I’m back today with a makeover of a vintage empire style console table.  The original finish was a tiger oak veneer that had some damaged and missing areas along the sides.   I sometimes refinish select areas of the wood on pieces like this, like the drawers or the top.   Because of the damaged veneer, I decided to go ahead and paint the whole piece.  I love beautiful salvaged, reclaimed wood furniture, and wanted to recreate that look on this piece.  My goal for the table was to achieve a rustic, layered and weathered wood appearance with dimension and variation in the light and dark tones.

BEFORE

AFTER

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PRODUCTS USED

• Country Chic Paint in “Lazy Linen”
• Driftwood Old Fashioned Milk Paint
  Old Fashioned Milk Paint Extra-Bond
  Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil 
• Gorilla Wood Glue
• DAP Plastic Carpenter’s Latex Wood Filler
• 3M Ultra Flexible Block Sanding Sponge,220-Grit, X-Fine

STEPS

I started by filling the missing spots with wood filler and then gluing and clamping down the loose pieces of veneer with wood glue.  Since I was going for a rustic vibe, I didn’t worry about smoothing out every dent or ding.  Once dry, I sanded the entire piece and gave it a good vacuum and cleaning.  For the base coat, I painted the entire piece with Country Chic paint in “Lazy Linen” which is a light, warm gray.  I then painted on two coats of the Old Fashioned Milk Paint in “Driftwood” which is a very pretty medium brown gray.  This is the perfect paint for a weathered wood look because of the variations in tone that are inherent in this paint.  I added Extra Bond to the first coat of milk paint to ensure adhesion and prevent chipping.  I sanded lightly between coats to subtly reveal the lighter base coat.

Once dry, I sealed the entire piece with hemp oil using a wet sanding technique.  This is a really easy way to seal milk paint, and results in a buttery soft finish.  Miss Mustard Seed has a great video tutorial on how to do this, but basically you just brush on the hemp oil, use a fine grit sandpaper to smooth and work in the oil,  wipe off the excess oil, and let dry.    I use a 220 grit sanding sponge, which works really well.  I just lightly work in the oil with the sanding sponge, almost like cleaning a counter.   The hemp oil creates a matte finish consistent with the weathered, reclaimed wood look.

You can see the layering of lighter and darker tones, and areas where the wood grain shows.

I added new flower knobs from Hobby Lobby.

Those sweet little vintage keyholes get me every time.

And the pretty empire curves.  Love.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Have a great week, my friends!

Susan

*I have received product for this post, but as always, the opinions are 100% my own.