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Well I promised you that I would share the finished piece with you (follow on from my previous blog) and here it is!  I have a few friends (and others) who said “No! do not paint it” and I have shared the now and then images with these purists and I am happy to report that I did receive a unanimous thumbs up for enhancing its beauty!

It was with trepidation that I put brush to wood for the first coat (Autentico Versante Eggshell in Chalk Grey).  I was truly amazed at how pretty it looked, even after just the base colour and many who saw it noted that the carved details “popped” as a result of this first coat.  I had decided upon my colour scheme prior to starting and knew I wanted a lovely deep olive with gold gilding accents, so when my Autentico Vintage Vert Olive paint arrived I could not wait to get to it!

The Autentico line of paints covers very well and it only needed one coat of paint before I was ready to clear wax seal, and then dark wax for which I used Autentico  Furniture Wax in Anthracite.  When you first use dark wax you are VERY nervous because the wax is VERY dark when you first put it on.  I have learned in a hurry that you must be bold – there is no place for hesitation. However I also learned that if you make a mistake and apply too much dark wax it will come straight off with a soft dry rag since you’ve wax sealed the furniture.  You can also correct errors by going over the “booboo” with clear wax. You soon become very excited when you start to see how blending the wax creates an amazing antique look to the furniture as well as adding dark and light shading. Then you stand back to admire your work and think to yourself “wow that is rather cool”.

I have to admit that phase 3 was pretty daunting – the gilding wax details which would either make or break the finished piece.   Gilding wax is best applied using your finger but for fine detail you can also use an artist brush (I used both techniques). Again though, be bold and prepare to be amazed at what a brush of the finger creates on your work of art.  Some of the detail required a steady hand but again this piece is over 100 years old and hand carved, not much is straight!

This has been an exciting journey for me and I already have more “Faded Grandeur” pieces waiting to be loved again.  It’s addictive – you should try it! If you want to follow my journey please share and join me on our Chateau DIY Facebook page; or for all things Chateau in France visit our website ChateauxEscapesFrance.com.  Happy painting!  This piece is available for purchase, please PM Lisa LaCount if interested.

We use Autentico products, please visit their page to see the beautiful paints they have for all purposes : chalk paint, wall paint, cabinet paint, floor paint, in a vast choice of fabulous colours.
If you purchase from them we receive a small amount, thank you.

The original piece