Sunday, May 19, 2013

Posh Red Dressers

I have been wanting to paint something in Valspar Posh Red ever since seeing Picked & Painted redos in this color.  I picked up a sample pot and mixed it into homemade chalk paint to paint this dresser.  I painted the dresser with two coats of the red and started to distress it, but you really couldn't see it, so I skipped the step.


I chose to paint the top black because I didn't want it to be completely red. I had tried to sand the top down to stain, but I couldn't get it to come clean enough.




The trick with this color is to use some kind of glaze, stain or dark wax over it to make the color pop.  I used Martha Stewart's Metallic Glaze in Black Coffee.  I find this glaze to be very thick, but I applied it with cheese cloth and it was easier to work with.



I painted this next dresser the same color.



This piece was in deceptively poor condition.  Whoever stripped it must have used a belt sander with a very low grit.  All the raw wood was very rough and the top had tons of swirl marks.  I don't know if they gave up stripping when it came to the drawers and side panels, but that black paint was just flaking off.  I sanded the black paint as best I could and painted the entire piece with two coats of the Posh Red.  Instead of using the Martha Stewart glaze, this time I covered the paint with Minwax Dark Walnut stain.  I stained the top with it as well.  I like this technique, but it takes a long time to dry.





The top had some visible nail holes along the sides, so I used wood filler on them.  I couldn't cover it up with stain, so I painted two red stripes to hide them.  



I didn't mind the swirl marks on the stained wood as there already was a lot of detail in the wood grain.  I used AS dark wax only on the top and Minwax Finishing Paste on the rest of the body.




This red is a good color for my area (Eastern PA) since these pieces sold pretty quickly.  I think it looks like the Amish made furniture, but I charge a lot less than they do!


Linking to:
I Should Be Mopping The Floor
Coastal Charm
Better With Age
Craft-O-Maniac
Cozy Little House
Lolly Jane 
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia 
The Rustic Pig
Today's Creative Blog 
Kammy's Korner
PJH Designs
Kathe With An E
Elizabeth & Co.
The Hickory Trail
Not Just A Housewife
twelveOeight
Silver Pennies
Homemaker On A Dime
If Its Not Baroque
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
Fluster Muster  
Not Done Growing
Green Willow Pond
The Real Housewives of Riverton
A Stroll Through Life
Southern Lovely
With A Blast
Beyond The Picket Fence 
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Mom On Timeout  
All Things With Purpose
I Gotta Create 
Domestic Superhero
House of Hepworths
Embracing Change
Crafty Scrappy Happy
A Peek Into My Paradise
The Shabby Nest
The Best Blog Recipes
Redoux
Miss Mustard Seed
Finding Fabulous 
Saving4Six 
Funky Junk 
Thrifty Decor Chick 

Featured by:
Cozy Little House
Elizabeth & Co.
Finding Fabulous
Green Willow Pond
The North End Loft

37 comments:

  1. That red is fabulous on the dressers and you did a beautiful job of glazing them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love them! Especially the first one...I love how the crystal knobs pop against the red now!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that color red with the brown undertones. You really brought these pieces to life!:)

    No wonder they sold quickly!

    Hugs
    S

    ReplyDelete
  4. I LOVE these!...Love Love Love them!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am a huge fan of anything red. I may have to bookmark this post so I can "copy" you. LOL. I have a desk I painted white and I really want red.

    ReplyDelete
  6. These are gorgeous....a job well done!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You did a great job on your dressers. So pretty in red!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The particular shade of red is pure perfection, and I love the tops of both pieces as well. It must have been hard to part with them!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the color of red you used on these dressers. It is the perfect color.
    The strip is a great idea.
    Have a wonderful week,
    Bev
    @ Eclectic Red Barn

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've been thinking of painting a couple of pieces red. Thanks for a great tutorial and examples of your success!
    His blessings!
    Kim @ Curtain Queen

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is amazing !!! who would have ever thought !!! great work !!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really like the red! Thanks for linking with HickoryTrail

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi dropping by to say hi from the link party over at Not done growing blog:)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love how it turned out and the color is just awesome ! Would you please consider linking this at our With A Blast - All My Bloggy Friends #47 Hope to see you there :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love the red, what a fun idea and you did an amazing job. I would love for you to link this up to my Inspire Me party that is ongoing. http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2013/05/165th-inspire-me-tuesday.html
    Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  16. Red is my favorite color....you did a beautiful job on the finish. I have a shabby,red washstand that I upscaled and did not re-finish...it is my most viewed post. Stop by for a visit when you have a chance! Gonna follow you,, now!

    ReplyDelete
  17. you did a great job! The red stripes are genius.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love the red. I'm wanting to do my sons dresser and I think this color would match his bedroom perfectly. Thank you for sharing at Fluster's Creative Muster.

    Robin
    Fluster Buster

    ReplyDelete
  19. Love what you did with it--great color. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oh my goodness that red is perfect Susan! Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your dresser at the party this week. i am featuring it on my Facebook page and pinning it to my You're Gonna Love It Tuesday board on Pinterest!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Beautiful, love the red; looks amazing! you did a great job! :-) stopping by from craftyscrappyhappy link party! Ingrid

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wow, what beautiful dresser transformations!! You do such a good job ;) Thanks for linking up to Give Me The Goods Monday! Hope to see you again next week ;)
    Jamie @Better With Age

    ReplyDelete
  23. So pretty and rich looking! Love the two makeovers! x

    ReplyDelete
  24. LOVE them. The last one is my favorite. I have a very similar dresser in my living room and really want to paint it but I'm having that conflicting "good wood" argument in my head. These just made the "paint it" side of the argument much more convincing!!
    Thanks for linking this up to Think Tank Thursday!

    ReplyDelete
  25. The red dressers both look great! That was a great idea for the contrasting black top, and the stripe on the other stained top. I wish colours would sell better around here.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wonderful job on both of them! I think my favorite is the bottom one. Thanks so much for joining us at Transformed Tuesday.

    Hugs,
    Peggy~PJH Designs

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love them....especially the second one with the stripe on the top. Thanks for the shout out too : )

    ReplyDelete
  28. Visiting from Miss Mustard Seed. You do beautiful work and I don't want to miss anything so now a follower by email. Also pinned. Hop over to visit me when you can at One Day at a Time.
    :) Debbie
    http://lovinlife1dayatatime.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beautiful color...I am a savior of old furniture as well, and this color was on my list (love red). Now I will find the right piece to paint. Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Love the dresser! The red looks perfect on it! Thanks so much for sharing at last week's All my Bloggy Friends - Linda and I look forward to seeing what you share this week! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. GORGEOUS REDO's! LOVE them both! I just re-did a Goodwill dresser but haven't blogged it yet.

    ReplyDelete
  32. OMgosh! Gorgeous. I love the color! Wonderful job, you've inspired me to go and find a desk or dresser to redo!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi! I love your red dresser, and I've featured today on Friday Finds. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I have a question on the paint, does it matter what finish you use when making the chalk paint? Flat, semi gloss, ect?

    ReplyDelete
  35. I just recently found you. I LOVE your site. Thanks so much for sharing all this great information. I can't wait week to week to see what you have done

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate and read all your comments. I now reply to all comments on the blog post, so please check back if you asked questions for my response.
Thank you!