Vintage Vanity Makeover – Dixie Belle Silk In Anchor and Floral Ballerina Decoupage Paper

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I have another exciting furniture makeover to share with you. For this vintage vanity furniture makeover project I used Dixie Belle Silk in Anchor, a gorgeous deep black, and a beautiful floral ballerina decoupage paper. So, in this post I’ll share the details of this vintage vanity makeover.

If you are new to furniture painting find helpful tips for success here: chalk mineral paint basics.

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Vanity Makeover Silk Paint – Prepping The Project

Repair

To start, this makeover started with a vintage vanity that I found at a local antiques store. I bought it without checking it over good. When I began to prep for the Silk Paint makeover I noticed some loose veneer on the sides and top of the vanity.

First, I made some much needed repairs to the cracks and loose veneer using Minwax High Performance Wood Filler. This wood filler contains 2 parts that when mixed together create a very strong wood filler that can be sanded and painted.

I had not used this product prior and now that I have it will be my go to product for repairs like these. While it is a bit cumbersome to mix the 2 parts together before use, the outcome is worth it.

Sanding

Following the repairs, the next I sanded the areas where the wood filler was applied to get a smooth finish and blended those areas in with the rest of the piece. For this I used 80-100 grit sandpaper and my best sander, the SurfPrep 3×4 Electric Ray sander.

I do love this sander – best tool I have bought! But for the rest of the project I did a good scuff sand with 220 grit sandpaper. If you would like to learn more about sanding read how to sand properly to prep for painting and get a smoother finish with chalk paint.

Cleaning

After sanding, let’s go over another not so fun part of the prep process. And that is cleaning your project. Getting the furniture piece good and clean is such a crucial step and an easy one to overlook. It can be dreadful but it has to be done. So my motto is usually just buckle up and get her done.

To clean I use Dixie Belle White Lightening mixed with hot water in a bucket. Give it a good cleaning with that and a cleaning rag. Follow with a rinse of warm water and let the piece get thoroughly dry.

Vanity Makeover Silk Paint – Apply The Silk Paint in Anchor

So now that the project piece was sanded and cleaned it is time for the fun part. For this project I used Dixie Belle Silk Paint in Anchor. Silk paint is my general go-to paint if I can find a color I want in that line.

Silk has built in primer and topcoat and it goes on buttery smooth, truly like Silk. It leaves your piece with an eggshell sheen finish. Because the product has a built-in topcoat you don’t have to do a separate topcoat. You can though if more protection is desired.

For a short Instagram video reel on the painting process click the link below.

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A post shared by Abbey F Barnes Designs (@simplyrefinishedfurniture)

Other Silk Paint Project Posts

I just love Silk Paint and I’ve used it for so many projects now. If you’d like a bit more about Silk paint here are a couple of helpful blog posts:

• Dixie Belle Silk Paint review
• How To Spray Silk Paint

Silk Paint typically requires 2 coats for best coverage and protection for durability. Also, Silk should be applied with a dry synthetic brush, like the Dixie Belle Flat Medium synthetic brush or Cling On S50, two of my favorite brushes.

For some creative ways to add wow factor to your painted furniture makeovers check out:

Furniture Transfers And Stencils

Vanity Makeover Silk Paint – Decoupage Application

Finally, after two coats of Silk Paint in Anchor this vanity was a beautiful black finish. Next up, add the decoupage on the top and the drawer fronts.

The decoupage paper is by Dixie Belle Belle’s and Whistles, Floral Ballerina. This is a big pattern decoupage rice paper. There is one sheet with the ballerina design and one piece with a beautiful floral design.

My inspiration for this design was taken from Melissa at www.thetopdrawerrva.com. She did this design on a beautiful small dresser and I fell in love with the design. However, I hope she doesn’t mind me taking inspiration from her design on this piece, but I did want to give her credit!

I tore out the ballerina in a rough tear leaving some edges rough. After that the ballerina was then decoupaged on the top center of the vanity. To decoupage I used Dixie Belle Clear Coat in Flat. I have a little video on applying decoupage paper you can access.

How To Apply Decoupage Paper

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A post shared by Abbey F Barnes Designs (@simplyrefinishedfurniture)

The steps in applying decoupage are pretty simple:

• apply base of Clear Coat Flat or Satin or you can use Redesign With Prima Decoupage Matte Gel

• Lay down the paper, smooth out wrinkles gently with a finger covered in Saran Wrap or use a brush like the Dixie Belle Scarlet. Using the Scarlet brush is my favorite method.

