Italian Provincial Chest Makeover with Fusion Mineral Paint Park Bench

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Hi Friends!

I’m so excited to share this makeover today.

It’s elegant, classy, but bold and bright. It’s totally in my wheelhouse but then a little out of my comfort zone at the same time . . . So it’s just a fun one to share.

I got this chest of drawers from a local antique dealer and according to her, the style is called Italian Provincial.

 

 

It’s obviously similar to French Provincial, but with cleaner, straight lines.  I was smitten with it the moment I saw it!

Overall the piece was in good shape, sturdy and generally clean.

My prep was pretty standard–wipe down with Simple Green cleaner to get off any grease and then I gave the whole piece a quick scuff with 180 grit sandpaper.

If you’re interested, I actually walked through the prep for this piece on a recent Facebook LIVE video I did.

I’ve posted it for you here too in case you missed it.

After the prep work was finished I painted on 2 coats of Fusion Mineral Paint’s deep green called Park Bench.

This was a color I’ve been really wanting to use for awhile, I just needed the right piece to use it on!

It’s bold, so it’s a color best suited, in my opinion, for a piece with clean lines.

 

 

Here’s another shot of it mixed in with some of the other greens (or blue-greens) from the Fusion line.

Park Bench is the one on the far left, paired with Inglenook, Brook, Laurentien, and Lily Pond.

 

 

Such a pretty group of colors!

A few hours after the last coat was nice and dry, I brushed on some of the Fusion Black Wax to deepen the color of the green some.

Waxing a Fusion-painted piece is totally different than waxing a chalk-painted piece!

So don’t be concerned the first time you try it if you don’t feel like it goes right–it takes a bit of practice!

Because Fusion isn’t porous like chalk paint, the wax sits on top of the paint instead of soaking down into the actual pores of the paint.

So when you go to wipe back the excess it’s very easy to wipe all of the wax off.

I’ve learned to wipe the wax back very lightlymaking sure to leave it in any recessed areas. Then I let it sit and dry for a bit, then go back and wipe off more if it’s still tacky to the touch.

After the first coat of wax was dry I dabbed a tiny bit more onto my brush, let it dry out for about 10 minutes, then dry-brushed a bit more wax just onto the raised trim on the drawers.

The overall effect was to add a little bit of depth to the Park Bench and a bit of shading to the trim areas.

 

Here it is finished!

 

 

 

I staged it with my collection of Last Supper portraits.

I thought the faded colors in the prints played well off of the dark green.

 

 

I think this chest is a good example of how a bold color can still look classy and elegant if paired with the right piece of furniture.

 

 

 

 

I’m really happy with how this piece turned out.

I think it will be a great statement piece for somebody and it’s an excellent quality piece of furniture.

 

 

And now I know I’m going to be looking for more places where I can use Park Bench!

As always, if you want to try these products for yourself and don’t have a local Fusion retailer, I would love to provide them for you!

You can shop all of these products and more in my rebuilt online shop – lostandfounddecor.shop

I would love for you to stop by and look around there if you haven’t already!

 

Thanks so much for joining me today, and Happy Painting!

 

 

Jen

Friday 23rd of February 2018

Those pictures on the dresser!! ??

Jen

Friday 23rd of February 2018

Those pictures on the dresser!! ??

Ivory

Monday 12th of February 2018

I love it and the color you selected. Nicely done.

Ivory

Monday 12th of February 2018

I love it and the color you selected. Nicely done.

Sandra wright

Sunday 11th of February 2018

Thank you for sharing all your tips and experience it's a lovely looking piece and beautifully done. I have used wax over eggshell paint it gives it a lovely silky feel but what advice would you give customers on care of furniture which has a coloured wax finish as it sits on top rather than being absorbed into the surface as with chalk paint and could be wiped off over time

Melanie

Sunday 11th of February 2018

Thank you Sandra! The wax will cure and harden up and not come off unless you really try to get it off! Meaning that even though it's not soaked into the paint, it still won't come off from just regular wear. You would have to really buff it or wipe it with a harsh cleaner to get it to start coming off. HOpe that helps!

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