The Antoinette Chair

 The Antoinette Chair 

This photo was taken last night, after Antoinette

 got it's new spot by the fireplace. 

Here she is in the morning light~

And this is how Antoinette came to be:

First, I painted all the wood of the old Victorian chair.  

Lest you think I was destroying a piece of history,

 lets just say that the cracked and glued areas became

 apparent as I painted...I don't belong to the club of rules

 that says that old wood furniture must not be painted....

and I never will.

 This stiff little artist brush helps me paint the areas 

closest to the gimp trim without too much trouble.

 This is the chair done in two coats of Antoinette without any wax finish.

 The next step requires a wax finish. You can choose clear,

 or clear with dark, however I planned to use the Dark wax only.

 As soon as you apply any wax the carvings and details will stand out, 

and more so with dark wax.  Clear and Dark wax will darken the color, 

but Dark wax will change the color, so you might do a sample

 like I did ahead of time just to make sure you will like the result.

 You can see the dark wax over the pink paint.  

After applying it I  rubbed it off, 

leaving more behind in the carved areas.

 This is Hannant's Dark Wax that I used, 

which is now sold as Annie Sloan dark wax.  

I made two sample chips in Antoinette with and without the dark wax. 

 Dark wax really changes the look of a piece.

I preferred this chair to have a blush or 

browny pink look, not sugary pink. 

 Here is Antoinette with the dark wax~she looks like a blushing bride.

Next step is a touch of gilding~

I applied a small amount of gold leaf Rub n' Buff

 with my finger to the carved areas on the legs 

and the shoulders to create a gilded effect. 

 A little gold goes a long way in my book.

 You can buy tubes of this product on Amazon.  

The winter sun was setting and I was ready to take Antoinette's picture~

and she seemed to look best next to the fireplace. 

Which inevitably means rearranging accessories and such.

Like adding the pink tole tray to the bookcase.

 I noticed the chair looks like a companion to my pink hooked rug~

 I'll be doing other things with Antoinette chalk paint 

so you can see how it looks with a clear wax coating

instead of the dark wax finish that makes it so grown up. 

See how much pinker this is looking?

I found that applying the pink over white instead of dark wood

also plays a role in the finished color.

More on this piece later.

Before~

After