Meet Tommy, the bike dresser

Tommy is a big guy.  And sturdy.  Everyone likes sturdy.  But not everyone likes boring, plain and faded wood.  

  

Tommy is a fun loving, jeans and t-shirt wearing kind of guy.  And his exterior should match his interior.  

He mellows out to Jack Johnson and likes to entertain his friends by playing his banjo around a bonfire down at the beach.  

 He's in and out of relationships but all of them end nicely.

And on any given day you can find him biking down the beach with his rescued golden by his side.

Since my previous bike dresser was such a big hit, and with summer upon us, I thought I would create another.  This is a great piece with fine construction.  I refinished the top and decided to brighten up the rest of the piece with some paint.  Annie Sloan Old White chalk paint is used for the base and I mixed a few colors together to use on the beach cruiser.  Of course I had to distress the piece to make it all shabby and beachy.  It was then sealed with wax for protection.

His dimension are 66" long, 33" high, and 20" deep.  I'll be delivering him to Robin's Egg in a few days where he'll await his new home.  :)

I named this piece after my husband who has shown an interest in cycling.  I hope he puts miles and miles under his wheels.  With or without the golden.  Or in our case, a cockapoo.  :)

Have a bright day,

Debbie

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From plain to Zinc!

My wonderful client Kami wanted a zinc finish for this plain ole' dresser.  She got a great deal on Craigslist and wanted a complete transformation by making this baby shine with a zinc finish.

Why use a faux finish rather than paint containing zinc?  According to the U.S. General Services Administration, paints containing zinc are to be avoided when painting wood, as zinc attracts moisture.  The authority spoke, and I listened.  So off Google I went to look for instructions on a faux finish.

It wasn't hard to find THE BEST tutorial on the planet.  Jami, at Freckled Laundry has the most complete tutorial for creating this kind of finish.  Actually, it is the most complete tutorial ever.  Yes, ever.  You can't go wrong if you just take the time to watch her multiple videos.

And, after watching said videos, this is how the plain ole' dresser turned out:

I added legs, as the original dresser looked like the legs had been cut out from underneath her (yet they had not).

Just by adding the layers of paint recommended by Jamie, you can see the dimension it creates in the piece.

Since this was a zinc faux finish, I had to add a nail head design.

Thanks to Jamie, this was a very easy transformation, although time consuming.  Play around with the layers and stop when you are happy with the results.  It's hard to screw this one up.  ;)

Have fun,

Debbie 

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Boogieboard Cottage
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