Just for Kids

I recently painted a dresser for a 2-year old named Henry who was changing rooms because of his new little brother, Alfie.  Aren’t those cute names?  Henry’s parents had me paint this dresser for his nursery 2 years ago.  It’s an old farmhouse style  that they wanted in red:

They are keeping it which doubles as a change table for baby Alfie and bought a small tallboy for Henry.

It’s maple and very heavy with solid wood drawers that weigh a ton.  I covered the whole thing with a coat of shellac because I have learned that that reddish stain used before poly finishes bleeds through paint, even latex.  Henry’s mum wanted 3 colours: navy, yellow and cream.  I was influenced by the wonderful furniture painted at Poppyseed Creative Living ( she is very talented) and created a colour-block effect.

The colours are Annie Sloan’s Arles, Cream and Napoleonic Blue.  I copied the colour-block on a few of the knobs and added the larger red knobs painted in Burgundy for an extra punch.  The hardest part was getting the lines straight.  I started with the drawers in the dresser and taped through the middle of the drawer where the holes are.  Then I lined up the lines on the side.  This required a measuring tape and marking with a pencil.  I do not have a straight eye, so I will tape on a slant without markings. When using light and dark colours, I would recommend painting the light one first then the dark overtop.  With this design there is a fair amount of overlapping.

In retrospect, I might have mixed the Arles with English Yellow to get less gold but I am happy with the result.  It has a wax finish which I like the look of better than poly and which is durable after it is cured, especially on something like a dresser.  I tend to use poly on table or desk surfaces but have found that wax  has worn well on all the pieces that are in my house.

 

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http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.ca/2015/12/show-and-share-no-293.html

http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/

 

My first year

Painting furniture has been the perfect hobby/obsession for me.  I retired from teaching at the end of January 2013 and plunged right into painting. I had first read about Annie Sloan chalk paint in a newspaper article that featured Katrina Barclay who owns Malenka Originals.  Here is a look back, more or less in order, at the things that I have painted.  It’s pretty obvious that I like colour.

Mahogany dresser painted in Provence with dark wax:

French Provincial coffee table painted in French Linen with a blue wash and gilding:

Pine dresser in a lightened Napoleon Blue and stained top:

Waterfall Dressers: The first one is Barcelona Orange, the second is a peacock blue that was a mix of Napoleon Blue and Aubusson.  I later repainted it in the 3rd photo.

Mahogany end tables painted in a lightened Provence with Old White and German Silver gilding:

Mahogany End tables.

Art Deco mahogany dresser in Provence with an Aubusson wash:

Mahogany Desk in Old White and Emile in the drawers:

Smaller Mahogany desk in French Linen, Old White and copper gilding:

Small dresser in Chateau Grey and Old White:

Two incarnations of a Mid-Century table:

Miss Mustard Seed Typewriter and Old White:

Coffee table in Graphite and Old White:

End table in Graphite and Silver Craft paint:

Drum table in Old White, with Graphite, Paloma and Gilding on the edges:

French Provincial Dresser in Pure White with Old Violet and Gilding:

French Provincial dresser with Old Violet and gilding

Teak coffee table in Graphite and Florence:

Washstand in MMS Tricycle and dark wax:

End table that was painted first in Tricycle then changed to a Provence/Florence mix:

Provence mixed with Florence to make a true turquoise.

Pine dining table refinished top and Pure White:

Round table with Provence and Old White base:

French Provincial table in Old White with walnut top:

Antique table in Chateau Grey with a white wash:

Table painted with Chateau Grey and a white wash

Vintage rocking chair in a Provence/Florence mix:

Maple dresser in Emperor’s Silk, Tricycle and Old White:

Antique mahogany dresser in Cream:

Oak desk in Graphite:

Antique dresser in Emperor’s Silk:

Antique dresser painted with Emperor’s Silk

Mid-century table in Provence/ Florence mix with MMS Typewriter and Emperor’s Silk feet:

Nesting tables in lightened Provence with Graphite and gilding on the edges:

I have also done a few custom pieces and various chairs and small tables which I haven’t included in this post.  It has been a very busy retirement so far.

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A tale of two chairs

These 2 vintage chairs are both considered Windsor chairs.  A Windsor chair has a saddle seat with drilled holes into which the legs and the back are fitted.  It originated in England probably some time in the 17th century but it first became associated with the town of Windsor around 1710.  English Windsors were usually stained and the seat was made from elm, a strong wood that does not split easily.  American Windsors were made with a variety of woods and often painted to disguise the different types.  In the 19th century, rustic chairs were painted with milk paint which was a mixture of buttermilk, turpentine and cow’s blood. There are a variety of styles that can be seen in this picture:

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/09/past-present-windsor-chair-history-resources.html

Although always available because of the simplicity of the design, Windsor chairs have gone in and out of style.  They are associated with the Colonial Revival movement of the late 19th century and are generally seen in traditional homes.  However, the eclectic mix and match fashion of the last few years has created a new interest in using Windsors ( usually painted) with other styles.  Look at this great photo from Houzz.com:

Photo by Jeanette Karlsen. See more scandinavian dining room designs

The chairs have been painted light pink and paired with mid-century furniture.  Or this one:

Photo by Neiman Taber Architects. See more contemporary dining room designs

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       You can find an excellent article with more photos of a modern take on Windsor chairs  here.

