MAKING PROGRESS

Before

Here she is.....I've layered 4 different colors/shades in light coats of paint on her surface. I still have to apply the patina--have decided to do that myself (it's not as tricky as I thought). I took the commode to Sharon this afternoon--Sharon will paint the faux marble top surface and highlight the lip around the drawers and edge of the chest in a shade just a bit darker (hopefully more gray) than the case paints. We chose a deeper slate gray for the marble base color with darker and some lighter veining.

With the first layer of off-white (which I then had to sand down) I didn't remove the hardware....but quickly realized that I needed to

at least I got a good shot of what the hardware looked like prior to polishing. You can see how dark it is. Andrew polished it today....

I had assumed that the hardware was not original, but once I removed the handles, I realized that they were original and there were still traces of the original gilding on the backs. It is amazing that after about 250 years, the gold held its integrity and was still bright. I love how the hand chased details of the bronzes were revealed when cleaned.

Here are a few more detail photos of the commode.

I can't wait til I pick her up and put on the finishing touches. Roberto will replace the hardware and go over the commode with a clear bees wax and then she'll be ready for her new home.

I think Jones and I will skip the dog park for today...

Have a wonderful fall week-end. It's hotter than you know what here (93* at 2 pm) and the wonderful sweet rain is just a memory.

Mary & Jones & Cole