Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It’s been a great week as I’ve been finishing up painting projects for the winter. The cool weather means I’m not able to sand furniture outside so I hibernate inside, rest, and catch up on my writing. I can’t wait!
I absolutely love the winter. Everything seems so bright when it snows. Just looking outside when it snows you can see a haze of cool blues.
That’s why this month’s furniture makeover challenge that I am a part of and its theme are so fitting. I decided to refresh a small French style cabinet in a cool blue that can now be a colorful statement piece.
Our contest creators, hosts, and directors are Carrie at ThirtyEighth Street, Evy at Evey’s Creations, Lynn at On Fern Avenue, Thea at Sweet Tea Refinishing, and Colleen at 58 Water Street. I highly recommend you check out their blogs and see their own furniture makeovers. They’re such an inspiration!
Velvet Finishes is our sponsor. The theme for this furniture makeover challenge…
Color Your World.
Velvet Finishes makes amazing paints in 21 beautiful, modern paint colors. If you can’t find a shade in their original color palette, they also offer the perfect color recipes to extend their color line! While Velvet Finishes supplied each participant with two shades of paint, their Ready product, Enhance glaze, and Protect, I can assure you that all opinions are my own. I know you wouldn’t want it any other way.
For the #FabFlippinContest, we were able to choose two colors. I chose a deep blue called Handsome and a medium gray called Timeless. Today I’m showing you the Handsome paint color (Stay tuned for the Timeless).
Choosing these dark colors purposeful.
Very dark colors are typically much more difficult to work with than medium shades. Choosing a color with such intensity would give me a very good idea of how the paint reacted and the coverage (and this one past the coverage test with flying colors!).
The paint arrived just a few days after order. Unlike most paint that’s packaged in a metal can with a lid you have to pry open, Velvet Finishes packs their paint in plastic containers with screw on covers. This is a blessing to frequent painters like myself! So easy to open and close.
Now lets get to the actual paint!
I’m in love with this dark blue color, appropriately-named Handsome. It reminds me of the ocean but much darker. This paint was still mixed when it arrived and I opened the container. The color wasn’t separated at all which means you can tell they used very rich pigments in their paint!
I chose a small French-style cabinet for this contest for a few reasons, the main one being it would be a true test of the Velvet Finishes products I was testing for the first time. Also, this cabinet was not real wood. It was covered in veneer (a printed surface made to look like wood). The veneer is likely a plastic and it’s bonded to the MDF (manufactured wood) underneath. Parts of those door fronts are actually plastic. I wanted to see how the paint adhered to a surface other than wood.
In addition, this piece has tons of detail work so I’d be able to see exactly how it performed on the flat surfaces, curves, and deep crevices.
Since this piece wasn’t real wood, I wasn’t able to sand it down like I typically do with furniture to prep it for painting. So I used the Velvet Finishes Ready deglosser spray. Simply spray it on the entire piece and let it dry. That’s it. I just found a new favorite product!
Once the Ready was dry, I painted on a primer which I tinted with the Handsome blue color. Although you don’t have to prime prior to painting, I wanted to be sure I didn’t run out of paint so I opted for the primer coat. Once dry, I painted.
Prior to painting I watched this video on using Velvet Finishes to paint kitchen cabinets. In the video, founder Kellie Smith explains that you don’t have to be particular when painting with Velvet Finishes because it levels out really well. Well, I tested that theory by painting in every different direction and she was right. It performed fantastically!
Velvet Finishes paint is quite thick out of the container. The first coat covered really well. After that, I watered down the paint a bit and applied two more thin coats. I’m guessing the second and third coats were really only necessary because I was using such a rich color.
The dried paint has a matte finish and behaves like chalk paint and it’s easily distressed if you prefer. I loved the full coverage so proceeded to add the final protective clear coat called Protect.
Velvet Finishes performed incredibly well. It leveled itself out as promised. It covered really well. But the best part was that it didn’t drip! Do you see all of those groves in the cabinet doors? Not one drip! Amazing.
If you’re a blogger interested in participating in future Fab Furniture Flippin Contests, you can email our hosts at info@fabfurnitureflippincontest.com.
Please remember to subscribe via email or follow along on Facebook.
Thank you & Enjoy!
Vicki
Disclaimer: This post does contain affiliate links to products I use myself.
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