The Ghost Finish

This is a new technique brought about on accident while working on this piece.

This awesome reproduction buffet went through hurricane Katrina. The top was covered in what I thought was paint, but surprise! It's mold. Fabulous. So I doubled up the masks and set out to prime it. During the process I discovered that the beautiful detail was enhanced from the dark wood showing through under the white paint. This gave me the idea for the "Ghost Finish".

I basically just spray painted the whole piece black and white washed over it, making sure to do it very lightly to preserve the detail. I could not have been happier with the results and the small amount of time it took to accomplish it.

The handles and key were given the same treatment, and were heavily polyed to preserve the paint and survive wear.

Sold!

I was so happy with it that I did this cute little demi-lune table the same way.

Demi-Lune Table: $75

I hope to experiment some more with this finish on elaborately decorative pieces like the two above.

The buffet has already sold, not surprisingly. However, during the sales process I almost keeled over when the customer mentioned the fact that they were going to paint it. I almost didn't sell it to them. I was totally convinced by that point that they had no grasp of taste and that they could in fact, suck it. Thankfully they changed their mind before leaving. But the next day, a lady came back inquiring about the piece and was so disheartened that it had already found a home. She was also willing to pay full price in cash. So, the moral of that story is that sometimes it is best to hold on to a good thing and it will eventually find a deserving home. Also, never tell someone that you are going to have to paint a piece of furniture (that has obviously been painted by the dealer selling you the piece) just so you can get a discount. It will send them into a private or not so private rage.