Wow.. this post has been a dreaded one of mine. For many reasons. Many of you know that we got a wonderful card catalog about 2 years ago in North Carolina. It’s our greatest find ever & we both love it. There are a few issues though. What you don’t see in all the pictures is all of the damage & work that it needs. This piece had lots of termite damage that is visible in person & it was used in a car garage for many years so the damage on it is pretty extensive. Actually one whole side of the piece is unusable [the farthest row behind the couch] because of the damage. We have tried to come up with solutions for it, but nothing is really peaking our interest until I saw a post from Jenna Sue Design the other day. I know many have said not to paint it before, but I’m not thinking of “painting” it per say.. more of a subtle wash to tone down the piece & hide some of the damage. I took some quick photos of the card catalog as it look today.. not too much of the damage, but you get the idea…
Here is the card catalog in “all it’s glory” It really is a massive & wonderful piece of furniture. After looking it over and looking at the damage we realize that to replace all of the damaged parts on it we would basically have to deconstruct most of it & that’s jus not something that we want to do. So, the next option is to basically patch everything up & “wash” the piece to give it all one cohesive finished look & to really conceal all of the damaged areas. There is one thing to have wear & tear which I love, but there is another thing to have visible termite damage & all of that. Ps. Yes the piece was cleaned & inspected before we brought it into our home.. no termite drama here. My main goal is wash down the red tones in the piece that do not really mesh well in our home while keeping the natural wood look still. So I’m not paining the piece solid white or anything like that so all of you non-furniture painters do not faint on me now. I just simply want to restore this piece by giving it a new life.
Here is a bathroom vanity by Jenna Sue design that I love & is so inspiring to me. She used a chalk paint wash on this vanity to bring out the wood grain yet give it a unified beautiful look. You can see the wood grain still & it really just gave it that weathered effect that I am desiring for our card catalog. Here are a few of my inspirations along with the one from JSD that sparked me to actually get this project done that I have been meaning to do for so long.
Weathered vanity from Jenna Sue Design.
Weathered stained printers cabinet from Rooms For Rent.
Weathered dresser from Primitive & Proper.
Bathroom vanity makeover from Shades of Blue Interiors.
Washed desk from Miss Mustard Seed.
White washed dresser from Centsational Girl.
I think you get the idea. One thing is clear… I am not going to sand that large piece of furniture. First of all, I don’t think some pieces would survive the sanding, & second of all.. just no. I’m going to avoid it at all costs & really give this washing/dry brushing thing a go. I mean, I’ve done it before just never on this large of a scale. I’m hoping this solves our problems with the piece because we would really like to keep it. Also, I’m hoping it ties it into our home decor a little more and eliminate some of that red tone that I’m hating. I’m not wanting to get the exact looks that I showed above but it is the general direction that I am heading in. Ok, it’s late & I’m done ranting. I really do love the piece, but after a few years of having it Mr. LMB & I have both decided something needs to change. We hope our easy way our works. You know I will keep you updated. Pray for us! haha no really though. Leave your comments below, find me on Facebook, & chat with me on Instagram.
I’ve been thinking about doing this to a coffee table, I’m curious to see how it turns out. I remember you said it in your Periscope the other day. Good luck!
I also fell in love with that vanity from JSD! I think your card catalogue is going to look spectacular! Can’t wait to see it finished! 🙂
How beautiful! I await anxiously the outcome.
hug,
ildete
Brazil
I’m not going to lie – my heart broke a little when I read the title to this post. BUT now that I see what your plans are, I’m excited to see how it turns out. It’s going to be beautiful!! 🙂
I have to admit, I wouldn’t touch that thing if it were mine! It’s so pretty!! But I do understand you wanting to paint it, I’m usually pretty paint happy myself. And it would look more cohesive with your stuff if you white washed it 🙂 Hopefully it turns out really well!
