I’ve been getting a lot of requests from followers to get a heads up on pieces before they reach the store, so here goes ~ sneak peak of the black highboy dresser I finished tonight.
I had a lot of fun distressing this one.
I learned how to do this reading Guide to Furniture Finishes.
For less than the cost of a gallon of paint, you too can learn to get this look.
We just dropped this dresser off to our booth at Not So Shabby Antiques and Fine Furniture
*Let me know if there is something you’re looking for that you haven’t seen. We have a lot of projects in the works as well as some fabulous pieces patiently waiting their turn. Contact us if you have a piece of furniture you would like painted! Update: Nov. 2014 We’ve been working about 90 hours a week. To shorten up the amount of time spent at work, we have cut back on doing custom orders. Feel free to check back with our studio from time to time as we may take select pieces from time to time depending on our current schedule.
My husband ended up in emergency surgery over the weekend so I’m letting my pictures speak for themselves today – quite frankly, I’m beat!
This Three Drawer Chest Would Make a Fabulous Entryway Piece!
Of course you can use it anywhere, but I’d show it off a little. I may be bias, and a bit delirious after this weekend, but I think all the colors peeking through are pretty cool.
I layered numerous colors of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in order to achieve this rich old world Patina then layered with light and dark wax for a smooth buttery finish. The truth is, I originally painted it in Duck Egg Blue which I couldn’t stand. I disliked it so much that as soon as I carried it into the store, I couldn’t stand it, so I hauled it back home to cover it up. I ended up painting over it with Graphite and odds and ends of other colors then distressed the heck out of it. In my frustration of having to paint and wax it all over again, I went sand crazy but in the end, I love how it turned out. It sold almost immediately, so I guess all my hard work paid off in the end. I just struggle so much with Annie Sloan’s dark wax, there’s got to be something easier. Update: We found a MUCH easier wax to work with ~ find out what we use now here.
I love layering lots of colors!
It’s a well built chest built by Basset Furniture. The drawers work great and it is sporting new hardware to fit in with today’s design styles.
This piece is begging to go home with someone! As a matter of fact, I think it’s homesick for MY dining room! I should go back and pick it up before it sells! (update – too late, it sold)
I think it has a Charming Old World Quality
This piece is sitting pretty in the Shizzle Design booth at Not So Shabby Antiques and Fine Furniture (sold).
What do you think?
Update: Many many changes have occurred since I first wrote the post on this dresser. We stopped using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint years ago in lieu of much more superior paint products which don’t have all the toxins and are also much easier to use. The new paint products we choose to create our high end finishes are not only better made, the amazing all natural formula absolutely rocks! It glides on effortlessly and the wax, both clear and dar are an absolute dream. No wonder it’s the Nation’s #1 seller!! We can finish a piece of furniture in not time and the quality is amazing!! No more pulling my hair out with tacky wax, no more VOC’s. Work just got a whole lot easier around Shizzle Design. To find out what we’re using now, click: here.
Stop into today and grab one at Shizzle Design 2018 Chicago Dr., Jenison, MI 49428. They can also be ordered online here.
Retailers: for the opportunity to carry these brushes in your own shop, contact me here with your name, type of business and location.
A hui hou ~ Shelly
Did you know…
Shizzle Design is a small family owned business in Jenison, Michigan. My sister Cathy and I work, paint, ship and teach our chalk and clay paint workshops out of the same space where we paint all our furniture. We are truly humbled to be known as a leader in the world of chalk and clay paints.
Cathy and I empower DIY’ers by sharing our years of experience. Stop in for paint and we’ll offer you honest and knowledgeable answers for all your chalk and clay paint needs.
Did you know we are not paid employees of American Paint Company? It typically takes me 10 hours to publish one of my blog posts. Everything from shooting the photographs, writing the content, editing, cropping… is given freely. The only way we make money is if someone purchases paint, workshops or painted furniture from us. If you enjoy the information you get in our website, please share and let us know.
We are so blessed to have taught people from all over the United States and Canada. Join us for one of our super fun hands-on chalk and clay paint workshops. Learn in our casual & relaxed environment. Click Paint Workshops to see a list of current classes offered.
Subscribe to Shizzle Design for tips, tutorials, ideas, pictures, videos for our furniture painted in all natural chalk and clay based mineral paints.
Did you know that you can get these sent directly to your inbox and that it’s FREE? It is ~ what are you waiting for? Enter your email in the right hand column of our blog to stay in the loop.
We have a Shizzle Design Facebook Page. We share all sorts tips, ideas, photos EVERY DAY and offer special deals (which you’ll only know about if you’ve Liked our Facebook Page).
Pin our posts on Pinterest ~ Find all sorts of inspiration here.
Shizzle Design is an Authorized Retailer for American Paint Company Paints. We offer a large inventory of chalk and clay paint and supplies at our Shizzle Design Paint Shop /Studio, 2018 Chicago Drive, Jenison, MI 49428. We also stock several other shops in the greater Grand Rapid’s area, to find out where, click LOCATIONS. Not from Michigan? No worries, we ship paint and paint supplies worldwide through our Online Shizzle Shop.
