tea for three: May 2014

I got my hands on this gorgeous writing desk and chair. The desk wasn't in terrible condition, but it did have some rings, paint, and discoloration on it. And the chair; I don't think it had ever been reupholstered. Which is cool, but the fabric was in rough shape.

Normally, I don't have a problem painting furniture. But this one was so beautiful and the wood was in great condition, I just couldn't get myself to paint it. I have a hard time painting good, old, wood furniture. I think I've been watching too much Nicole Curtis, The "Rehab Addict" (love her!)!! I know painted furniture is really popular now, but after I polled friends on Facebook staining won.

It needed a fresh coat of stain because it was more of an orange, brassy (can you tell I do hair?!) color. And I personally like a more weathered color.

So, since I decided to re-stain it, I had to strip the coat of poly that was on it. I have never worked with a paint remover before so this is very new to me.

Normally I would just sand the finish off, but because this piece was so old and detailed that wasn't going to happen. So I went to my go-to resource for tutorials: Pinterest. Love that website! After I read ~~a couple~~ a ton of blog posts on other gals who had a successful experience, I got up the courage to do it!

I didn't want a chemical filled paint stripper, so I got Citristrip at The Home Depot. Paint stripper always kind of scared me but this stuff is "gentle".

I put on my 4 pairs of gloves (yes 4! 2 were chemical gloves) and went to town. I put a thick coat of it on and followed the directions. Well, the directions said to let it sit for 30 mins - 24 hours. So naturally, I checked it every 15 mins.

Sometimes trying a new project can be intimidating. You read about other people's experiences and it looks so easy, anyone can do it. But then you try it, and it doesn't go so smoothly. I think they refer to it as a "Pinterest fail." Yes, I have "Pinterest fails". That's the part of being a DIY'er. You try new things and sometimes they turn out, yet sometimes they don't!

I wouldn't say this experiment for me was a "Pinterest fail" but it didn't turn out how I planned.

I let the stripper sit until I saw that it was coming off. It was a little messy, but it came off pretty easily. Since I was just removing poly, the stain color was still in the wood grain. I chose to stain it in Provincial by Minwax.

I wiped it down with mineral spirits and gave it a light sanding. After it was all cleaned off, I stained it. And it looked the exact same. So, being a hair stylist, in color theory if you have a level 7 and put a level 8 on, nothing will change because its not dark enough. So, assuming stain is similar (????) I figured it wasn't dark enough. So after it was dry,

I then went over it with Dark Walnut by Minwax

And it still looked the same. The exact same. No change. Maybe a little change. But really, no change. I applied 2 coats of this stain. And it still had that orange, gold tint.

So, this was when I had to step back, and tell the desk "we need a break." "It's not you, it's me. But it could totally be you, but it could totally be me."

I spend a lot of time with each piece I work on. Hours, and sometimes days. This is one of those pieces where I just need to step back and take some space away from it to get a clear head. Its totally fine the way it is. Just not what I was anticipating.

I'm pretty sure I didn't remove enough of the stain color in my sanding process and that's why it still looks the same. Hair color and stain, not the same!

Like I said, I wouldn't call this a fail. I achieved everything that it needed. It just didn't turn out the exact way I expected it to. But sometimes that happens!