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Creating a Theme Piece

© Karon Goodman

Every once in a while, you come across a piece of furniture large enough to make a statement, cheap enough to ruin and so ugly it hurts. Then you have a chance to turn the whole mess into a theme piece to anchor any room.

You can use any technique or combination of techniques on your piece, depending on the effect you want to achieve and the piece's destination. I'll tell you about a piece I recycled for my sons' room.

The chest of drawers was a $15 find at a flea market. It was old, but still structurally sound and only battered enough to give it an authentic *distressed* look. The red and purple paint had been there for decades, and the hot pink flowers and ribbons had to be some of the first stencils ever made.

Today, the chest is an ocean. I used paint and glaze to create the feel of water over most of the chest and added sand and a wave whitecapping on the beach for most of the top and over a couple of drawers. The design flows over the entire chest, oblivious to where the different pieces start and stop.

To see before and after photos, click here: http://www.mindspring.com/~billgoodman/c...

When you decide to create a theme piece, remember to keep the theme broad. The piece will clearly stand out in its room, and other decorative elements in there will need to relate in some way. The ocean is a broad theme, candy might be too narrow. Creating the ocean chest. Materials: Sandpaper or sanding cloth Primer -- I used Zinsser's, but other brands are available. Paint -- I used Gloss Enamel, acrylic latex, because it's durable and cleans up with soap and water. I used these colors: blue, green, white and a caramel/sand color. If you can't find the colors you want ready mixed, mix them yourself. Glaze -- I used Neutral Wall Glaze by Plaid. Others are available. Sea sponges 2" bristle brush Stencils Acrylic paints, assorted colors 1/4" plywood jigsaw nuts/bolts sealer -- I used House Beautiful clear acrylic, satin finish, but even clear spray paint will do.

1. I cleaned the chest with a solution of approximately 1 part bleach to 20 parts water, just enough to wipe it down. Only a few of the knobs remained, so I tossed them.

2. I sanded the hot pink stencils off. That paint was especially slick and thick, so I wanted to remove it. I used some slightly dampened sanding cloth and just a little elbow grease -- not too bad.

3. I didn't worry about the red and purple paint on the chest. It was old and faded