For more Chalk & Clay Painted Furniture ideas, tips, tutorials & inspiration, click:
I’ve been busy with custom paint jobs lately; one of them being an adorable dresser a grandmother had passed down to her granddaughter. After discussing several options, we decided to refinish the top and paint the rest black, lightly distressing the edges.
Here’s how she came to me.
The finish on the top had seen better days
but after a good stripping,
and some fresh stain,
it turned out beautifully!
The drawers needed a little TLC.
Because I planned to do some distressing, I used a clear sealer in lieu of a primer. That served as a bonding agent and filled the deep grain of the oak providing a smooth surface for the paint.
The wooden side rails were really worn and didn’t offer adequate support for the drawers.
To remedy this, I cut leftover pieces of oak corner round the depth of the existing runners and glued them into place making sure the top edge was flush all the way across. I didn’t get pictures of these but basically I just bumped in the side rails so the drawers had a little more edge to slide on.
To get the distressed rub through look of Pottery Barn furniture, I painted it black then used one of the cool new methods I learned reading Guide to Furniture Finishes.
This is my go to book for choosing the right products for different styles of painting. This ebook costs less than a gallon of paint, can be downloaded immediately and includes great videos which show you how to do different techniques.
and here’s the little black dresser all decked out in her new outfit!
There’s much more in the works. I have several knock-out pieces that will be unveiled soon!
*Let me know if there is something you’re looking for that you haven’t seen. We have a lot of projects in the works as well as some fabulous pieces patiently waiting their turn. Contact us if you have a piece of furniture you would like painted!
If you have furniture you’d like me to paint – contact by email or comment below
West Michigan Shop Local –Most of my furniture is located in my Shizzle Design booth at Not So Shabby Antiques & Fine Furniture; 114 E. Main, Zeeland, MI click here for directions
The past couple weeks have been crazy busy with furniture sales. Every time we think we’re getting ahead of the game, we get a call from the store notifying us that another large piece has sold.
I actually decided to move my furniture into a smaller space in the store so I can keep up with the demand for custom orders at home. As I walked in, Sue told me two more tables had just sold. She no sooner spoke the words and another gal came into the store and was bummed because as soon as she saw them online, she headed to the store only to discover two sold tags on them.
What’s going on here? Has West Michigan finally caught on to the craze sweeping our nation? I don’t know, but I am truly grateful for all the sales the past couple weeks where I sold…
Last summer I purchase a bunch of furniture to renovate. My sister had her eye on this secretary, so I told her to go for it. We loaded it up in her Jeep and off she went to transform it at her house. I never saw it again until she was finished and I still get over the transformation. I wish I had a “before” picture so I could show you the difference, but here is the “after”.
I’m so proud of her transformation!
Just look at the fabulous detail!
She added the decorative piece on the top and I just think it’s the icing on the cake!
This secretary is refinished in Annie Sloan’s Graphite and accented with Old White. It’s sealed with Annie Sloan clear and dark wax which gives it a rich, buttery finish. You have to see it and feel it in person to really appreciate how nice it is.
This great piece offers a fantastic solution to all the clutter and chargers that end up all over kitchen counters. I got this idea from my blogging friend Shari from turnstyle vogue DESIGN & STYLING. Shortly after we dropped the secretary off to the store, Shari wrote a post on how she transformed her secretary into a full blown charging station. This is the beautiful secretary she created to solve this modern day dilemma.
She basically added a power strip through the back then labeled each cord with whose phone, ipod… it goes to. Brilliant idea! You’ve gotta check out how Shari organized all her chargers here. Such a clever solution, or as we say in Hawaii ~ that girl is so akamai! Want to organize your chargers, mail, keys? Our secretary is was (it sold) currently for sale in our space at Not So Shabby Antiques and Fine furniture in downtown Zeeland, MI
Do you have a clever solution to kitchen clutter?
*Let me know if there is something you’re looking for that you haven’t seen. We have a lot of projects in the works as well as some fabulous pieces patiently waiting their turn. Contact us if you have a piece of furniture you would like painted!
If you have furniture you’d like me to paint – contact by email or comment below
West Michigan Shop Local –Most of my furniture is located in my Shizzle Design booth at Not So Shabby Antiques & Fine Furniture; 114 E. Main, Zeeland, MI click here for directions
Last week, a gal came into Not So Shabby to check out one of my dressers she’d seen online. Not only did she like it, she was already purchasing it as she called to see if I would paint a gentleman’s chest she had at home to coordinate with it.
This is the dresser she bought from the store.
…and this is the dresser I painted to coordinate with it.
It started out like this.
Let the fun begin… I had to strip the top, four of the drawer fronts and all ten drawer pulls to keep in line with my other dresser.
