My First Time

Hooray!  I've finally finished my French hall table!  This table was given to me by my stepdaughter's father-in-law (I know - I have a weird but wonderful family) who is an avid collector of antiques.  Good to have connections :)

After much indecision about what colour to apply, I chose a grey/blue that I had in my paint cupboard among a million others.  (My Mr T is certainly handy to have around having his own painting business and all!)

I used English Walnut for the top, but I'm not totally happy with it as it looks a bit like poo.  But this was my first time staining and I guess it's all trial and error isn't it.  It was also my first attempt at what the Americans refer to as "glazing".  After applying my undercoat and then two coats of the grey I used a small brush to apply the stain.  I then quickly wiped off with a clean rag.  Can I just say that I was so amazed at the outcome I kept calling out to Mr T to come and have a look at how beautiful it was!  Every time the poor bloke sat down I was calling out to him again.  He had worked so hard that day and just wanted to relax so in the end he just ignored me. 

I've never really been into the whole shabby chic/French thing.  Don't get me wrong, I like it but I'd never have chosen to have it in my home.  But after all the hard work and seeing the results I'm totally diggin' it!  The only thing I'm concerned about is that I went overboard with the distressing :(  But now I know for next time.

As it was:

I was going to paint the original hardware but I've decided to save them for something else.  The after...

Dontcha love the fabric?

Can you see where I've distressed it too much?  Especially on the legs.

I might keep this one and try again.  :)

Megs x

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