a find that was sent to me by one of my fantastic furniture picker friends, and we fell in love with the shape immediately - especially the geometric legs! We decided to keep the color super simple and straightforward to showcase the classic MCM lines. For that we chose General Finishes Milk Paint in Coastal Blue, a dark rich navy.

The Coastal Blue finish paired with brightened gold hardware is effortlessly chic and oh-so-fabulously versatile. I love that it's out of the 60's, and into the timeless! What do you think?