• apply a topcoat of Clear Coat or Decoupage Gel and smooth down with a synthetic smooth brush, like the Scarlet Brush.

• Allow the decoupage paper application to dry and trim off any excess carefully using a craft knife, like the Xacto Knife

And then finally for one more step I opted to blend those decoupage design edges using some cut up sponges and paints in the colors of the design, in this case some light and dark grays and some whites.

Vanity Makeover Silk Paint – Stencil Design Application

next, let’s finish up the design on the top. I used the Dixie Belle Victorian Damask Stencil to apply a stencil design to the vanity top all the way to the edge of the blended decoupage design. Even fading a bit the stenciled pattern into the design.

To apply the stencil I used Dixie Belle Mason Dixon Gray. I love doing stencil work with the Best Dang Brush by Dixie Belle. I’ll attach a little video below of how I stenciled this vanity top.

For the drawer fronts I did the same thing with the decoupage design. After selecting the sections of floral design I wanted to use and tore them to the right size I applied them to the drawer fronts. Following that I did the blended edge and then dry brushed a white edge to highlight the design.

I always follow my applications of the stenciled and decoupaged design on the top of the vanity and the drawer fronts with several coats of Gator Hide to protect the piece.

Adding Pretty New Hardware To This Vanity

Another fun part of any furniture makeover is choosing the right hardware! I just have a thing for hardware don’t you? It’s so cool to try to decide what accents the piece the best. There are so many choices, literally sometimes too many!

For this I chose simple crystal knobs that were shaped like flowers. This matched the design nicely and really adhered to the feminine look I was after. I found these knobs on Amazon and they were perfect!

Vanity Makeover Silk Paint – Adding A Beautiful Furniture Transfer

Lastly, I opted to add a damask lace transfer to the sides of the vanity/desk. I had this transfer for a while and realized it matched perfectly with the stenciled design on the top. This is the Dixie Belle Belle’s and Whistles transfer called Lace Transfer. It is a simple, yet elegant design.

For help with transfers check out this post here: Redesign With Prima Transfers

Other Project Posts Using Furniture Transfers

And here are also a couple of other project posts where I used furniture transfers:

• https://simplyrefinished.com/round-accent-table-makeover-using-chalk-paint-how-to-add-aging-with-dark-wax/
• https://simplyrefinished.com/vintage-desk-makeover-with-chalk-mineral-paint-gel-stain-and-prima-transfers/
• And you can even use transfers on fabric like I did here; https://simplyrefinished.com/painted-upholstery-fabric-with-prima-transfer-chair-makeover/

To seal in and protect transfers you apply a topcoat over them. I used Dixie Belle Clear Coat in Satin. Usually 2-3 coats is fine, depending on how much protection you want.

These transfers work fine on both chalk paint and Silk mineral paint. Is is important however to apply to topcoat after the transfers and not before. This allows the transfers to stick well.

Summary – Vintage Vanity Makeover Silk Paint

To summarize, this was such a fun makeover with so many fun techniques. The vintage vanity/desk makeover shows how just a few fun decorative projects can really transform a piece. While I did base my design on the design done by Melissa at www.thetopdrawerrva.com I put my own spin on it for this project. I don’t like to copy other people’s ideas, I do think it’s okay to take inspiration from other painters and use that to create your own pieces.

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A post shared by Abbey F Barnes Designs (@simplyrefinishedfurniture)

This vintage vanity/desk makeover involved quite a few steps and techniques. Here is a quick review:

• Repair, Sand, and Clean the project piece

• Silk paint in Anchor
• Dixie Belle Decoupage Rice Paper Floral Ballerina
• Gorgeous Clear Flower Shaped knobs
• Dixie Belle Victorian Damask Stencil
• Blend the Decoupage Paper and Dry Brush white accents on the edges
• Dixie Belle Belles and Whistles Lace Transfer
• Dixie Belle Clear Coat in Satin and Dixie Belle Gator Hide

If you have any questions out all please leave a comment on the blog, or send me an email, or DM on Instagram!

Good luck with all your projects and Happy Painting!

XOXO

Abbey