We have a new DIY project under way in our home.  We’re creating a custom hearth in the corner of our living room.  Once that is complete we’re having a wood burning stove professionally installed.  (We know our DIY limits!)  We’re hoping to have this project finished in time for a fire on the first chilly September evening.  We started planning early so let’s hope we stay on track with the timeline.  In fact, we’ve been talking about executing this for a year, at least, but you know how house project timelines can go…

After much pinning and deliberating we decided on natural slate for the hearth.  Most of the pins on my wood burning board seem to just reflect beautifully stacked wood which I am certainly looking forward to aesthetically, however the end result will hopefully be a combination of the following photos.

The slate arrived today and we’ll begin the project next week.   All of the slate discussion seemed to seep into my painting world though.  Completely unintentionally too!

I scored a beautiful old chest of drawers at an estate sale. It actually has the original tag still intact on the back.  (Sorry for the poor quality phone pic.)

The previous owner had sanded down most of the cherry finish.  Can you believe that?

I proceeded to use milk paint without the bonding agent and expected decent adhesion since the glossy surface was sanded.

Beginning with the drawers, I originally thought I’d paint them typewriter (black) as I knew I wanted to head in a masculine & sophisticated direction with this piece.  However, black wasn’t giving me exactly what I wanted.  On my work bench I had a little artissimo (navy) left over from these nightstands.  And a little boxwood (green) left from this sideboard (which I haven’t blogged about yet).  I went ahead and mixed all three colors together producing such a beautiful deep color that immediately reminded me of slate.  I did not measure but if I had to guess, I would say it was three parts typewriter to two parts artissimo and two parts boxwood – give or take.  Mixing paint colors can be so satisfying at times!

The body of the dresser was painted trophy (gray) which mimics the color of the grout we chose for our slate hearth project.  The entire chest has a durable coat of furniture wax.

The glass knobs pulled the piece together and seem to make it sparkle.  As much as slate can sparkle, anyway.  Tell me what is inspiring you this week!

The chest just landed at Serendipity Shops of Doylestown where you can also find all of the paint colors mentioned and those glass knobs.  I must say that it looks spectacular in the window on Oakland Street.  Go check it out!

I’ll be in Doylestown for another Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint demonstration on Sunday, August 24th at 1pm.  Save the date!