I recently did a custom design for my friends Deanna and Dave. I was pretty excited to do this piece because it was a pie safe! They told me they had bought this piece from their friend’s business for their first home together. It was just begging for an update!

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Material List:

• White Lightening Cleaner
• BOSS Primer
• Zinsser Universal Sanding Sealer
• Yankee Blue 
• Vintage Duck Egg 
• Clear Coat Flat
• Gator Hide
• Blue Top Coating Sponge
• White Wax
• Fine Spray Mister

This piece was built in the 1990s. If you know anything about the 90s, you know that it was all about that heavy grain honey oak. Wood grain is nice sometimes because it adds texture and character to your piece. For this piece, however, I wanted to minimize the wood grain as much as possible for a smoother look. The first thing I did was clean it throughly with White Lightening Cleaner, then I gave it one coat of Zinsser Universal Sanding Sealer. This product helps seal and minimize the heavy wood grain and you can use as many coats as you need. After it was dry, I applied a coat of BOSS primer in clear. These two products (Zinsser Universal Sanding Sealer and BOSS primer) work well together to minimize the wood grain.

Now it is time for the fun part: painting! Deanna wanted something that was blue, but soft in color. I choose Yankee Blue and Vintage Duck Egg. I started by just applying the Yankee Blue from the top to the middle, and the Vintage Duck Egg from the bottom to the center. To start, I blended them just a little to see if I liked the way they went together and let both colors dry separately overnight. This is called a base coat. You can see some of the layout here. FYI, I did finish that bottom corner with the Vintage Duck Egg before bed!

The next day I used both colors with my fine spray mister to work the paint into a nice blend. I brushed each color out on a foam plate to work some of the paint off before blending. This helps it to apply evenly, creating a washed ombre effect. When you have a good base coat, this process requires very little paint.

This is a process. When you’re in the middle of your project, the right feel for how the paint should lay will come to you. Trust yourself and your artistic ability. And believe me, if you’re reading this blog you DO have an artistic ability!! You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.

For the finishing touches, I sanded the edges for a distressed look. To me, a pie safe screams distressed farmhouse feel! Then I applied Clear Coat Flat from Dixie Belle. On the top, I applied Gator Hide because it is heat and water resistant, as well as high gloss and super durable. (The higher the gloss, the more durable it is!) Once it was dry, I added 3 coats of the Clear Coat Flat so the sheen matched the rest of the piece but could withstand the extra wear that tops of furniture tend to get. I applied all of my top coats with my blue top coat sponge.  I wash my sponge out with soap and hot water in between each use. At the very end, I added a little white wax to certain areas that needed a little extra accenting!

I’m very happy with how this piece turned out! Deanna and Dave loved it too! I made sure to stage it with my favorite books because Deanna is a librarian.