Wax Vs Varnish or Eggshell Paint and Farrow & Ball

I have realized that waxed furniture is not really the ideal thing when you have little kids in the house, as it is my case. Cabinets, side tables are ok, but dining chairs and kids furniture need a different treatment, a different finish.
I painted a country bench and a chair for my dining room in Old White, they really look gorgeous... but the continuous wear was showing off in the shape of dark marks where my son has placed his shoes or dirty little fingers, tried to removed them with a damp cloth and they didn't go. So I started looking for a more durable finish. Clear varnish is one of them, Shellac is widely used in the US and I'm still trying to find the equivalent here in the UK. Then I saw other people painting furniture with the famous Farrow & Ball paint, called one of the retailers and they said that Estate Eggshell was the ideal paint for that, the finish is very durable and if you want, you can also use wax and varnish after distressing is done. If you don't distress the furniture, you don't really need to apply anything else...sounded great to me!, so I treated myself to a 2.5lt tin of F&B paint:

There are so many beautiful colors to choose!!!! but because I want to paint my dining chairs I went for Skimming Stone. I can't wait to try it!!!.

Fun shabby chic signs

I love painted signs, they add a touch of humour to your home. I always smile when I see a nice one and there are so many phrases to play with. I've recycled 3 boards of wood to paint 3 signs:

Home sweet home sign. I used a relatively new chopping board that I cleaned with sugar soap, sanded it and painted using a mix of Annie Sloan's Cream and Louis Blue paint. I painted letters and decoration around the board with AS Old white, waxed, distressed and waxed again.

I love this one hehehe... Be nice or leave! I used the same colors mentioned on the previous sign.
I recycled a piece of floor board I had left from my house.

I also love this one and I think I'll make more in different colors. Here I used Annie Sloan's Louis Blue mixed with a bit of Paris Grey for the backround, and brown acrylic paint for the letters and decoration.
I used another piece of floor board I had left from my house.

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Shabby Chic Bread Box - Annie Sloan Paints

I found this boring bread box.... it needed urgent renovation, so there I went again...."brushes please.......paint please...", just like a surgeon does in theatre.
I used Annie Sloan's Cream paint, waxed, distressed, then another coat of clear wax and dark wax.... the result after the surgery?:
A lot nicer now uh? :-)

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Painted country chair

We moved house in december 2010 and this lovely chair was left here. Its solid oak so very heavy. It has lovely carvings and the best of all, it's very comfy!
I gave it a coat of Louis Blue and then a coat of Old White, waxed it, distressed it and waxed it again.
I reapholstered it with Laura Ashley's Chambray gingham fabric.

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Blue and white corner display cabinet

I found this corner unit on Ebay and it was a real bargain, I'm surprise nobody else put a bid....maybe because it was meant to be mine! ha!. The front is oak and the side panels are made of a light wood, which makes it very easy to move around.
I love the wavy sides of the shelves and the two small pillars on the top one.
It was sooooo dark and depressing to look at....oh dear....so there I went to the rescue! yay! when I collected it my hands were itching to grab brushes to start painting straight away. The couple I bought it from, could not believe how much I loved this piece of furniture it nearly went to the tip!! can you believe it?, they thought nobody would like it....how wrong they were!.

I knew exactly how I wanted to paint it...blue and white.

I used Annie Sloan's Old white for the outside and Louis Blue for the inside except the cupboard inside which is white. I waxed it, distressed it and waxed it again.

And voilá!, It looks really nice, it uplifts the space beautifully. My husband wanted to keep it....but I'm sorry...its SOLD!.

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Side table

My second project was a side table I bought in a boot sale, it has two practical drawers and is the ideal piece that fits everywhere in the house.
I fell in love with it immediately, dark and boring as it looks....because I always had in mind to paint it!
This time I used Paris Grey as a first coat and then Cream...
I wanted to use dark wax but was a bit shy I have to admit, probably because I didn't want to ruin the table!....and what happened was, I gave it a coat of clear wax first, then I sanded by hand, after that I applied another coat of clear wax followed by a diluted dark wax that I was removing with a cloth before it dried....

The result was different than what I expected but I likeed it.
Before and after...


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Painted Ercol Chairs

I bought these 2 chairs on Ebay, they seemed to be perfect for my first project with AS paints....

I gave them one coat of Cream color and then one coat of Paris Grey, waxed them, distressed them and waxed them again.... and voilá!


I do really love the result and the finish is delicious! so smooth!.

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