Mystic Midnight Chest of Drawers

My friends, allow me to share this Mystic Midnight beauty with you. Funny story behind this craigslist find…When I first saw the picture in the ad, I fell in love with all the details. The seller was located about an hour from us so I wanted to make sure it was worth the drive. I asked the seller if she would share a picture of the inside of the top half of the piece. She then sent me a picture of the inside of a drawer. I went back to her and kindly insisted that I needed to see the opening of the top, of the armoire/wardrobe section. When she politely responded by telling me there was no armoire, that it was all drawers, it finally dawned on me. The intricate design of the piece had been like an optical illusion for me. I simply couldn’t see any drawers on the top half…Duh!! In my defense, it was a somewhat blurry picture!

MATERIALS:
*Glidden’s Onyx Black Paint, chalked like so
*Behr’s Forever Denim Paint, chalked like so
*Clear Wax
*Charcoal Wax
*Wooster Paint Roller
*Primer (similar)
*Art Alchemy Aged Brass Wax
*Water Mister
*Spar Urethane for Top Coat

I first cleaned the entire piece with my vinegar solution and primed. Then I gave it two coats of the black and blue paint. Using a high grit sandpaper, like a 120, I lightly sanded between coats. This helps remove dried paint droplets and debris from your surface. I studied the piece several times to see where I would divide the paint colors and at what level the blue wood wrap around the sides.

After the second coat was dry, I got to working on my FAV-O-RITE part, the paint rolling effects. Here are the steps:
*Working in sections, add another quick coat of colors (can be sloppy since you already have a strong base).
*Take your mister and spray your piece. The moisture from the mister helps blend more easily.
*Then take your paint roller and dab and press to achieve a blended look between colors.
*Once blended, you can leave as is or add more character by creating a drip-marked look. To do this, mist again across your piece and let the paint start to drip down. Before it drips too low, take your paint roller and stop the drips by pressing on the piece. Leave as much of the drip marks exposed as you like. Give everything a few minutes to dry a little and using a paper towel, dab in parts to dry some of the marks and create more of a textured look.

There really is no wrong way to do this. Because it is art. If you want to make a clear distinction with colors and some of one color lands in unwanted areas, simply paint back over it. To blend on the drawer fronts I used a paint brush because of the nooks and crannies. Easier than using the roller.

The hardware were so pretty with such unique details. I freshened them up by giving them two coats of the Onyx Black. Once dried I lightly dabbed on (leaving a lot of the black exposed) some aged brass metallic wax to add some depth and sparkle.

I really love the way black looks distressed. I wet distressed the black sections by taking a paper towel, misting it and then rubbing back and forth along the edges.

For final steps I applied clear wax to the blue sections and charcoal wax to the black sections. The top of the piece received two coats of spar urethane for extra protection. I use this product everywhere. It dries wonderfully and holds up great to my kids’ abuse. It is also water based so it won’t yellow over time.

And that’s it ladies and gents, our piece is completed! What do you think of the Mystic Midnight Chest of Drawers? Isn’t he handsome! I’d love to hear your thoughts.