I can't decide whether I like the "barn board" effect or not. What do you think? Should I paint the second dresser the same--or revert back to the white? Here is the white one:
Pros for the "barnboard":
1. The veneer is badly chipped. One some drawers it's intact, on some it isn't--all of them have bits of it missing. The paint treatment camouflages all of that mess, whereas gloss white would highlight it. I did my best to remove what I could and I know there's no way to get a smooth surface. The upright dresser, though, is fine. No chips at all.
Cons for the "barnboard."
1. I want sleek white glossy for these! I don't think the barnboard is terribly convincing on a curved piece--but I may be wrong.
2. I don't think it goes well with the old orange fir plywood doors and trim. I'd paint it a nice glossy white, but the druid I married likes it and has put his foot down.
3. I don't know quite how to decorate the room without it going all "country" on me with the dressers done up this way. Maybe you could help me with this, too?
4. Oh--and what should I do about the handles? I was thinking shiny chrome-like paint but black might be a bit more dramatic.
8 comments :
Hmm. I see your dilemma. I agree that gloss white would be best. The barnboard will take everything in a "country" direction and I don't think it works with the curved shape. Just a few random thoughts after a few minutes spent staring at your photos with a frown on my face:
1. Could you get a smooth surface by applying contact paper, sanding it very lightly, priming and painting?
2. How about black lacquer? Both pieces would look fabulous shiny black with oriental style handles, but maybe that would take you too far in the opposite direction to "country"? The rest of the room would need to be pale to pull it off. Lacquer directions at:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/lr_design/article/0,2041,DIY_14074_2270735,00.html
3. How about decoupage on the drawers? You could get different looks depending on the colours / images you chose.
4. Um. That's it.
Hm. I like them white. Maybe just put a new coat on each of them? Since there's evidently nine million different whites in the paint world? I actually like the original hardware, too.
I am no help.
How bad are these chips? Could you fill them and sand them and prime over them and then sand them some more and then paint them white? Not to make more work for you but I would think that if they weren't on the corners or anything you could easily fill them and with good sanding and priming they would look good glossy white.
Or maybe I'm just not a fan of country. You get one country thing in a room and suddenly the whole room is country!
This definitely leads to a country look, and if that's not you, you don't want to start in that direction. I like the color, as a color, but the barnboard effect definitely is "country". Black lacquer sounds cool, but if you want blues in the room, white's probably the way to go. Or deep blue? (But don't listen to me, because I have very little color sense at all at all...)
Your furniture is nice, but the distressed paint technique and color isn't right yet.
If you want to keep it light you could sand lightly, then go over it with a stain to give it some depth, additional color and sheen.
I did this; painted my table a golden color. Dry. Rub stain over surfaces. Wipe away excess stain from surface, don't wipe away too much, allowing the stain to settle a bit in the crevices (if you have crevices). Dry. If you like you can re-stain to get a deeper, richer tone. I don't like to do much sanding, but a light sand and wipe up of dust is recommended between coats. Add a sealant to finish it off. I used a light toned stain with polyurethane already in it. Dried nice. If you are interested I can email a photo of my table.
A satin black or other satin enamel color would give a nice sheen and more of a primitive look rather than country. Broyhill Furniture does a lot of these finishes. Check out their web site.
Were you were trying to get away from the high gloss? New hardware possible?
I have to vote against the barnboard as well- definitely country. My first thought was "paint it black" but I'm not sure if that would work for you. Can you use wood filler or spackle to fill in the ships and then paint a solid glossy color? If so, then I think white would also work (but I still lean toward black, maybe with stainless steel hardware?)
i vote white also
Alana I have to agree, I'm not so sure about the barnwood look...decoupage could be really fun...but maybe a bit much...is filling in the missing spots and painting in white an option? even if it's not perfect up close, it still might look better in the room...
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