The lowdown on the lowboy

I was a lucky/blessed girl when I moved into my house because so many friends and family donated NICE pieces of furniture to me to help furnish my house. One of the pieces came into my house as a part of matching set for a bedroom, 2 side tables and a dresser. I already have a highboy dresser in my bedroom and don't need another, but I desperately needed storage in my living room. So, I plopped down the piece against my wall and left it there for almost a year now.

While the piece was nice and heavy, man is it HEAVY, it just wasn't my style. It took me a long time to realize that it wasn't the shape of the piece or the accents, it was the color. It was too something. So, after much perusing on Miss Mustard Seed, I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. As I mentioned this piece is super heavy, so I pulled the drawers out and put them on my super special custom painting station in my backyard. Jealous aren't you?!? After a good spray of primer and Heirloom White spray paint, I used 100 grit sandpaper to distress the edges and bring out the texture.

I then broke out my new favorite tool, toy, stuff??? Minwax Finishing Paste Wax in special dark. The finishing wax brought out the details in the furniture piece and added a soft darkening hue to the creamy paint. I was so excited about the new look that I put the drawers back in the piece, unmatching and all!

Last weekend I was able to cajole family into helping me haul the base of the lowboy outside to the carport. There I sanded and sanded and sanded to take off the old finish and reveal the wood beneath. I then hit the sides with more Heirloom White and prepped the top for staining. I chose the darkest stain I could find, since I wanted the biggest contrast between the top and base.

I have to say that I was super impressed with the results. The final look is FABULOUS and matches so well now in my living room. The texture and finish of the paint is so cool and I am so excited that it worked. The top however was another fail, but I cleverly photographed it so that it wasn't too noticeable. Eventually I will haul it back outside and redo the top, but until then, I'm going to enjoy the look it lends to my living room!