Baby its cold outside, and the painting is at a standstill

A few weeks ago we had some record warm temps here in Northern Virginia. It was January and in the 50's/60's! But as all good things must come to an end, the thermostat dropped and this week it was frigid. Like 15 degrees cold! So painting in the garage is on hold until the forecast shows temps at least in the 40's.

Here's a large gorgeous piece I was able to finish before the Ice Age hit.

 BEFORE

AFTER

This gorgeous cabinet was painted hunter green inside and out. The client's decorating has changed and she didn't want to see any green on this baby anymore. To distress this piece and not have any green show through, I had to sand away the green paint in all the areas I planned to distress. Take a look...

I got out my truster Black and Decker Mouse and sanded off the edges - farther back than I intended to distress - so I could be sure the green didn't show through. For the most part, this was successful, although I will admit, tiny hints of green did appear in some of the finer areas, like the molding up top. But, when it was all done, those areas looked more like dark wood than green, and the client was pleased with the overall appearance.

It's painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey on the outside. I clear waxed the entire piece to seal the paint. Then I distressed lightly along the edges, and dark waxed in select areas to give it an aged look. Don't you just love how this grey looks? 

On the inside I painted the shelves (plus two more not appearing here in this photo) and the entire inside in Old White. The dark wax on the bead board made this back really pop! 

This was a really big project, and I can't wait to see how my client decorates it in her home! While the weather was still nice, I started another big piece of furniture (for the same client) - this white armoire.

We're going to give it a more masculine appearance, and match the paint scheme to this piece of furniture.

I've already painted the whole piece in Annie Sloan's Graphite. And as soon as the temperature creeps back up next week, I'll work on that chippy blue effect. Wait till you hear about this - you do it with Elmer's glue!

While I was between custom projects, I got a great deal on this used shelf. It was originally black and I wanted it to be red to match my laundry room colors.

I brought it inside and painted it in my kitchen! This puppy was painted and waxed in just a couple of hours.

I think the washer and dryer are jealous!

Alrighty folks, think warm thoughts! And pray for Spring to get here soon!