French Provincial furniture has been known for their beautiful lines and timeless looks. Most often vintage french provincial furniture have been produced in sets such as living room sets, dining room sets and bedroom sets, but on the odd occasion, some pieces were manufactured alone.
This desk is unique because I haven’t seen a double pedestal desk in the french provincial style without the wood being painted. With this piece I really loved the wood, and decided to just improve the look giving it an old world finish which would fit into any European or Tuscan style interior.
I find using a natural fiber chip brush which you can get for 2 dollars at your local hardware store always produces the nicest finishes. Natural chip brushes will give you best control when painting with this specific oil paint.
How to Achieve the old world stained look with Artists oil paint:
Mix in a bowl, (preferably a throw away bowl) or line it with aluminum foil) artists oil paint, and a little bit of paint thinner.
(Don’t mix them together, just have both in a bowl)
Brush on the oil on to the wood. You will be able to see what looks good and what looks too thick. If you find the oil is too thick, try using a small (small) amount of paint thinner, on your brush.
(This paint is not meant for furniture, but it produces a spectacular painted old world finish that is hard to attain with regular wood stain. I have found that I put up with the draw backs for the beautiful finish. If you decide to try this, know that the paint take an extra long time to dry. The first time I tried this on my walls, I got impatient and tried to paint a clear plycrylic and I ruined the entire finish, that I had to take paint thinner and scrub it off. If you decide to try this finish instead of sanding down your project and staining it as usual, do have a room where the piece can dry untouched for a good week or so)
I find working in sections very helpful. This is a very quickly working finish. You don’t want to over work the finish, and it helps to have lots of paper towel handy in case you have to wipe the finish down and try again.
It is a dry wipe finish, meaning you are really having to work the brush to spread out the finish on your piece. Be sure your furniture is LIGHTLY sanded, for the oil to stick well.
After it is finished drying over a weeks period, you will want to spray it with a clear sealer.
It is VERY VERY important your first sealant is a spray. I made the mistake of touching my furniture too early and it messed up the entire finish. If you spray your piece, and it isn’t dry, it won’t hurt the finish.
Winton Oil 200ml Burnt Umber, Klean-Strip ”Green” Lacquer Thinner, Quart
Minwax 24444 Polycrylic Protective Finish
Minwax Polyurethane Spray – Satin
Minwax Polycrylic, Satin 1/2 Pt
12 Natural China Bristle 3″ Chip Brush
This nightstand was originally a white dixie Hutch dresser. I ditched the hutch and just made them into nightstands. I filled in holes for the original hardware and drilled new holes for these beautiful large french handles. Check out the entire post here.
