What a difference a day makes. Or, should I say, what a difference a GRAY makes! In just one day this shelving unit went from a rather outdated brown to a piece of furniture you’d see showcased in a high-end furniture store.
This is the first real painting project I’ve been able to work on since the car accident more than two months ago. It’s been a long few months! But rest, physical therapy, and some steady exercised, and my arm and wrist are finally strong enough to get working again. I’m so happy! I lost the entire spring season and was really missing it.
This shelving unit/bookcase belonged to a client, Diane. Diane had just moved into a new, modern condo by the ocean and wanted this shelving until updated with a new color to coordinate with the seaside.
Here’s how the bookcase looked when she first brought it to me.
The bookcase has one marble shelf and the other shelves are glass, so she held onto those. As you can see, the brown doesn’t coordinate very well with the gray and white marble. But that marble goes perfectly with Diane’s new condo wall color, so it was time for an update.
First, the entire unit was sanded down and the marble was covered in paper to prevent any paint from spattering on it.
Two coats of dark gray chalk paint were applied. I used Annie Sloan’s Graphite as the base coat and then Velvet Finishes Moody gray over that.
The second step was to apply a coat of clear matte polycrylic so that when the white wash was applied, I would have more control over it’s application. It creates a slick surface.
From there, I applied a very light layer of General Finishes Winter White glaze. The glaze was brushed on and then almost all of it was removed with a damp cotton rag. If I hadn’t applied the clear polyacrylic, I never would have been able to wipe away the amount of glaze that I needed to to create this subtle white-washed finish.
And here’s the result…
Subtle and sophisticated. What a difference a gray makes!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products I use myself.
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