I am all about color.  For those of you that follow me, you’ll know that I vary my shades but I have a few that I absolutely love.  I’m a pink girl and General Finishes Coral is one of my favorites.  That I why I was so excited when my good friend Sarah messaged me about this dresser and said that her daughter Riley wanted it painted coral.  The bare bones of this dresser weren’t so cute.  Fortunately with the scalloped bottom, the drawer divider, and the adorable pineapple pulls, I knew it had potential!  I knew that if I painted the coral directly onto this dark, zebra wood, it wouldn’t distress very nicely.  It also wasn’t solid wood all of the way through.  This can sometimes make it hard for the paint to stick well so I started with a coat of primer.  The best primer that I have found is Bullseye 123.  In addition to giving the milk paint something more substantial to stick to, it also is great for blocking stain from bleeding through the paint which can cause yellowing.  After the coat of primer, I decided to paint two coats of a soft grey to start.  I have several shades, but I chose General Finishes Driftwood for the base because it’s a beautiful warm grey.  Once it has a more uniform coat of paint, it’s easier to see the cuteness!

My first coat of the coral paint was pretty streaky to cover.  It changes the color just a bit since you can see the grey through.  The second complete coat still showed a few streaks through, but I knew that I wanted that kind of coverage to add to the character.  When the second coat dried, I started distressing.  I tried to sand lightly as to just get down to the grey instead of all of the way down to the wood grain.  I highlighted all of the edges, curves and imperfections to create some fun depth.  After all of the distressing, I used Minwax polyacrylic in a semi-gloss for a protective top coat.  I’ve started using a small paint tray and an edging sponge for application.  I’ve found it works great!  The excess poly needs to be squeezed out of the sponge because it will run or drip.  If it looks like it goes on too thick, you can go back over the areas with  the sponge to remove build-up.  BUT, once is about all you want to do because it will quickly become sticky and streaky before it dries and you don’t want that!  I love how it adds a beautiful light sheen to the top of the paint.  The poly is fast drying so a new coat can be added within a few hours depending on the humidity.  – Iowa is generally super humid so it requires a bit more drying time.  You will know when the piece is no longer tacky that your poly is dry.  I usually add at least two coats to each piece of furniture.  This protects the paint against accident spills, too.   (within reason)

I knew when I saw those little pineapple pulls that they would be adorable.  I added two coats of black spray paint to shine them up just a little bit.  I think they add so much to the piece!  I just love how all of the grey shows through that coral.  It’s definitely a bright pop of color but the grey areas tone it down just enough!  I am loving it!  This has definitely become one of my favorite pieces!

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