Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Before and After~

I recently shared our fireplace surround and entertainment center in House Tour Part 1 post.  I found some before shots I thought I would share along with how I achieved the look.

Each piece was primed with 2 coats of Glidden's Gripper primer tinted a couple shades lighter than the top coat color.

The I painted each piece with 2-3 coats of the top coat, a custom Porter Paint color.  I have the formula if anyone is interested.  It is a really rich brown/black.

I allowed each piece to dry and cure for a week (our southern humidity makes it take longer). After they were thoroughly dry, I took like sandpaper and distressed the edges and details to give it the aged affect you see.


After-Entertainment Center

Before-Entertainment Center


After-Fireplace Surround


Before-Fireplace Surround

Sorry the afters are "before",  I have been having a hard time with blogger today!

12 comments:

Brittany said...

Beautiful! I love the affect of the 2 tones - adds so much more depth! Your fireplace is just beautiful!

Megan // Honey We're Home said...

Wow! Such a great job, well worth the effort! I love how rich the color is and the effect of the distressing. Regarding blogger- I started using Windows Live Writer to write my posts and upload my pictures- it is soooo much faster/easier than blogger. You can do more with the pictures too. It's a free download on the internet.

Thrifty Decor Chick said...

The fireplace looks AMAZING! Beautiful job on both of them!!

Maillardville Manor said...

Love the transformation!!!! The fireplace is beautiful!!! and the entertainment unit looks much more substantial :)
Love it!

Amanda said...

Love the site and your style!

Heidi said...

Very nice, I love the dark paint! I have a mixture of dark and white furniture, and lots of raw wood trim that needs paint in the house everywhere, still not sure what to do about that. I like the contrast of the dark, hmmm you've given me something to think about!
xo
Heidi - Heart and Home

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

I like the "Afters" so much better! The *new* entertainment storage system is fabulous! Thank you for the visit to my blog earlier. :) Hope you'll come back again soon!

Kirsty Girl said...

Wow I love it! Such an amazingly huge transformation! :D fantastic job!

Room Service ~ Decorating 101 said...

This looks great! I love both , but the fireplace blew me away!

Becky Mullowney said...

Please share the paint formula...it's a great color.

Mad Blogger said...

I love this makeover! Great color choice, looks like a totally different mantel. great job!

Londen

It's a Wannabe Decorator's Life said...

I love a good before and after and these are great! Thanks so much for visiting me!