The French provincial style furniture is a favorite of mine when it comes to re-styling. The details and curves offer so much opportunity for highlighting and shadowing. This "Romance and Roses" red rose buffet was created after weeks of painting "all white" for clients (like this shabby white china cabinet and this farmhouse kitchen table) ....and I clearly needed a good dose of rich color and strong shadows!
I began by cleaning the entire piece with White Lightning.....a strong degreaser/deglosser by Dixie Belle.....followed by a good rinse with water.
I primed with a single coat of BOSS in gray....which is a wonderful tinted primer for reds.....and other deep colors!
I applied keyhole molds to four of the drawers....and added the roses swag to the center drawers. I love the addition of molds....as they create visual interest and depth to your final finish.
The molds are by WoodUBend and are so easy to apply. You just heat.... apply glue... and press in place. The roses swag I actually cut in half and fit it perfectly against the handle... so it appears as if it's always been there.
Once glued in place...they adhere immediately and you can move right on with your project. I painted the buffet in two coats of Honky Tonk Red....my favorite happy red paint ever.
PRO TIP: The first coat dries quickly and is usually ready for the second coat by the time you've completed the first.
I then painted the center inset with a single coat of Caviar black. I drew a large rose in the inset with chalk. I used a photo that I found on Pinterest as my guide. This is my first large rose to paint on furniture.
I then pulled several shades of red and pink (Barn Red, Peony, Soft Pink, Muscadine Wine, Plum Crazy, Midnight Sky) from my stash and began filling in each section of the rose with color.....until I was satisfied with the look.
I used the Midnight Sky for shadowing and the Soft Pink for highlights.
I let this dry.....and covered the entire inset with Clear Coat in Satin......to protect that area while I moved forward shading and highlighting the rest of the buffet.
I didn't use a "blend" technique on this piece. Instead.....I made very obvious moves when highlighting and shadowing. I wanted the finish to be bold and on purpose.......like heavy stage makeup! LOL!
So I went with Peony pink for all the highlights......and I chose to only place this pink on top of each curve of the serpentine curves....and outer corners.
I applied it as if I were applying highlighter and blush! If you look closely at the peaks of every curve...it looks as if the light is reflecting on them....but it's actually an illusion created with paint.
I then wanted a smoky appearance as well.....and I chose to create this with paint instead of black wax (which is usually my go-to). I used watered down Midnight Sky and my very large and brand new natural fiber round brush....also known as Best Dang Wax brush.....but I used it with paint.
I just sprayed the areas with water.....and used the large brush in circular motions with Midnight Sky creating shadows around all the edges. I used a smaller brush to do the same thing around the molds......creating shadows and depth....painting and wiping away the excess.
I used Peony pink to highlight the molds.
Once I was happy with the overall drama of the piece....I moved on to the details...such as the drawer sides. I used a silkscreen stencil by DB called Florals.....as it has this amazing rose which was the perfect fit for this buffet!
I've actually already used it on another project...this blue cabinet here.
I LOVE these stencils used on raw wood....like the drawer sides. So I used Caviar.....to add the roses to the sides of the drawers.
How do you feel about drawer sides? I'm torn. I used to think it was so silly....and just done for pretty photos for the artist to help with marketing. And here I am....making drawer sides pretty! LOL! Who really sees them? I guess we will just say "it's all in the details"!
Now let's talk about that surface!! I painted it in Caviar black. I then painted random patches of Gravel Road and Stormy Seas......followed by the Wood Graining Tool! You just drag that sucker across the surface with a light rocking motion as you go.....and the most amazing thing happens.
This faux wood grain occurs that looks so legit......it blows my mind every single time!! Have you tried the wood graining tool??? You should!
I have several other faux wood grain projects...including my dining room table and this painted white cabinet with a pop of color.
Once dry......I felt the Stormy Seas was too blue....almost psychedelic on this piece......so I decided to knock back that tone with VooDoo Gel Stain in Black Magic.....and it worked!!! It toned down the brightness and softened the overall hue.....leaving a gorgeous smoky wood grain!
I do not use VooDoo gel stains enough! They are so user-friendly as they are water-based....dry quickly......and are buildable in color.....and they are available in seven colors!
PRO TIP: If I had wanted the top to be even darker...I could have applied a second coat almost immediately as they dry so fast...unlike the oil-based gel stains.
Lastly......I applied 2 coats of Gator Hide to the entire buffet.....for a rich and glamorous shine. I brushed on the Gator Hide to the body of the buffet...and used my fool-proof applicator pad technique (see that here) to apply it to the top surface.
I applied a very light coat of Gemstone Mousse in gold infused with a bit of Clear Coat Gloss..... with a small brush to the original hardware. I also used my finger to run a bit of the gold to the molds. Because it is mixed with a top coat....it dries quickly and does not require a sealer.
Once the hardware was in place......I stood back and just admired this red rose buffet!
It felt good to paint boldly again.
It felt good to mix reds and pinks (a fave combo of mine) again.
It felt good to challenge myself with the rose painting.
It felt good to be done.
P.S. I painted this entire piece in the freezing cold garage during the historical snow storm here in texas.....in a warm down coat and ski hat and snow boots! I will always remember this piece for that....it was an escape from the fact that we had no electricity and were sooooooo cold!
I look forward to hearing how you feel about the strong colors and bold finish! Drop me a comment below.
See you next week!
XOXO,
Tracey
Please share my red rose buffet pins and follow me on Pinterest!
