Hello there! I have a quick before and after for you today. I picked up this sideboard at an antique store and couldn’t wait to get started on it. It happens to be my very favorite brand of furniture – Berkey and Gay. Their pieces are extremely detailed, well made, wood throughout and will last for many years to come. The before photo on this looks in better shape than it really was. The top had something funny going on with it – perhaps it had been refinished once before? The sun had discolored one of the sides, and there were just some overall dings and scratches. So it did need some love.
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At first I refinished the top, but the stain turned out to be too streaky (remember I said the top had something funny going on) – despite my best efforts it just wasn’t turning out. So the I decided the whole thing would go black, Lamp Black.
While the trends are going light and bright these days, I still think every room needs a touch of black. It helps ground the space and gives it some definition. So two coats of General Finishes Lamp Black it was.
The front had that gorgeous detail I really wanted to highlight, so I distressed it. Once the paint was dry, I took some 120 grit sandpaper and distressed the piece by hand. Distressing dark colors makes it look super scratchy. Just keep going.
Once it’s distressed to your liking, dust it off, and apply a coat of topcoat. I used General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in flat for this piece. Just one coat is all you need, it will soak into the raw wood you just distressed and bring back the natural color of it which will stand out against the black.
That’s really all the black distressed look is – black paint, sandpaper and a layer of topcoat. I love this little black sideboard. It sold at the Kinsey Vintage Market to a fun young family.
High Performance Topcoat in the flat finish does give this piece some shine. It will also help with keeping fingerprints and dust off a dark color like this.
Do you have black in your home??
Until next time,
Jenni
