Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Little Secretary

Good afternoon!



I'm on the hunt for a few little white pitchers for my secretary. I got a new vanity for my bedroom which required moving my little secretary. 



I just love secretaries so I couldn't get rid of it. 


 Instead I moved it to the dining room. It was a perfect fit for the little section of wall by the window but it looked too dark and too big.
Now before anyone freaks out that I painted this antique, 
 let me say this is not an antique - yet.
I believe it to be from the 30s or 40s during a Jacobean Revival.  
The finish on this piece was not good.
It had very gloppy and glossy varnish. 
Some of it was even flecking off in places.


It needed to be redone. It looked like someone had put varnish or polyurethane over an old finish. 
The value here is purely decorative and it was not an expensive piece. I only paid $120.00 for it.
That's a good deal for a secretary but it was an "as is" sort of thing. 
I am trying to fall in love with and unify the various wood tones around here so I painted it.



My "go to" painting technique was not going to work on this.
Usually I prime and then paint with oil based enamel but I didn't think it would stick because of the gloss on it. I didn't want to add any more layers until I took some off.  
I stripped it down with Citrus Stripper. 
The fumes aren't bad so I did this in the house. 
I tried to make a home made chalk paint but it left grit all over the piece. 
I didn't notice the grit until the oil based coat dried.
Argh!



A light sanding took care of the problem.



 I left the inside dark so it would coordinate with the dish dresser and the dark table and chairs.



 I love the balance of light and dark. 


 I pulled the kitchen table in here and I'll show you that soon.  

5 comments :

  1. I absolutely adore it! The white is perfect against the gray wall! Just perfect! I collect white pitchers so this is right up my alley. Love it!

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  2. Oh yes it's lovely painted white!! The white pitchers just make it more special.
    ann

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  3. What a fabulous transformation.....I love the new white color!!!!! It looks so beautiful tucked in the corner :o)
    Happy Easter!
    ~Des

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  4. What a beautiful little secretary! You were very lucky to find one with leaded glass windows. It's such a classic piece and can be used in any room - enjoy!

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  5. Wow...amazingly beautiful. Love it and the whole room! Love your pitcher collection.

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