l'armoire est fini

So, Saturday was the day I had set aside to finally paint the armoire. Somehow over a breakfast consisting of cereal and magazines, I decided I would paint the entire piece white with pale aqua stripes, and leave all hardware on.



Because the window is a favorite piece, I took my aqua color-cue from the backing wallpaper, which lead me to choose Almost Aqua by Glidden.





The armoire was sort of beastly to paint and I needed to do a paint-run half-way through.



Overall I did about two coats to everything but the drawer fronts and hardware (just 1 coat) and let it dry overnight.



Sunday morning I still wasn't 100% sure if I should add the aqua stripes but then I just had to with the safety net of knowing that if it didn't look right, it could be covered with another coat of white. No measuring for me: I used the paint chip as my guide for width.



I gave a quick, light coat of paint and then carefully removed the tape.



Next it was time to shabbify the hardware with a little nail polish remover on a paper towel. The top pull is the before; the bottom is after a little damp swipe here and there.



Finally, the most fun part: the sanding. When I sand painted furniture it feels very "artisan-like" to me, as if I'm painting a picture because where I choose to sand or how much wood to reveal is so deliberate. It's like adding glitter or frosting a cupcake; it's the most enjoyable part of the process to me.



Once the sanding was how I wanted it, I wiped the entire piece with an old, dry towel to remove the sandy dust. (There's probably a real word for this that I'm just not thinking of!)



While the aqua paint was still open I tried Marie's Paint a Bottle project from the current issue of Romantic Country. And of course, painted a few cans and a wire basket found after scouting the basement.



The armoire was given another full day to dry and then today ...



Back in its place in my let's-pretend-it's-a beach-cottage living room.



I am thrilled with how it turned out!



Loving the painted jars, too!



Now, does anyone make speaker cosies?!

Thanks for cheering me on and hanging on through this long post!

xo
elyse