When the weather is stormy and all you can dream of is the Ocean… 
If you love chalk painted furniture, you are sure to love this beautiful blue secretary. With hand painted flowers and a mermaid tail.

 

BEFORE PHOTOS

I searched for hours today to tell you just a little something about the age and style of this cabinet.
It’s not a piece I typically buy & I hadn’t ever seen before.
It’s a hutch cabinet on top, with fold down table and cubby holes inside. And a decorative stand on the bottom.
Plantation Secretary Cabinet?? Sort of. I searched out the legs to give me an idea of style and century. But nothing exact.

The owners didn’t really know much; other than it was taking up space in their garage and their parents had it forever but had passed, so they held onto it and didn’t really want it. 

This is a solid piece but she had a lot of veneer issues and was what I like to call “well loved.”
I used my favorite veneer fix- Maison Blanche Paint Company’s Glacage. I have used it for years to hide a multitude of sins.

 

Now a Beautiful Mermaid in a Sea of Gorgeous Blues
& Adorned by Floral & Gilded Accents 

Moving from Arizona this past winter was quite the detour. Quite the change.
Add a major surgery that had me in bed for almost 4 months–  another huge detour.

It seemed like such a long and very wet spring. All the rain and all the storms.
I just kept dreaming about the year before and Victory over Cancer. 

And that wonderful trip to California. Ocean waves and the sun reflecting so brightly off the deep blue sea.

I could see all the colors so vividly. 

I could almost smell the saltwater. 

 

Progress Photos 

I began painting this piece out thinking of just layering some blues. 

I used Annie Sloan’s Aubusson Blue and Maison Blanche Vintage Vibe. Then mixed to two…

 

I didn’t have a vision. So added some depth with deep navy and some Maison Blanche Colette.

I just let the brush paint and it helped me get out of bed and begin to heal. 

Saltwater can Heal Anything they say… 

IT”S ALL IN THE DETAILS 

And before I knew, it I wanted flowers…

But more of an idea of florals… whimsy…

floating flowers on the ocean… as long as we’re dreaming, why not?!!

it became very apparent that all my time in bed, was following me out & onto this piece… 

all the rain, and impromptu visits to the tornado closet were crazy

It was a new season, a new place, in a new body… 

And I just needed a piece of the old me. 

a paint brush in my hand & an old piece of furniture

as desperate for a new look on life…as I was for just one more day at the ocean. 

And that’s where I became in love with the idea of a mermaids tail..

..

using Maison Blanche Glacage to make the scales by hand… 

It has so much texture and color and hints of the most opulent gold. 

Remembering the bright Reflections of the Ocean as the sun was setting..

It was a magical light that bounced off the water…

I added the gold leaf for a little extra whimsy.

This piece was part of my healing. It was part of the way I weathered the storms this spring. 
A beautiful reminder that the darkest days, hardest times, stormy times….
are the makings, the beginnings of beauty yet to be seen!! 

She is FOR SALE!!!
Vintage Cabinet Custom Painted- Furniture and an Art Piece in one… 
Dimensions are 53″ H x 18″ D x 27 1/2″ W 
Shipping Available for an extra fee. Or Local Pick Up/ Delivery in OKC metro area.
Email me for details on pricing.