My two chairs were both bought at the same garage sale.  The first one is a 1930’s rocker which is an adult chair and the small size suggests it was marketed for women.  It is a good-sized child’s chair by today’s standards which is why I painted it turquoise ( an AS Provence/Florence mix).  I like the dipped look on hoop back chairs.

The white chair was someone’s painting chair and was covered in paint spots.  I painted the seat and back in purple ( AS Old Violet and Emperor’s Silk) then painted over it in Pure White.  I wiped off a lot of the white paint to reveal the undercoats.  You can also see some of the original splatters.  It’s not everyone’s taste but I love this little chair.  It’s very sturdy in spite of being old looking and I think it would look great as an accent chair somewhere.

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Colonial Revival Furniture

Traditional Living Room by Framingham Photographers Mary Prince

 

This lovely photo from Houzz.com is a classic example of American Colonial revival style.  White walls, a large brick hearth, a blanket box, a wing chair and some rustic elements such as the rifle and the copper wash tub. Colonial revival is seen as the quintessential American style and has not lost its popularity since the 1870’s despite many trends and design movements.  It is an idealization of the past and a re-interpretation of the furniture and design of the 17th and 18th centuries.  It has been a traditional style for the last 140 years but it has seen periods where it was immensely popular,usually as a response to social or economic turmoil.  A definite revival of the style can be seen in the 1950’s and later in the 1970’s.  The 1970’s movement of back to the land, and the fascination with farmhouse styling and all things handmade could be said to be reactions to the upheaval of the 1960’s.  One could argue that the present DIY/Vintage movement  is a further example of this same type of reaction, an eco-conscious return to the past as a response to global warming, terrorism and war.

 

Colonial Revival design in the 20th century falls into 2 categories:  a formal 18th century style which is suitable for spacious homes and the American rustic style which was seen in smaller homes, cottages and rec rooms.  Many homes were an amalgam of both as can be seen this living room below.

  This 1950’s or 60’s living room has a mixture of traditional Colonial furnishings and more modern furniture.  The Windsor chair, the portrait on the wall, the sconces, the tables and what appears to be a warming pan on the opposite wall are mixed with more modern sofas and lamps.

According to Antique Home Style, the features of both styles are:

 

• Woodwork and trim used widely throughout the house including wood mantels and surrounds, corner cupboards in kitchens, and dining rooms, wainscot and crown moulding trim at ceiling and wide baseboards and case trim around doors and windows

18th C. Colonial

• Formal design
• Fine furniture, cabinetry making, and joinery techniques
• Fine hardwoods such as walnut, cherry, mahogany
• Reinterpretation of classic 18th & early 19th C. artisans such as Chippendale, Sheridan, and Hepplewhite. Duncan Phyfe was extremely popular.
• Fabrics included tapestry, velveteens, brocades

Early American

• Rustic interpretations of early colonial furnishings
• Mixed woods including knotty pine, maple, hickory, chestnut, and poplar
• Rag, hooked, and braided rugs
• Fabrics were cotton, wool, and linen
• Iron and brass fixtures and lighting

The early American style was very popular in the 1950’s and could be seen in informal living/dining rooms, bedrooms and kitchens ( think Betty Draper’s pine kitchen on Mad Men).  This photo shows a style that I saw a lot when I was growing up.

And, how many of these maple dressers with the Chippendale handles have been manufactured in the last 60 years?

http://uhurufurniture.blogspot.ca/2012/10/maple-highboy-95.html

There seems to be no end to the popularity of this furniture especially in children’s bedrooms.  The dresser that I painted was made in the 1940’s by Imperial-Loyalist, a Stratford Ontario manufacturer. Canadians of a certain age are familiar with Vilas and Roxton, reputable furniture makers, who produced maple and other hardwood pieces in the rustic American style.  There is a lot of this furniture around from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s; it’s very solid and well-made but definitely stuck in a time warp.  What’s interesting about my dresser is the odd styling.  It is maple, inside and out, has squared bun feet, very large squared knobs, and a gallery top.   It seems to have wanted to be both Colonial and modern( the knobs) at the same time. It had a thick mahogany coloured stain which was typical for the time period.  This is the only before photo that I have but you can see the colour clearly:

 

I painted it with a mixture of AS Emperor’s Silk and Barcelona Orange.   I have used this combo before and it produces a vivid red.  However, when it dried on this piece, it looked brick red, not a colour that I like particularly.  Perhaps it was the orange and the red stain underneath that was doing this.  Since I had run out of the paint after 2 coats, I mixed up MMS Tricycle and applied 2 coats of that.  Now, the colour is a candy apple red which was what I was going for.  The top section is in Pure White.  I originally was not going to distress the knobs but the squared circle design seemed to invite it.  I was inspired by a Martha Leone design which you can see here.  I hope she won’t mind my copying her.

Click to enlarge photos:

 

 

Sources:

http://www.antiquehomestyle.com/inside/colonial/

http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/2003/february/colonial_revival.shtml

http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/summer02/revival.cfm

 

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