Thrift store find, $16.99!

The top told me it needed to be a backgammon table. (Furniture talks to me. Don’t ask.)

My backgammon idea challenged me for quite a while. I’d run through all kinds of color and design options in my head but none of them seemed right. It wasn’t until I took a General Finishes class at Suite Pieces that I knew glazing was the answer.

First, two coats of Annie Sloan Country Grey.

With a light distressing and some clear wax, I could have stopped there, but of course I didn’t.

For a two-tone look, I taped the edges of the top and the sides to get them ready for a glaze finish. The first step was a coat of Artisan Enhancements Scumble. Scumble is a water-based extender. It keeps the glaze wet longer so the glaze goes on smooth and there’s more time to “play” with it.

The Scumble has a sheen when it goes on. I tilted the table in the light to find the sheen and make sure it covered the entire surface that would be glazed.

I brushed on the glaze, a 1:1 mixture of General Finishes Water Based Glaze Effect colors Van Dyke Brown and Winter White. I used a chip brush to move the glaze in straight(ish) lines along the top …

… and across the drawer, and the sides.

I let the glaze dry overnight, then taped off the glaze I’d already applied. On went the Scumble and the glaze in Van Dyke Brown. Again, I used a chip brush to move the glaze in the direction I wanted. On the top, I followed the shape of the rim. On the bottom, I brushed downward and followed the line of the legs.

I changed the drawer pull and could have stopped then, but of course I didn’t.

I mapped out the backgammon triangles in Photoshop. I had a few different options to apply them. I could decoupage paper triangles, transfer images that had a triangle shape, make my own triangle stencil, or tape and glaze. I decided to tape and glaze.

I taped the table top and used graphite paper, pencil and ruler to trace my triangles onto the tape.

(I should buy stock in FrogTape Brand painter’s tape. I think I’m keeping them in business.)

I used a ruler and exacto knife to cut the tape around every other triangle.

I applied Scumble and Van Dyke Brown glaze. This time I brushed a cross hatch pattern, stroking the glaze first along the triangles and then across them.

In the photo above, you can see a little smudge on the bottom where I forgot to tape. I caught it while it was still wet, and wiped it off with a damp paper towel. The advantage to glaze is that it leaves a nonporous topcoat. Bare chalk paint would have absorbed that little goof and I would have had to paint over it.

The following day, I used my ruler and exacto knife to cut out the triangles that would receive a lighter glaze. I applied a fairly heavy coat of Winter White and with a damp paper towel, carefully wiped the glaze from each dark triangle.

Because the coat of white glaze was heavier, I removed the tape right away so that I could catch and wipe away any glaze that had seeped through the tape.

There were a few times during the process I could have stopped and still had a nice looking table, but I’m glad I kept going.

Backgammon anyone?

www.karenraelevine.com