Color is one of my favorite things and sometimes I view white as a compromise. I mean really, have you noticed the thousands of amazing color options at your local paint store? Do you realize that it would take you about 300 years to use all of those amazing colors on your walls or your furniture? There’s no time for white! But, white does work for some people… Well, actually, it works for most. All of the custom pieces I’ve done so far have been painted white as this beautiful dresser was painted.
The couple who bought my walnut highboy found this dresser and wanted me to paint it to match the highboy.
Here’s how I did it
1. Sanded and stripped the top. Lightly sanded the body and drawers.
2. Sanded and sanded again and again till the top was ready for wax.
3. Applied Annie Sloan Dark Wax directly to the top (no clear coat underneath). To make it easier to manipulate the dark wax, I soaked the container in a bath of hot water.
4. Painted 2 coats of homemade chalk paint (Behr UL 170-15 Mineral).
5. After it was dry, I applied a layer of clear glaze.
6. Then I applied a layer of glaze tinted with black on the white surfaces. I highly recommend Behr Premium Plus Faux Glaze. It dries quickly and is easy to manipulate. I WOULD NOT recommend the Valspar (Lowes) brand. It takes forever to dry and is not as easy to work with.
For a tutorial on how to apply a tinted glaze, visit Alchemy Fine Living. She knows what she is doing and I learned this technique from reading her blog and watching her tutorials.
Hope you’ll learn from my mistake
If you don’t want the tinted glaze to substantially alter your white paint, APPLY A COAT OF CLEAR GLAZE BEORE APPLYING YOUR TINTED GLAZE. That layer of clear glaze will create a nice barrier between the dark glaze and your nice white piece. You’ll be able to control how dark the piece gets by being able to wipe off as much of the dark glaze as you desire.
This piece needed to match another the walnut highboy, so although the effect of the glaze in the picture below is nice, it darkened the white and didn’t match the white of the highboy.
Here is a shot of the dark glaze applied directly to the white paint:
And, here is a shot of the dark glaze applied to the white piece AFTER applying a coat of clear glaze and after wiping most of it off.
Linking up to these great parties:
Monday
http://becolorful.typepad.com
http://betweennapsontheporch.net
http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com
http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com
http://boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com
Tuesday
http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com
http://www.bystephanielynn.com
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com
http://cedarhillranch.blogspot.com
http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com
http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com
Wednesday
http://www.domestically-speaking.com
http://www.uncommondesignsonline.com
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
http://diybydesign.blogspot.com
Thursday
http://www.stonegableblog.com
http://bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.com
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/
http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/
http://www.houseofhepworths.com
Friday
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
http://www.redouxinteriors.com/
http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/
http://www.findingfabulousblog.com/
http://www.mysimplehomelife.com/
http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/
http://www.doodlesandstitches.com/
Saturday
http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/
Special Submission
http://www.powerofpaint.net
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Jessica said:
Beautiful! Just want to clarify, do you let the layer of clear glaze dry first? I love the idea of being able to wipe a little more off.
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Hi Jessica,
On this piece, I did let the clear layer dry first. To explain a bit further… for this piece, the client didn’t want the glaze to alter the white color much… we just wanted to get some black into the detail work of the wood so most of it was wiped away and applying the layer of clear glaze underneath the tinted layer prevented the tinted glaze from making it too dark. you can see the difference in my two close up photos of the leg. Thanks!
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Anonymous said:
Thank you so much Martha! That is exactly the effect I am going for on a bedroom set that I am currently painting. While I love the glazed look I was afraid of it dirtying my white paint too much. I will definitely do a clear coat first. I have also seen a dark wax method used for a similar look but found it slightly difficult to work with and can look very dirty if you are not careful. While the piece turned out great I am looking forward to trying glaze as an alternative!
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martha at MarthaLeoneDesign.com said:
Hi Elaine, Sorry for the confusion. I’m actually not painting over the glaze. Maybe my instructions aren’t clear. After I painted the dresser white, I applied a layer of clear glaze. Then I applied the tinted black glaze and rubbed it off till I got my desired effect. I did the application of clear and tinted glazes in sections. The reason for application of clear glaze underneath the tinted glaze: it sets a barrier between the white paint and the tinted glaze so that the tinted glaze doesn’t seep into the white and darken it too much. I wonder if this helps…
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elaine said:
hi martha. another question. if you are painting over the glaze you put on, what is the purpose of the glaze? love to learn new things! thx e
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Pingback: Tinted Glazed Dresser
Nicole said:
This beautiful dresser is being featured at Doodles & Stitches today 🙂
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martha at leonedesign.wordpress.com said:
Thanks so much!
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Gail (@repurposedlife) said:
nice job with the dresser, great tips on the glazing!
“catching” you this week on ccc
gail
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Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said:
Beautiful! I think white was the perfect choice!
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Nicole said:
Simply gorgeous! I love this dresser and you chose the perfect color. Thanks for linking up at Doodles & Stitches.
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BeColorful said:
As another color evangelist, I get it that choosing white can somehow seem like cheating but sometimes it really doesn’t get any better than this dazzling neutral. Love what you did here. Thanks for sharing it on BeColorful.
p
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Crystelle said:
The white is gorgeous. the dark glazing is striking….
You are so awesome!
hugs x
Crystelle
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Made For A King said:
This is stunning. I love how painting it really made the details pop.
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martha at leonedesign.wordpress.com said:
Thanks! I’m headed over to your blog for a look. Have a great day.
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Rosemary said:
White was just right for this piece. Beautiful job. Love the shape.
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martha at leonedesign.wordpress.com said:
Hi. Thanks for the comment. I love what you did with your recent piece… will head over to your blog now to comment!
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Helga said:
Oh this is gorgeous!!! I love white pieces…especially ones that are beautiful like this one bringing out all the details that a crazy color may have taken away from (I love crazy colors too lol).
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martha at leonedesign.wordpress.com said:
I love crazy colors as well Helga. Sometimes I have to use white. It’s like the piece of furniture just needs it… although I’m ALWAYS tempted to use other colors and try to as often as possible. Thanks for the comment!!
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Patty said:
BEAUTIFUL! visiting from Stone Gable.
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martha at leonedesign.wordpress.com said:
Hi Patty,
Thanks for the comment. I love your recent project and I’m headed to your blog to comment on it right now!
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Peggy said:
I guess I’m one of those that love the white too. You did a beautiful job on the distressing. I am going to try the glaze like you suggested. I haven’t done that as of yet. Thanks for sharing.
Peggy @ southscapedesigns.com
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martha at leonedesign.wordpress.com said:
Go for it. The glazing process is like magic. I hope you enjoy it!
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Peggy said:
Thanks Martha I definitely will. 🙂
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cassie said:
oh so gorgeous!!! those details are AMAZING!
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cherrill said:
I love love love it! I am just getting into this hobby. I painted my first peices in the last couple week and I am having a blast checking out all of the on line info. You were very clear and concise about the process and I so appreciate that. Your work is just gorgeous and I’m telling all my friends about you! Keep up the great work! I’ll be back regularly with my morning coffee.
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martha at leonedesign.wordpress.com said:
Hi Cherrill: Thanks for the comment. So glad to hear that you are painting! When I started on this adventure, I learned so much in a short period of time from the great tutorials online. Hope you enjoy! Thank you so much for geting the word out about my work. Have a great day.
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Laurie said:
Another beautiful job! Thanks for all the tips.
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