I’m all for painting furniture if you love the look and it’s appropriate to the piece, but I gotta say, that cabinet is so spectacular, I just think painting it or giving it a washed look wouldn’t do it justice. One option I’ve used for pieces that need a spruce up, (but that I haven’t wanted to fully refinish) is something called Howard “Restore-A-Finish”. It’s like a very, very thin version of stain that you can apply with a rag or a very fine steel wool. It comes in many colors, dries really quickly, and then you just put a coat of wax on over it. It restores color, covers scratches and generally improves the look of a piece without overdoing it or making it look refinished. I’d encourage you to try it out and see how you like it before you commit to putting a wash on or painting that incredible piece.
I really have had great luck with hemp oil revitalizing furniture. I know you said you were thinking of a light wash, but the hemp oil just brings the wood back to life. We found this chunky barn ladder that was so dried out looking…obviously it had been in a barn for quite awhile. I used hemp oil on it and it was like magic. It is just another option that worked well for me. I am sure the washed look will look fabulous!
I’m so excited to see what you do!!! My hubs and I just got a card catalog on CL and it’s in pretty rough shape too – it was used for tool storage and spent many years in a garage. At some point the drawer fronts were painted black (insert crying face here) and the sides are half painted green. The top and bottom hVe some major gouges and it needs serious love. Anyways, I wasn’t EVER going to paint it but the paint is not coming off so we might have too. I am excited to see what you end up doing, paint or no paint:)
Oh! As an English major and total book lover, I must say that I adore this piece!!! ADORE! I understand that you need to tone down the red and make it fit in with your decor. I think you have come up with the perfect solution. I cannot wait to see the finished product. Please make sure you post when you are done.
Best,
Michelle from simplysantabarbara.blogspot.com
P.S. Drop by my blog to get a couple of FREE printables for Christmas in July! 🙂
This is a fabulous vintage card catalog and although I agree with you about the damaged or scratched areas on this piece, in my opinion, it’s a shame to even see it white washed. Isn’t that the point of using a vintage piece of furniture as is, as it’s found? Although, if you are not planning to ever resell the piece as vintage in original condition, then go for the white wash. However, you may already be aware of this fact, but it does devalue any antique or vintage piece to do anything to the original patina, sometimes even a bad restoration can devalue the piece. Personally, I would only paint a vintage piece, if I was planning on reselling as “repainted furniture” or if the finish was truly not able to be professionally restored. I’ve also used the “Howard Restore-A-Finish” product which Lisa Cole suggested in the comment above. This product works great for freshening-up vintage solid wood pieces.(I used it on 2 vintage school desks, which I had since I was child, and didn’t plan to resell). However, I would suggest doing a test area on the back side of the piece, if you do try this product. This suggestion has a two-fold reason, one, just to see if you like the look. Reason two, is if you use it on the entire piece and then decide you still would prefer to do the white wash, the stain product will bleed through the white wash. So, better to do test areas for everything, even the white wash and see what you prefer, before painting the entire piece. I’ve been painting a lot with “Annie Sloan Chalk Paint” recently and discovered this stain bleed through issue by accident on the project I was painting, which had previously been stained. It doesn’t happen with all stained pieces, but you never know until you start painting on the vintage pieces. I was told by someone who uses a lot of chalk paint, that it does occur more often with oak or walnut stained pieces and to use a layer of shellac over the wood to seal it first, let the shellac dry a few days and then paint with the chalk or milk paint. The only problem I found with doing this process with the shellac layer, is the wash will not settle into the grain of wood, as it does on the raw or lightly stained wood. These are just a bunch of suggestions FYI”S and what I’ve discovered by trial and error, so I hope some of them are helpful for you in your creative process. I’m curious to see what the cabinet looks like when it’s completed.
Cheers & Happy Painting!
Hey Liz! I am sure anything you do on that piece of furniture will look great. I will wait for the update on that! =)
I know you will get a lot of people telling you not to paint it but do what you want, it is your home.