Sister Mary Clarence - The Church Pew
"I will follow hiiiiiim.
Follow him wherever he may goooooo.
There isn't an ocean too deep,
a mountain so high it could keep
keep me awaaaay,
away from his love."
Admit it. You loved Sister Act too and you're singing right along with me, aren't you?
Until you get to that note that no one could hit in the sequel, but I digress.
Just like we all loved Whoopie's sass in Sister Act, I know you will all love our newest project here at Love Street Vintage.
Without further ado, I invite you to meet Sister Mary Clarence.
Well, the before Sister Mary Clarence.
I apologize for the blurry photo. My hands were literally quivering with excitement to get started on her makeover, but seriously...can you blame me?
Take a closer look at her details.
Even the cobwebs and dirt balls were charming.
Yes, I just said that dirt balls were charming.
It was actually the bottom of the pew that gave me the idea for her makeover. As you can see, she was already aged and rustic. It looked like she had a layer of white paint on her feet that had worn away. I immediately thought, "white wash"!
I started using some white wax on her to get the look, but it wasn't producing the desired effect I wanted. My vision was a white-washed bench that looked like it had been sitting out in the elements for years mixed with a bit of restoration hardware. The white wax was creating more of a smokey look.
I turned to my second option - a color wash using Pure White Chalk Paint®. To make a color wash, choose your desired color of Chalk Paint® and water it down until it runs easily off your brush. I did 1 part water to about 3 parts paint. It's an eyeball kind of thing, so don't stress too much over getting the ratios perfect. Basically, if you feel it's too runny, add more paint. If it's too thick, add more water.
Capisce?
Using my color wash, I started brushing it into all of the delicious nooks and crannies of Sister Mary Clarence. I used one of Annie Sloan's medium sized brushes.
Confession: Before working in the shop, I had not painted with her natural bristle brushes. They have been a total game changer. I'll do a post a little later about why I feel they're awesome sauce, but for now, just trust me.
After brushing the color on, I used a rag to wipe away the excess until I got the look I wanted. Sometimes, I would need to add more paint and wipe several times to build it up. Other times, one pass was all it took. Here you can see the before (on the right) and after (on the left).
The great part about doing a color wash is that it goes fast! Because you're not taking too much care in your strokes and you're mostly wiping off paint, I finished the entire pew in about an hour (in between chatting away with Natasha, the owner of Love Street.)
After a coat of Clear Soft Wax, she was ready for her debut.
Color washing is such a simple technique, but it makes a BIG statement on rustic pieces like this!
Go ahead and drool over how the Pure White Chalk Paint® settled into all of the scratches, dents, nooks, and dings.
(Seriously, go ahead. I won't say anything if you drool...)
Everywhere you look, there's more details to take in, like a feast for the eyes!
Won't you come on in and sit a spell?
Sister Mary Clarence is for sale right here at 101 Brandywine Downingtown in good 'ol 19335. Come visit her and I'll serenade you with songs from Sister Act! I'm warming up now...
"Oh happy day! Oh happy daaaaay..."
