The Painted Cottage Becomes Real

Maine Cottage Furniture

Last week, I went out hoping to purchase some paint for my still unpainted pieces of furniture (the kitchen stool, living room armoire, record player table, and the secretary desk/bureau in the bedroom.) I am also going to repaint the tiny dining table, since it looks unfinished with only the drawers painted.

Perhaps after these pieces are completed, the apartment will more resemble my vision and will no longer look so haphazard.

Rust-Oleum has an incredible range of paints for this purpose that cover both wood and metal surfaces: Painter's Touch and American Accents. Their colors are amazing. However, from looking at the range available in most home and craft stores, you would never know. Most of the Lowe's, Home Depot's, and etc. carry just the basic colors in the half-pint and quart cans and the more varied colors in the spray paint canisters. The cans are acrylic latex but the spray paint is oil based and the brushes will need to be cleaned with a solvent. I would prefer not to use spray paint because of the environment, the potential paint on everything that I am NOT painting (in other words, the mess), and on my health.

I do not want to use regular wall paint for the furniture, though I did use it for the chartreuse green mosaic table. Unfortunately, in that case, the "dude" at the store talked me into oil-based paint. I love to be crafty, but I also like to embrace my inner laziness after a project is done. I did not enjoy mineral spirits and the INCREDIBLY dry hands I had after cleaning with it. The only plus for me was the smell...mmmm... I would prefer to use the acrylic latex paint in the cans, but spray paint seems to be the rage.

I tried to post the color chips, but their site would not let me do that. I ended up going to their Paint Ideas site where you can see projects painted using their products. Here are some of the colors I am considering:



This Leafy Green would be for the armoire.



I want the dining table to contrast with the red chairs, so I am going to use a light blue, this Iris Blue might be nice.



The table that the record player is on might be Mango...



or Grape.

I have three sample pots of Benjamin Moore Spa Blue that I will be using on the kitchen stool first. I will be using a sponge brush for this project, to make the finish as smooth as possible. I am going to post pictures during the process.