Have you ever painted something white only to have it turn pink?!?  White can be the hardest color to achieve!

This mahogany secretary desk was given to a friend of mine for FREE!  It fits perfectly in her entry way, but she wanted to be a lighter brighter color.  

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We chose a mix of 50/50 Antique White and Snow White Milk Paint for the exterior.  I knew this would cause some major bleed through.  General Finishes Stain Blocker to the rescue!

You can see the bleed through in this first photo – after applying the first coat of Stain Blocker, the tannins in the wood come through and you can see the pink!!  The second coat seals in the stain and then you are ready for paint.  

After the 2 coats of primer, it took two coats of paint (50/50 mix of Antique White  and Snow White Milk Paint) to get a consistent color overall.  Once it was dry, it was time to distress.  

Here’s a video I filmed as I was finishing up this project, it was a great discussion on distressing and making over old furniture! 

For the interior, we wanted contrast.  We chose Queenstown Gray Milk Paint for the interior, and I love the look!! 

To fit properly in my friend’s entry way, we decided to take off the front – this allows the interior to be the center of attention.  The desk front was painted and refinished to match, so she can re-install it if she ever uses the secretary in another spot. 

The sparkly knobs were just the right amount of glam for this piece.  They came from Hobby Lobby. I also updated the key escutcheons, from dlawlesshardware.com. This is the perfect contrast of light and dark, distressed and sparkly.  Farmhouse glam!! 

I love refinishing pieces like this with so much character!! I can’t wait to see it in her entryway! 

Until next time, 

Jenni