Happy Monday!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Today, I am so excited to have one of my very dear blog friends here today, Marian from Miss Mustard Seed.

Marian and I started blogging around the same time many years ago.  I loved following her blog because she had the best style and made things beautiful for less. It has been fun to watch her blog “blow up” over the past five years.  She has been featured in practically every magazine on the planet, written a home decor book, and has her own line of milk paint products!  {And that’s only the half of it!}

She’s a rockstar, y’all!

The best part is she is humble and grateful for all of the blessings her blog has brought her.  Plus, she knows from whom all blessings flow!  {wink}

Thank you, Marian, for sharing this beautiful project with us today!!

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Would you believe that this…

…started out as this?

I was hunting for a really great, large farm table, but everything I found was just a bit more than I wanted to pay. So, I decided to open my search to include new, solid wood tables that could be refinished to look old. That search yielded this newer table that had a great shape, but the shiny, orangey finish wasn’t the look I was going for.

I tried stripping off the finish with a chemical stripper, but it only took a little bit of the shine off. So, we had to go to sanding. Kriste sanded off the finish one afternoon when it was pretty and the table could be carried outside of the studio. It took some time, but she was able to get it down to the raw pine boards. Now it looked like a brand new, unfinished table. I wanted it to look old and worn, so I abused it with various sharp and blunt objects…denting, dinging, scratching and poking it.

I tried to be random with the marks, except for clusters of pinholes I made with a nail, meant to look like worm holes.

I wanted to give the wood a rich patina and a finish, so I slathered on some Antiquing Wax.

When the excess is wiped away, the Antiquing Wax stays in the dents, dings and “worm holes”, simulating the look of age, wear and patina. It’s not quite as warm as pine that has been aged over decades, but it’s a great option for instant age.

Here is a quick video on the finishing process, so you can see it in action.

The cool thing about using the Antiquing Wax is that it’s one step. It’s the technique and the finish all in one. I only applied one coat, buffed it by hand and then buffed it with a buffing pad on my orbital sander to make it smooth and slightly shiny. It’s not glossy, but the buffing pad brings out a luster.

And I love how it turned out. When I showed it to Kriste she said it didn’t even look like the same table.

We lightly sanded the table base and applied a coat of Lucketts Green followed by a coat of Ironstone. We then distressed and left the paint unfinished. (I say “we” because Kriste and I both worked on it during various stages.) I like the two-tone look for the legs, because it’s pretty common to see that on old tables. It also gives the legs some visual texture, since they are pretty smooth to the touch.

 

Check out  more of Marian’s amazing makeovers by visiting her blog….