Dixie Dutch Design

Dixie Dutch Design

Happy Summer!  I’ve just returned from a two week vacation up north with family and I’m excited to share a few little things I picked up.  I hit the jackpot with some fun, quirky hardware knobs that will give just the right amount of flourish to whatever I end up attaching them to. 

Dixie Dutch Design

White knobs are great for furniture that is a dark (think black or navy) or vibrant (violets, reds, cobalt, orange) shade.  They can really stand out against the pigment.  White knobs are equally sweet paired with pastels and light hues.  It all depends on the look you are going for.  I haven’t decided what I’m going to use the white knobs for yet, but I did attach these funky, flower, chippy-paint, mint knobs to my mid-century dresser that has permanently taken up residence in my kitchen:

Dixie Dutch Design

Dixie Dutch Design

The best item I picked up was this mirror marked down 80%.  I couldn’t pass it up.

Dixie Dutch Design

Isn’t it so lovely?  I am playing with fun color ideas for painting the amazing frame (of course!), though I haven’t decided yet.  The sky’s the limit though, right?  I would opt to leave it white if my walls had color.  Since we are going to leave the walls as-is, I need to add a few colorful accessories throughout my kitchen.   Oh yes, the mid-century dresser and this mirror are hunkering down in my kitchen.  I do have to say I really love them in this little corner because they are unexpected pieces for a kitchen/dining area.  And I am all about eclectic pieces of furniture being used however I can think of using them!

Dixie Dutch Design

While I’m contemplating color for the mirror I’ve also pulled this little gem out and started brainstorming as well.

Dixie Dutch Design

It’s a little worn around the edges but has great potential.  It is a really solid, sturdy piece for being a vintage, wooden, folding chair.  A great entryway item or corner chair in a spare room or nursery.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I’ve got going on!  Stop by again soon.

I’ve inherited this gorgeous chair and we are in love with its character.

When it arrived it needed to be cleaned up.  Two of the back rungs were missing and new ones had been cut to fit the chair and replaced but were unstained to match the rest of the chair.  I love paint, but this beauty needed to be stained to bring out the aged wood.

It is a unique, statement piece that is at the same time classic and traditional.

The chair was sanded down with an orbital sander with 150 grit paper for a smooth finish.  Two separate coats of Minwax Special Walnut were applied according to the manufacturer’s directions.  After allowing the stain to dry overnight, ASCP Dark Wax was applied to create a protective finishing coat.

I have to give credit where credit is due and brag on my helper: my husband did a lot of work on these tables!  I had the idea in my head, gathered the supplies, and had a few inspirational photos to jump off from, but he took it on full force.  At one point the end table was completely done but he was not happy with it.  He sanded the top down again and started over, and completely re-waxed the base.  (Now that’s dedication to the end result.)

Before:

Several months ago I had distress painted a sofa table and a matching end table in white.  However, I started to dislike them more and more.  Our living space was lacking color and depth and we knew we needed to change things up.  For a few months now I have been trying to settle on a color palette for our sitting room.  I had to think strategically since our walls are beige and our sofa and recliner are a rust colored leather.

Through research and mixing textures, fabrics, and colors I came up with a color palette consisting of several blue hues accented with mustard yellows and earthy greens (I’m inspired by nature!)  We settled on bringing mustard into the room with the tables.

During:

We settled on using ASCP in Arles.  (You can find the full range of colors in this line here.)  The benefit of chalk paint is that zero, and I do mean zero, prep work is required.  Prep work in the painting business is tedious but absolutely necessary for professional results.  It takes just as long, if not a longer, than actually painting with the main color.  Chalk paint is also extremely versatile for a number of different techniques.

 Specific Method:

~Apply paint stripper to the top portion of table, several times if necessary

~Sand top portion of table with an orbital, electric sander, 80 grit paper, until paint and gouges are smoothed out.

~Follow up with 150 grit paper to smooth out completely

Note: The above prep work steps were required because the table tops were to be stained, not painted.  If you are using ASCP on a piece of your own furniture and do not want to stain any portion of your piece, simply skip any prep work and just start painting!

~Paint table legs/base with ASCP in Arles, no prep work necessary on this portion of table

~Stencil large motif of choice in a pattern onto bare wood of tabletop in ASCP in Arles

~After table top stencil is dry, apply Minwax wood stain in Special Walnut to entire surface of bare wood, directly over chalk paint stencil detail, wiping off after 5-15 minutes.  Reapply as directed, as desired.

~Allow stained wood to dry overnight

~Finish table top by applying ASCP Dark Wax over entire stained wood surface

~Finish table legs by applying ASCP Clear Wax over entire table base, followed by ASCP Dark wax and distress sanding corners/edges

After:

I give you my latest project!

The body of the buffet/hutch is painted in ASCP in Aubusson Blue.  The inner shelving was painted in Paris Grey and then I used a water coloring technique (that I kind of just made up on the fly!) with more Aubusson Blue.  I wanted to create contrasting shelving but not anything too overwhelming.

Clear wax was buffed onto the paint’s surface to create a strong, matte, protective coat.  This created an aged, flat appearance versus a shiny, high-gloss, modern look.  Dark wax was then buffed on in circles to create a deepened, intense color with a soft brown cast.  Distress sanding took off some of the paint for depth and interest.

Let me know what you think!

Being timid with color is definately out.

I have to admit that I am loving the rich, deep hues that are showing up in home decor.  The key to these vibrant tones is to have a lot of natural lighting and white trim to keep the room from feeling weighed down.

  So here is some bold color inspiration that I have been pouring over this week for you to enjoy!

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