I love stripping! I LOVE stripping! I LOVE STRIPPING! (psyching myself up like the Little Engine that Could)
Unfortunately after the first round, I still had a ton of paint left. Hmm…
My favorite Zinsser stripper was giving me a hard time in my heated workshop. Works like a charm all year long with our humid Michigan air, but it dries out fast when I pull it in a heated area.
Just then I remembered reading a great tip from The Guide to Furniture Finishes. That book is packed with life saving tips when it comes to refinishing furniture. I use it all the time because it has the answers so many painting questions I would otherwise spend hours researching or messing up on my own. I’m so geeked about this book, I became an affiliate so I could share the love. I’ve attached a link at the bottom of this post as well as my sidebar if you’d like one of your own.
So… I tried it out. I put on another coat of stripper but this time, I covered it with waxed paper which kept it moist long enough for the product to work:)
While the stripper worked, I cleaned and painted the base of the chest in a couple coats Annie Sloan’s Old White Chalk Paint.
The drawer pulls also got a good soaking in stripper.
Look at all this goopy goo – yuck!
But alas ~ Paydirt! Guide to Furniture Finishes comes to my rescue once again.
Look how awesome it worked!
Cool! I’m digging it, I’m doing the happy dance because now, the fun begins.
Please forgive the lame photography, I tried to roll it outside for a couple photos but it started snowing so hard, that 30 seconds later, I was rolling it back inside. It was too heavy to haul upstairs myself so I had to use what I could on this dreary winter day. Oh it makes me crazy when I run out of time to get great shots.
The owner has been hauling this dresser around with her for twenty years; now that it’s had a little transformation, I’m hoping she’ll enjoy it for many years to come:)
Do you have a favorite piece of furniture?
*Let me know if there is something you’re looking for that you haven’t seen. We have a lot of projects in the works as well as some fabulous pieces patiently waiting their turn. Contact us if you have a piece of furniture you would like painted!
If you have furniture you’d like me to paint – contact by email or comment below
West Michigan Shop Local – Most of my furniture is located in my Shizzle Design booth at Not So Shabby Antiques & Fine Furniture; 114 E. Main, Zeeland, MI click here for directions
I’m sure most of you have heard that Google Friend Connect will disappear for anyone who has a non Blogger blog at the end of February. The only people who will still have access to it are people with Blogger blogs; however rumor has it that Google Friend Connect will eliminated altogether in the near future. What it means is, if you follow me via Google Friend’s Connect, you will stop receiving updates when I write my fabulous stories 🙂 and if you want to continue getting updates on my furniture renovations… you’ll need to choose a different method. So… what do you do? There’s an awesome new replacement called Linky Followers which has way more features than Google Friends Connect. If you have not signed up you should. You can do that by clicking on the orange Linky. For a fantastic breakdown on Linky Followers, read Heather’s Post from At the Picket Fence. She laid out every amazing detail for all of us.
If you are already a GFC follower, I encourage you to follow with Linky Followers too. It was designed by Brent of Linky Tools with the help of many awesome bloggin friends. It’s easy to sign up and it’s free, plus you don’t need a blog to use it!
So… what are you doing? Click on the Linky Followers Box in my side bar to follow me ~
If you have furniture you’d like me to paint – contact by email or comment below
West Michigan Shop Local –Most of my furniture is located in my Shizzle Design booth at Not So Shabby Antiques & Fine Furniture; 114 E. Main, Zeeland, MI click here for directions
Tired of shuffling through piles of clutter on your kitchen counters? If you tend to miss appointments, lose receipts, coupons or still have school pictures from five years ago hanging on the fridge, I have a solution for you.
Upholstered bulletin boards aren’t new, I just couldn’t find one covered in a quality fabric that was stylish, well constructed and large enough to organize our schedules and photos.
This one is upholstered in a beautiful Tommy Bahama fabric and trimmed out in beads, fringe and upholstery tacks. I designed several chunky button push pins to coordinate with this extra large board.
This second one is also upholstered in a rich fabric and is wrapped in an ornate frame which I hand painted in several colors then glazed and distressed it to tie it all together. This one also includes three chunky button push pins, hey… who’s been messing with the buttons? They weren’t like that a minute ago.
Both are for sale in my booth at Not So Shabby Antiques and Fine Furniture in downtown Zeeland, MI. Stop by and check ‘em out! I’ve been busy painting furniture for clients and have been really bad at snapping photos of all the accessories I’ve dropped at the store. When I go back to shoot them, they’re already sold ~ sorry! I’ve got so much more I could put in my portfolio; if you see anything you like or would like me to make something custom for you, just let me know.
*Let me know if there is something you’re looking for that you haven’t seen. We have a lot of projects in the works as well as some fabulous pieces patiently waiting their turn. Contact us if you have a piece of furniture you would like painted!
If you have furniture you’d like me to paint – contact by email or comment below
West Michigan Shop Local –Most of my furniture is located in my Shizzle Design booth at Not So Shabby Antiques & Fine Furniture; 114 E. Main, Zeeland, MI click here for directions
For less than the price of a gallon of paint, you too can be on your way to painting furniture like a pro. Click here to download
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