Thomasville Teal Dresser and a Bauxite Beige Love Affair!

 

Let me start this post off by stating something I am very serious about : I love teal. Every shade, every way – I will always choose teal. So when CeCe Caldwell Paints sent me her Thomasville Teal Natural Chalk & Clay Paint, I knew I was going to be in trouble.

 The moment I opened this paint I was impressed… for a few reasons. First, the cans and labels are made of recycled products. The tops are plastic which means they are super easy to open and close multiple times during your project and you won’t get rust or rust flakes in your paint like you do with metal cans. Second, there was absolutely no smell. None. These paints are 100% VOC free, non-toxic, free of solvents and I recognize every ingredient on the list. I didn’t have to wear a respirator and I could have painted the piece in my house had I wanted to (another thing that is very important to me : organic living!) Third, when you first pop the top it looks like a  gorgeous whipped mousse and a good stir to mix all of the natural ingredients turns it into a creamy and smooth paint. I knew exactly the piece I wanted to use it on.

I found this antique dresser on a Buy, Sell, Trade site back in Kansas and loved it so much we moved it to Virginia with us in a Uhaul truck…and I have the matching desk 🙂 The detail on it is unlike anything I had ever seen and I was excited to see what CeCe Caldwell’s new product, Bauxite Beige Metallic Wax, would do to these details once they were painted and distressed. I started by wiping down the entire piece with a 50/50 mixture of water and white vinegar to remove all the spider webs it had collected during it’s stay in my garage. I patched some holes and gathered my supplies. Another pro that drew me to CeCe Caldwell Paints is that you don’t need an expensive paint brush to use her paint properly. I have about 4 natural bristle oval paintbrushes and at around $35/each it can easily break the bank. My paintbrush of choice for this paint? 

I think it cost me about $7 at Lowe’s. Score! After applying about 2 coats of paint (and only waiting about 20 minutes between coats for it to dry) I was floored. I immediately called Meg and we had a 15 minute conversation about what we could do to use up the other brands of paints we had so that we could make the switch to using ONLY CeCe Caldwell Paints. I returned to my garage, distressed the entire piece and reached for the Waxing Cream. I LOVE how this product smells! It’s like a mix of beeswax (yes, one of the ingredients!) and calendula. It reminded me of when my 5 year old baby was REALLY a baby and I would use Burt’s Bees on him….stay with me! This stuff is amazing.

Look how rich the color turned! After a good buffing, I was finally ready to open up the Bauxite Beige Metallic Wax and see what it could do. I used my fingertip with a clean lint-free rag wrapped around it and, using a tiny bit at a time, wiped the wax over the spots I wanted to enhance. Then I used a paper towel to remove any excess wax and buffed smooth with my lint-free cloth. I have one word to describe this product and what it achieved : Patina. It creates patina!!

 

You can see in the “After” picture how it added to the age of the piece. I decided I had to use the Bauxite Beige on not only the hardware but to enhance the dings and imperfections I had distressed and in the deep crevices along the sides. It was absolutely brilliant.

I imagine this piece in one of those articles showing old Parisian apartments that haven’t been entered in 70 years and finding this gem inside, still housing love letters from World War I…maybe even holding onto the smell of Chanel No. 5.

So, it’s decided. Meg and I are using as much of CeCe Caldwell Paints as we can get our hands on. It’s the most responsive and organic paint line and we cannot stop telling all of our fellow artists & friends about this incredible paint. Have you already tried CeCe? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

 

*This post contains sponsored content. Though we were compensated with product, all ideas and opinions are 100% our own! We chose to be Brand Reps for CeCe Caldwell because we love her products!