OOOHH!…..I Could Paint That!
One lesson I learned while teaching Graphic Arts is the Joshua Tree Principle. What is the Joshua Tree Principle you say? The author of a book that I read states that she received a book for Christmas one year that identified trees. The first tree in the book was the Joshua Tree, which if you’ve never seen one, is a very strange and unique tree. The author says to herself “Oh, we don’t have that kind of tree where I live. That’s a very weird looking tree, I would know if I had seen one.” So she took her book outside and noticed that four of her neighbors had Joshua trees in their front yards. She had lived there for thirteen years and had never noticed. As she walked around, she saw Joshua trees in 80 percent of the yards! Once she was conscious of the tree, she saw it everywhere.
This is how I feel now that I have started refinishing furniture. Everywhere I look, I think to myself “I could paint that.” I know you think the same thing as you look around your house or your friend’s house, or just driving down the street. Don’t deny it!
However, it was really obvious that this next project needed some love. It is an outer door that leads from the Master bedroom to our backyard. I have to say that we have a beautiful back yard! Take a look below. However, this door was UGLY! It was worn and flaking and just brown.
BEFORE:
That’s the door, on the left. In the middle picture, you can see how pretty our backyard is. The door is to the right in that middle picture. In the far right picture, you can see it behind this lovely Bougainvillea. Scary, right? I can’t believe I let it go for so long. I would look at this door and think to myself, “I need to paint that door.” However, I was a little afraid of the process. I didn’t want to take the door down because we would have lots of critters in our bedroom. But either way, I knew I would have to finish it in one day. Finally, I had had enough. I took one day to clean the door and trim the ivy around it. I sanded off the loose paint and I took off the door handle, which I soaked in vinegar and water overnight.
If you’ve been reading my other posts, you know that I have, by this time, painted several pieces which means I have lots of leftover paint. I found an inspiration piece in Pinterest and decided to try to mimic that look. This required blending several colors of paint; actually I used 6 different paints on this door.
Big improvement, right?
I had several cans with just a little paint left in them and I wanted to use all of it! The beautiful teal color you see is mostly Wise Owl Siren Song but it has many colors blended in as well. If you look closely, you will see a few splashes of WO Republic Red scattered around.
*Learning point - This door project was a lesson in blending paints. I learned that a brush gives a different affect than a rag and a spray bottle is your friend when blending. I used a rag, which I found worked better on the rough texture of this door. However, I did put two coats of primer on before painting, which helped a little.
I mentioned above that I took off the door handle and soaked it in vinegar and water overnight. I then took a wire brush and scrubbed it. You will notice that a lot of hardware is not solid brass. It is usually painted and that will come off when you scrub. If it is solid, you will know it. When you clean it with a brush, it will be beautiful! That doesn’t mean that you won’t change the look, but you won’t have to. In this case, I decided on a copper finish to highlight the red, coppery streaks in the door. If you zoom in, you will see them.
After painting, I knew that I needed to have a strong top coat to protect it from moisture and sun. However, I did not want a glossy look. I ended up spraying it with a spray varnish with a satin finish. I’m not sure if it is strong enough, so I plan on resealing it often.
Experimenting with Patina Paints
You saw me use Dixie Belle’s Patina line of paints on the 1920’s Antique Dresser in another post. I actually did that first and then decided to try it on a set of iron candle holders that we already had. Now when using patina paints on iron, there is another step involved. Because the patina spray creates a chemical reaction with the metal in the paint, we have to protect our piece from that reaction if it is metal. Since these candle holders are metal, I had to first paint them with Dixie Belle’s Prime Start. This keeps the patina spray from reacting with the metal and breaking it down. Very important!
After letting it dry, I then painted these candle holders using both the copper and iron patina paint. *Learning point - the Patina spray only reacts with the patina paint when it is wet. Therefore I used one coat and let it dry and then went back over it again but only in places where I wanted the reaction to take place. While it was wet I sprayed it with the green patina spray and watched it happen. The great thing about patina paints is that if you want more, you can do it again. Where you see the blue color is where I sprayed the Iron paint with the Green Patina spray.
*Learning point - The Dixie Belle line of Patina paints has a green and a blue spray that you use on the Copper, Iron, or Bronze paint. Different combinations will give you different looks. I am posting a guide that I found on Pinterest to help you see the results of the different combinations. (See below in the Supplies list)
What do you think? The blue of the Patina helps these candle holders stand out from the stone of the fireplace.
Supplies used on the door:
Wise Owl Stain Eliminating Primer
Wise Owl Chalk Paint in Sea Siren, Republic Red, Refurbished Gentleman
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Amsterdam Green (plus a few others that I don’t remember)
Spray paint in Copper for the hardware
Supplies used on the Candle Holders:
Dixie Belle’s Patina Line including:
Prime Start to protect the metal before painting
Paint in Copper and Iron
Patina Spray in Green
Patina Guard for a top coat
Patina Guide that I got from Pinterest provided by Tracey’s Fancy (traceysfancy.com)
