How to Create a Patina French Country Style Lingerie Chest with Dixie Belle Paint
BLOG AND VIDEO: ‘Never Ending Story’ ~ How to Create a Patina French Country Style Lingerie Chest with Dixie Belle Paints and Re-Design with Prima Transfers
Thrift Store Find Transformed Into a Patina French Country Beauty!
by Kim Hansen, Co-Founder and Artist, JK Hansen Studios
This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.
BEFORE 
AFTER
A few weeks ago Dixie Belle Paint Company saw my painted furniture pieces on social media and reached out to me because they were ‘so impressed’ with my work. They wanted to know if I would be interested in trying their paint and products. If so, they would send everything I needed to complete a project–FREE OF CHARGE–right down to the brushes. I just needed to let them know what products. If I chose to paint a piece they would feature it on their social media pages ~ Facebook (160,000 followers) or Instagram (30,000 followers). Well–of course I would!! I was extremely humbled and flattered.
I immediately began imagining the style of furniture I wanted to paint for this special project. I was thinking a tall vintage chest of drawers or a vintage lingerie chest–but not the average piece of furniture. It had to be unique. That same day, my daughter was shopping at a local thrift store when she came across a piece she thought I might be interested in. She took a photo of it and texted it to me. (See photo above.) It was an unusual rare piece. The style was Louis XV French Provincial. It was absolutely perfect! The top part of the piece had a cabinet with two doors and then three drawers below the cabinet. The back was stamped ‘L Chest.’ It was like a miracle! I had never seen anything like it. I couldn’t have envisioned a more perfect piece.
Now that I had the piece of furniture to paint–how should I transform it? What would it look good in? Blues? Pinks? Greens? After staring at the piece for a while a vision came to me. That’s it!! A Patina French Country look! I went online to Dixie Belle’s website and searched through their products. I selected Vintage Duck Egg, Farmhouse Green and Buttercream Chalk Mineral Paints, Bronze Patina, Clear Coat Satin, a 2″ paint brush, and Re-Design with Prima transfers.
A few days later I received my package from Dixie Belle.
PREPPING THE LINGERIE CHEST FOR TRANSFORMATION
I gathered together everything I needed to transform this cute lingerie chest into a Patina French Country beauty!
I removed the hardware then cleaned the piece with a soft damp cloth. I used 100 Medium sandpaper and lightly hand sanded any scratches and dings then wiped the entire piece down once again with a soft damp cloth.
BASE COAT
Time to paint! I applied two coats of Dixie Belle Vintage Duck Egg Chalk Mineral Paint with a 2″ Dixie Belle paintbrush. (See How To
HIGHLIGHTS AND AGING
I used Dixie Belle Farmhouse Green Chalk Mineral Paint for the highlights and Dixie Belle Bronze Patina for aging.
Using a 1″ dry paint brush I applied a thin coat of the Farmhouse Green here and there, then quickly went over it with a wet round brush and damp cloth to blend it. To give it a patina look I used Dixie Belle Bronze Patina. I used a 1″ dry brush to apply small amounts of the Bronze Patina to the edges and inside corners. I wanted an overall aged look. So I continued to add Bronze Patina here and there to the rest of the lingerie chest. (See How To video below.)
HARDWARE AND TRANSFERS
I loved the look of the cabinet door handles and drawer pulls, but one of the
I painted the sides of each drawer with Farmhouse Green. After the paint was dry I applied Re-Design with Prima’s ‘Never Ending Story’ transfers. I decided to age the side of the drawers also. So I applied Dixie Belle Bronze Patina with a 1″ wet brush and a damp cloth. I applied select pieces of re.design with Prima Fuchsia Sunset transfers to the drawer covers, sides of the lingerie chest, and cabinet doors.
INSIDE OF THE CABINET
I painted the inside of the cabinet with Dixie Belle Farmhouse Green Chalk Mineral Paint and aged it with Bronze Patina. I applied a transfer to the inside back of the cabinet wall from a section of Re-Design with Prima’s Fuchsia Sunset.
INSIDE OF THE DRAWERS
I removed the old pink and white liner from each of the drawers and sanded the inside bottoms. I applied a new liner that closely matched the design of the lingerie chest and the colors of the Vintage Duck Egg and Farmhouse Green Mineral Chalk Paints.
FINAL STEP
The next morning I applied two coats of Dixie Belle’s Satin Clear Coat to protect her finish.
DONE!
My 30 years’ experience as a commissioned artist, muralist, and faux painter have certainly helped with my vision and creativity to transform furniture. This piece is among one of my favorite projects. Thank you
‘Never Ending Story’ – This Patina French Style Lingerie Chest is Now Available for Purchase in our Etsy Shop!
The products I used for this project can be purchased online at
If you have a question, please feel free to contact me, or leave a comment below. Your feedback is always appreciated. I hope I have inspired you for your next DIY project!
Don’t miss our latest news! Subscribe
Blog: Our 5-Night Stay Aboard the World’s Most Haunted Ship PART 2 –The Queen Mary
Blog: Magically Transform Your Space Into Something Special
Blog: Helpful Tips for Planning Your Next Mural Project
Tutorial! How To Create An Old World Patina Finish on a Vintage Hexagon Side Table
Tutorial! DIY – Vintage End Table Makeover Using Annie Sloan Waverly & Rust-Oleum Chalk Paint
YouTube Channel: Subscribe here
