Walnut And Painted Oak Washstand

This is one of those posts that might enrage the folks who never ever paint wood and don't like that look.

To them I say.... that's why paint stripper was invented.

I also say quityerbellyaching.

My house has plenty of wood....... of all grains, all species of trees, all colors of stains, natural or otherwise, so if I want to paint one of the gazillion pieces of real wood I have around here by golly I'm gonna do it.


That's how I started the pep talk to myself anyway.  I wasn't sure I was going to like the after on this little washstand so I needed to convince myself.

But I do like it.

The finish was not original, and I liked it better after just one coat of the darker stain in the photo above, two coats and it was the nice rich walnut color I wanted.

The paint is Picket Fence from the Michael Penney Designer Collection of Fusion Mineral Paint.

We picked this up from an old man named Harry Petersen, who refinished furniture as a hobby.


He was in his late 80's and when we were newlyweds we loved to stop in at the workshop at his house to see what he had.  His basement was full of the furniture he had redone, and the stuff he had yet to redo.

Harry would show us his favorite pieces, but then he would say we should pick what we like because we're the ones who are buying it.

I didn't want to paint all the wood, so I stained the oak darker on the top, the small drawers and the little door, and only mildly distressed the painted part.

I can still see the grain, it's just not the orange-y color I was tired of looking at.

The handles got revived with some vinegar, that tip is {here}.

I like the lighter look.

I think Harry would like it too, and if he didn't like it, he'd tell us that we are the ones who have to like it, not anyone else.

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