Giving Furniture New Life

"Don't let her win it; she's just gonna paint it!"  Yes, back in the day, that's what the auctioneer would tell the crowd whenever I bid on a piece of furniture.  I would laugh.  And ultimately, I would paint the piece.  

Now, don't get me wrong, I love the beauty of wood.  But too often the pieces I could afford would have chipped veneer I'd have to repair with very unsightly wood filler, or they'd need updated hardware that would necessitate moving the drilled holes - again, leaving unsightly scars of wood filler in the old holes.  But all of these flaws fall away revealing just the beauty of the lines and timeless quality of the solid wood piece of furniture with a few coats of paint.

When I was doing so much painting, there was no chalk paint available.  Paint tinted with sublte, European colors, that needed no primer.  These were years away.  I would clean the piece, scrubbing it down, and sanding away the roughest edges.  Then a coat of Kilz primer.  In bright white.  Yeah, it took me years to figure out that I should get the primer tinted to match the paint I was applying - it would have given me back hours of my life!  So after 1 (sometime 2) coats of primer, it was on to the paint.  If it was a dark color, I would often have to apply 3 coats to cover that white primer.  The end result was lovely.  But so much work.  And the colors I used didn't have the subtlety you see in  chalk paints today. 

And I've got to say, the chalk paints I've used are such a joy to work with.  

March 1, we're offering a Furniture Painting 101 workshop, led by Deanna DeSante, owner of Vintage Veneers Decor here at Chartreuse.  Click here for all the details.

You'll learn how with the proper tools and superior paint you can create exactly the furniture pieces you want, without the time and drudgery I used to encounter when using toxic latex paints all those years ago.

Read on for insights from Deanna about the fabulous Autentico Italian paint line, now available at Chartreuse & co. 

-- by Deanna DeSante, Vintage Veneers Decor

Furnishings from stores like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware often catch my eye for their styling and creative finishes. But then I look at their price tags and wince especially as I realize that these are mass-produced imported pieces that aren’t built to last.  Luckily, as a furniture artist, I know that giving well-crafted vintage furniture new life with decorative paint is a great alternative to buying those overpriced pieces. And if you inherited the vintage furniture from grandma, all the better! You keep a family heirloom while saving furniture that would otherwise end up in the landfill.

With paint, you can renew and transform a vintage furniture piece to perfectly match any color scheme, style, and décor at a reasonable cost. Whether you want to furnish your space with traditional pieces that have a distressed Old World look, or you prefer the clean simple lines of the Mid-Century Modern Revival trend currently in furniture showrooms, you can achieve it with decorative paint.

You may feel daunted by the idea of painting furniture yourself. But, if you have the right tools, the right paint, and a little guidance, you can produce great results. Luckily, the “right tools and right paint” are now right here at Chartreuse & co. We are pleased to announce that we are carrying AUTENTICO chalk-based decorative paints and sundries, brought to you by Vintage Veneers Décor.

What Makes Autentico Paint So Special?
I know what you’re are thinking….another chalk paint brand, among the scores of chalk paint brands out there. What’s the difference? Well, Autentico is the HOLY GRAIL of decorative chalk-based paints, produced and sold in Europe since 2010, and now available in the United States.

Autentico offers a collection of award-winning, eco-friendly paints made with refined chalk and lime, inspired by pigments used by the Renaissance Masters. Autentico paints are versatile, and can be used on furniture, cabinetry, walls, doors, trim and masonry. You can paint wood, metal, plastic, glass, stone, MDF, and more, creating stunning effects, especially if you mix the paints with Autentico’s creative powders and glazes.

Autentico USA imports six distinctive paint lines with varying levels of durability, sheen and viscosity. At Chartreuse & co we are carrying a curated color palette of the Autentico Vintage Chalk paint line.  The Vintage line stands out in its class as a low-VOC, water-based furniture paint with 35% refined chalk content—the highest chalk content in the industry. It is highly porous, rich in color, self-priming and easily adheres to most substrates with little preparation—that generally means NO
STRIPPING of stained furniture finishes!

After prepping your furniture piece (if needed) with Autentico Omni-clean, Bio-Strip (to remove old layers of paint), or Primer (to avoid bleed-thru), Vintage Chalk paint is easy to apply with a brush, roller or sprayer. Once applied it self-levels beautifully and dries quickly to a soft matte finish. Then, it is easy to “distress” with a light sanding here and there to create a worn look, if that’s what you like.

Best of all, Autentico Vintage is available in over 220 colors, including metallics, that can be mixed to create practically any hue. Apply one of Autentico’s sixteen clear or colored waxes to seal the paint, to transform your chosen paint color, or to highlight carved details on your furniture piece.

And the wax…oh the wax! It creates a sublimely soft finish. Made from carnauba and beeswax from an old Dutch recipe, it goes on like butter and buffs out with minimal effort. Don’t like working with wax? You can seal Vintage Chalk paint with Autentico’s Deco Varnish for a low sheen ultra matte finish.

Does Autentico have a self-sealing paint?
Yes, it does! It’s a separate paint line called Versante! This all-in-one paint is Vintage Chalk paint, with the topcoat built in. It comes in an ultra matte (eggshell) finish and a satin finish. We will be carrying a limited stock of Versante Matte in the barn at Chartreuse & co. 

What else can you do with Autentico Paints?
I am glad you asked!! Autentico is so versatile that you can mix the paint with Autentico
powders to create finishes that resemble driftwood, stone, venetian plaster, salt wash, rust, and aged copper. You can also blend the paint with our glazes to create a traditional faux finish, a crackle finish, or porcelain crazing effect, or an opalescent shimmer. You can add water to the paint to create a wash or stain that can be applied to raw wood or layered over other colors to create an aged patina or an ethereal powdery appearance. You can even dilute Autentico paint to create a dye for fabric!

What about that “guidance” you mentioned?
Vintage Veneers Décor will be offering demos and workshops featuring Autentico paint and sundries.  Just tap the link above for all the details.

There are instructional materials near the paint display in the heated space on the first floor of the Main Barn. You can also check out this guide on how to use Autentico Vintage Chalk Paint.

Come into the store or shop online at this link to buy from our curated palettes of Autentico Vintage Chalk paint, waxes and sundries.

Thanks for reading!

--- Virginia & Deanna