garage sale Pottery Barn chess table turned antique

look at this very cool chess table.  i found it on eBay.  swoon….i imagine some really old dudes in a Provence lavender field  playing on this board while sipping on bourbon.

now, look at this little ditty i picked up at a garage sale for $5.

an innocent-looking Pottery Barn chess table circa 2000.  underneath is also a backgammon board.

here she is in all her before glory.  as you can see, i nearly forgot to snap the before pic.  you can see that i started to dry brush some French Linen on it!

so let’s talk about the French Linen Annie Sloan paint that i used.  there i was sitting at my desk…la la la.  when suddenly a package arrived from Shaunna at perfectlyimperfectblog.com

i opened it, and to my surprise, i found a quart of Annie Sloan French Linen, a paint brush, and her card that said ‘Congrats.’

now, the normal person would say “hey, wow!  i won that contest!  cool!”

but this insane momma couldn’t recall how she’d won anything as she’d been too nuts to even blog for several weeks.  i must have given her my address, right?  surely i’d remember this monumental moment.  but alas…..this mommy brain is soggy.

BUT, i’m going with it and am sending my deep gratitude.  Shaunna’s blog is the first one that i every started reading and she’s an inspiration to me!

i’ve been meaning to try French Linen and am so happy that it appeared in the mail!

SURPRISE!  so, back to the original story…

i tried re-gluing the veneer on this sad lassie, but knew that the boys would end up peeling it off anyway.  so i ripped it off.  be gone!

this next few views is after i’d done the following:  dry brush French Linen, Paris Gray, dark walnut minwax.

 

in between each paint layer, i rubbed it in with a soft cloth in all directions and with a very coarse paint brush.  i was trying to achieve a very old looking wood.

i took a foam brush dipped in the minwax and painted in the chess squares.  i wanted it to look rustic so didn’t tape it off.  believe me, i tried, then got all worked up in physics and calculus that i had to stop.

you can see the rich layers that each of the colors adds to the piece.

that French Linen is gorgeous.  it’s a blend of gray and beige.  very cottage-y.  is that a word?

but i wasn’t done yet b/c i could still see some of the maple brown coming through…

so then i applied Annie Sloan dark wax very heavily.  got it into the nooks and crannies very well and rubbed.

and it became warm, layered and delicious.

then a final coat of clear wax just to seal everything in nicely.

the top still needs some work, but it’s getting there!  now, to teach the boys how to play chess…step 1: learn how to play chess.

have a great week!

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