A Painted French Provincial Desk

Amy of High Style Restyle, offered me the chance to try out vanGogh Chalk paint and wax, and I chose Diva for my color.  I have never used van Gogh paint and I wasn’t paid to write this post.  I was given the product free but these are my own opinions.  Some good and some not.  But they are my own!! 

I wanted something bold and different from my usual go to of grays and blues.   I had the perfect little French provincial desk that I knew would be fun to bold with.  This French provincial desk is part of a bed set that I got and it’s a really nice solid wood Dixie French beauty!! And it is for sale!!     

You may remember the peek I gave you.

Isn’t it pretty?  Amy told me this color is one that is more translucent than others so be sure to use a base coat.  When I started on this french provincial desk, I thought I would go shabby and distressed so I based it white.  Looking back with how it ended up not being distressed or shabby, I would likely have based it something darker like gray or even brown.  It did take about 4 coats to get a semi okay coverage.  It was blinding bright in color.  I loved it but my family was a little shocked that I was using it!!

The downside on the paint for me was the smell.  I had a headache for 2 days, it’s beyond strong.  And in this heat opening up my garage wasn’t an option, and taking it inside wasn’t either- not with that smell.  I think if you have followed me for long, you can look back at posts and know smells don’t typically bother me.  I love the smell of wax and I am weird like that.  But this was a bit much.  

The paint went on smooth and sanding between coats was fine.  I think that it dries a lot faster than what I am used to so there was a bit of a drag for me.  I compensated by loading up the brush versus using lighter coats.  That is a negative comment, as with all paints you have to work with them in how they work.  So play and find what works best.  I think if I had gone shabby this would have been a great paint on those high spots, where you only need to sand lightly to have it come right off.   With the color so bright I needed shades… heehee just kidding.  

I decided to use Modern Masters Warm Silver to accent with and use on the hardware.  Glam it up rather than go shabby.  I also knew immediately once that went on that I would use MM’s mica powder in Antique Gold to provide the luster and sheen I wanted to go with it.  This helped to tone down a bit and really provide a beautiful finish.  

You can see above the difference in the color.  And below you can see how subtle it is & the little extra shimmer just makes it beautiful!! I’ll stop talking now and show you the rest!!

Thank you for stopping by!!

I have more to share with you tomorrow!!

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