For the Love of an Equestrian Life {Part ONE}

My step-daughter has a love of all things equestrian. She also needed a new dresser. Those two facts brought on these unique furniture pieces.

Again, I wanted to use my staining technique. But, I also wanted to use my new favorite paints, Velvet Finishes.

I had seen a post on Pinterest of a highboy that had been refinished. I absolutely loved the colors and details of the layers of paints and thought it would go so well with my staining techniques. So, I contacted Kellie at VelvetFinishes.com. I waited patiently (or not) for the paints to arrive so that I could get started on the chest of drawers. While waiting for the paints, I found this sweet little telephone table for $5!

I decided this would be a good piece to experiment on since I had never used the paints and glaze from Velvet Finishes before and wasn't sure how my staining technique would react/ work with them.

The paints arrived and I got started:

I started with the Velvet Finishes Ready - Velvet Finishes is a no-sand, no strip paint. But if the furniture does have a sheen on it, it is recommended to use VF Ready. You just spray it on, let it sit a bit and wipe off excess. This prepares the surface for the Velvet Finishes paint to adhere best.

I used two coats of Timeless, two coats of Opulent, a little bit of highlighting of Minimalist.

I was in awe of the finish of this paint - it has such a nice "velvet" texture, just a slight sheen. LOVE!

I then did some distressing and used the VF Dark Glaze to get the effect I had seen on the inspiration piece. After I was finished with the glazing, I didn't quite get the effect I wanted , as it wasn't quite as dark. Note to self... talk to Kellie to see if I did something wrong. (more on this on Part TWO of the Equestrian Life)

I found an image I wanted to try of two horses. I was a bit nervous, as I have never done a horse before (or any animal - I typically do flowers with this technique).

My apologies for the lighting... I don't have the best lighting to work with (another note to self to work on this!). After I got the top done, I decided I wanted to personalize this for my step-daughter somehow, so I thought the little pull out shelf would be a good place. I designed a monogram inside of a horseshoe.

Ok, so I was pretty pleased with how this little piece turned out. Now, I can go forward with the chest of drawers... But first, here are the pictures of the finished little table. I call it a telephone table (not sure why - I think it is something from my childhood that makes me call it that).

If you are interested in purchasing the Velvet Finishes paint, please use this link:

Velvet Finishes

I think you will be quite impressed with this line! I know I am and now want to purchase all of the colors!

Stay tuned for it's matching chest of drawers! I've never been much of a horse enthusiast myself; however, it was quite fun to create this piece and use the shading to show the details and muscles! I look forward to working on the next piece!

~ Michelle