Sunday 13 October 2013

Meatsafe




After I had see this image of a painted meatsafe I knew that my sad old brown meatsafe's days were numbered and with last weekend promising warm sunny weather it was too good an opportunity to miss. I bought the meatsafe ages ago from eBay after I realised that we needed some more storage space in our kitchen.


I had already removed the oval Bakelite handle that it came with and replaced it with an old French cupboard catch - another of my finds from eBay! It's exactly the same as the one I bought for our TV cabinet.


I gave it a good clean, then sanded it to take the sheen of the wood stain. Cleaned it again and began painting. I had originally wanted to paint it in "Pointing" by Farrow and Ball but it was proving to be a bit too light so I switched to "Stock" by Little Greene after the first coat.
Then I gave it a coat of clear wax and took the sand paper to it. I was quite subtle with my distressing - I'm not that keen on furniture where you can easily see that someone has really gone to town with the sand paper. Although looking at my photo I think it could do with a little bit more distressing!


It is almost finished and back in the kitchen, but is still a bit too "bright white" looking for me so I've ordered some of Annie Sloan's Dark Wax. I'm a bit afraid to use it though - it is very dark! If anyone has recently had any dalliances with dark wax let me know how you found it!


7 comments:

  1. Hi Charlotte
    I haven't been around much lately and I know I've missed such a lot, but I'm glad I visited you today - the meatsafe is a delight and looks perfect on your kitchen. It reminds me so much of my dear old Nan who had a pale green one in her pantry...wish we'd still got it now.
    Rose H
    x

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a splendid job you've done,I do very much envy you your lovely kitchen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charlotte, your painted meat safe looks very good. I am attempting to paint my baltic pine dresser this weekend. Lovely photos.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love it! We call those "pie safes" in the Southern US, and I am dying for one of my own- a bug you've just reignited!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely job! Just use the dark wax tiny bit by tiny bit ... try mixing with clear wax for easier spreadability ... if you overdo the darkness though, you can remove with clear wax, usually best if done immediately though I find. Hope this helps!

    Love Claire xxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is absolutely gorgeous. Looks perfect in your lovely home .

    ReplyDelete
  7. Put white spirit on a cloth before you dip into your dark wax.. Helps the application and if it is too dark you can use more white spirit to take it off. Trial and error really... Putting wax on and wiping off the excess before it dries results in a lighter finish.
    Julie x

    ReplyDelete