Posted by frenchicfinland Admin
Kirsi's Frenchic projects part 2 - the crème de la crème of Trim Paint paints
I'm Kirsi, a passionate upcycler and vintage enthusiast. I work in interior design and furniture, and my free time follows much the same theme. One of my Instagram friends even calls me the "project queen" .
I couldn't live without my DIY projects; they're therapy for me too, helping me relax and switch off from everything else around me. When I always have "a hundred irons in the fire" and a couple of new projects in mind, life never gets boring.
I've promised to show you some finished projects I've completed with Frenchic Paint products. I hope they'll inspire you to pick up a paintbrush and bravely try something completely new too!...
Frenchic Paint – Trim Paint trim and door paint is the crème de la crème of paints
If I had to single out one furniture paint as the best, it would definitely be Frenchic Paint-series Trim Paint.
I haven't come across paint that goes on this easily and smoothly before. Best of all, the dried finish is velvety soft, and there's no need to apply a separate coat of wax or any other protective finish.
The first project I completed with Trim Paint was the three-door display cabinet in the dining area.
The china cabinet was originally white, and I spent a long time thinking about what color to paint it. Since I already have some vintage green in my home and really love that color, I decided to go with green again this time.
I didn't want to choose exactly the same color, called Green with Envy, as the one on the kitchen wall, so I went with a similar but slightly fresher shade, Bradstock.
While Green with Envy leans slightly gray, Bradstock has a more springlike, greener hue. And how brilliantly these two greens work together!
How I painted the china cabinet, with its many glass panes and solid doors with decorative grooves.
Good preparation makes a big difference to the final result. That’s why you shouldn’t skimp on washing and sanding the old surface. First, I washed the surfaces with Frenchic cleaner and then wiped them down with a clean, damp cleaning cloth.
A more patient person would have taped off every pane of glass, but I decided to scrape the dried paint off the glass with a window scraper at the end. It’s rare for painter’s tape to fit so well that you don’t still have to touch up a few spots after removing it.
I removed the handles before painting, but wrapped tape around the hinges. I applied three thin coats of paint, allowing it to dry for the recommended amount of time between coats. Thin coats are the best way to bring out decorative details, grooves, and other small features.
I left the inside of the china cabinet white, creating a fun contrast with the green exterior.
Frenchic Paint Trim Paint paint gives the bookcases a new look
There’s quite a lot of green in different shades in our home’s decor, so I wanted something different for the upstairs home office.
I’ve previously done a small makeover in the home office, removing the old light-colored wallpaper and painting some of the walls ochre yellow, while wallpapering the rest with wallpaper in the same shade.
We’ve had these old display cabinets with glass doors for almost twenty years, and their original finish is white wash.
The knots showed through the translucent paint as yellowish patches, so it was time to update this furniture too, bringing it in line with the times and the rest of the home’s color palette. Since the bookcases are made of pine, refinishing them is more than easy.
I agreed to collaborate with Frenchic on this project, and within a few days, a proper project package had arrived at Matkahuolto, ready for pickup. I got to choose the paint and color for this project myself and, of course, went straight for my favorite: Trim Paint.
As there was already ochre yellow in the room, I chose a bright yellow shade called Honeycombe for the bookcases.
I haven’t come across such a perfect ochre yellow anywhere yet. In dim light, it comes close to mustard, and in bright sunlight, the shade is like gold.
I also prepared carefully for this project; first, I washed the cabinets with Sugar Soap and lightly sanded them, especially the areas where the old coating had already started to peel.
Remove the handles and get that new Frenchic brush moving. I didn't waste time taping off the glass for this project either; I painted generously onto the glass and scraped the paint off once it had dried using a glass scraper.
With their new coat of paint, the bookcases look right at home in front of the yellow wallpaper, and my home office is always sunny, even on cloudy days.
Frenchic Paint -Trim Paint is also great for painting small projects
I received a mystery paint shipment from Frenchic Paint—a package whose paint color I knew nothing about in advance. I was quite nervous as I opened the cardboard box with trembling hands when it arrived.
I had already thought of a few different projects to try this mysterious color on, depending on what was inside the package. I was greatly relieved and delighted when the tin revealed a greenish turquoise/petrol-colored shade called Calming Carol. This color also calmed my nerves, and I immediately warmed to it.
To let the gorgeous color shine, I chose two smaller pieces of furniture for this project. One was an old stool that I bought at a flea market a few years ago and had already painted once with chalk paint. Since the stool had been used as a plant stand, the old chalk paint had suffered from water damage, making it a perfect fit for this project.
For the second project, I chose a small chest of drawers with four black rattan baskets. The original white finish had also seen better days.
Give both pieces of furniture a thorough wash with Frenchic - Sugar Soap and a light sanding before the first coat of paint. After the second coat, the incredible intensity of the color started to show, and after the third coat, the finish was smooth and beautifully colored.
Both pieces of furniture are now in my yellow home office and work well together as a contrast to the honey-colored paint. There was almost a full tin of paint left after these two pieces, so now I can calmly think about the next project that Calming Carol would be perfect for.
I hope these tips inspire you too to pick up a paintbrush and boldly try something completely new!
Follow Kirsi on Instagram: @pieni_paivansade
