Another Goodwill Makeover...Drexel Heritage Shelf

Goodwill is one of my favorite spots to find furniture rescues. Their furniture is usually pretty reasonably priced, and they even help you load it in your car. I try to hit up Goodwill every other week even if I am not looking for something specific. Frequent trips give you the best chance of finding that diamond in the rough.

I found this shelf while my daughter and I were waiting on our van to get its scheduled maintenance at our local Toyota dealer. I paid $15 for it, and from what I researched my best guess is that this is a Drexel-Heritage piece from the 1950s or 1960s which is around the time Drexel purchased Heritage, since it only has a Heritage stamp.  The company changed its name to Drexel-Heritage in 1968. I haven't been able to pinpoint its exact value, but I know it is well over $15.

I used Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan for this project, and used Annie's signature Two Color Distressed Finish technique. For this process, you start with a base color. I chose Coco and painted it on thickly with my medium Annie Sloan brush with lots of expressive criss-cross strokes to create a lot of texture. 

Once my first coat dried, I painted on a thinner layer of Old White with my Purdy white bristle 2" brush. With this process, when you distress with your sandpaper your base color, again mine was Coco, will start coming through, and it creates that French Country look. I used a fine grit sandpaper in 220 and rubbed in a circular motion on my flat surfaces and roughed up the edges. The more texture you use on your base coat the more it will shine through when you start distressing, so don't be afraid to really slap it on there. I finished it off with a coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax.

I put this in my family room where a had a cheesy, fake plant that I have hated for a long time. I borrowed all my props from around my house to stage this puppy, so I will need to hit up Hobby Lobby and HomeGoods soon to stock it up. I didn't think I would be a fan of a really textured piece in my home, but I am loving the contrast to other painted pieces I have.

Are any of you fans of the Two Color Distressed Finish technique? I would love to see some of your pieces.