Kathie, am I understanding you that you're asking how to learn to paint all those styles? If you know what a style is called, you can google it and you'll be able to find online tutorials on it. There are also library books, bookstore books, online books, and painting classes, depending on where you live. There are also online painting chat boards/news groups where they discuss these things, and DIY bloggers, it's all out there.

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/ has several tutorials about painting with the antiqued look. Find the turquoise-background main heading for painting and look beneath that.

You could also look for tutorials on youtube. Never know what's there until you look.

You can also print out a pic of what you want, take it to the paint store, and ask them what you're going to need. Then compare their advice to what you learn elsewhere.

Ultimately, the best teacher for you will be yourself trying different things. I think you'll have a blast learning all that. Think of the talent you'll have!

A month or so ago, I remember Juddgirl2 painted a hutch with BM Baby Turtle, added General Finishes Van Dyke Brown Glaze, and finished up with a coat or 2 of polyacrylic. It was STUNNING! Maybe she'll pop in a with a pic.
HTH~

Kathec, there are so many ways to achieve the finishes in your inspiration pics. Every one of them starts with a really good prep job. Sand. Prime. Base Coat (and some patience).
Then figure out the technique. Take the "X" legs, for example. Painted a soft blue, then sanded and then most likely finished with a glaze, of some sort. It could be paint watered down. It could be a stain and could even be a wax with a stain. You can even do a technique with paint, no glazes.

Once you narrow down the technique, and choose your colors, you should do a few samples on wood.

As a final step, you will need to varnish the surface, especially the table top. All the products you need are readily available at any home/paint store. It looks like a great project!

I guess what I'm looking for is some recommended paint colors and glazes to consider. "Soft blue" is very vague. I don't want it to end up looking too stark.

I'll check out Juddgirl2's Baby Turtle

I've googled, but without specific key words it's hard to find good info. Most of what I found was paint and sand off. I knew that going in. I've painted a lot, just not furniture, so I know how to prep, just not what colors.
I found antique paint and antiques with original paint. I did finally google, "shabby chic painted furniture how to" and found My Romantic Home blog. I hadn't really considered using the "shabby chic" term to google before, but there it is. I think this is what I'm looking for. I really like the bluish gray cabinet she did.

cooperbailey, no, not a MD neighbor. I live in plain ol' Texas, aka Plano, TX. DH works from home for a company out of Bethesda. His company has their annual holiday party in January, so I tag along. I get to roam around while he's working at the office. I LOVE that there's so much to see within walking distance from Wisconsin Ave, unlike where I live in the 'burbs where I have to drive all over.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Romantic Home

Every designer and painter has their own way of achieving the looks you are after. The best way to learn it is to take a cheap chair or table and start with that. Use it as your test piece.There's lots of good books on paint techniques. It's just a matter for picking up a few and reading thru the directions.
If you have leftover paint from other things you've painted I'd pull out a few and start playing to see what you come up with. Sometimes HAVING to learn it on your own is the best and fastest way of learning.

Kath- then next January when you are back east we could meet on Wisconsin Ave. and browse and lunch! I know a wonderful place for lunch. I am working with a vendor on Wisconsin Ave. that is implementing a new database for us so I do get to go down occassionally.I walked by those shops and wished I had time to go in and look.(emphasis on look)

cooperbailey, it sounds like a plan. The party is usually around the 3rd Saturday. This was the 2nd year for them to have the party in January and actually, I love it. The craziness of the holidays are past, you can actually enjoy yourself instead of thinking of the million and one things you've got to do before Christmas.

Oooh, I can only afford to look too. I casually picked up the fancy tented cards at Tone on Tone and about fainted. I'm more of a craigslist, garage sale shopper. I love the look, but can't afford the prices.

Carol from ny, I'll check out some books. I used to have some years ago, but I purged them when I moved out of state. My kiddos were so young that I couldn't see doing any of those techniques until they were older. Now they're all in school, so I can actually have a project going without fear they'll get into it. I've got some craigslist finds that I can experiment with.

I DID find the youtube videos mentioned. I don't know why I didn't see them come up on my search earlier, I guess I posted around 1:30am, so the brain was half asleep.

I went through several steps when painting my hutch b/c I changed my mind a few times during the process! You can see the before and after pics in the link below.

If you like the whitewashed look, you could use paint or stain. Before I decided on the Baby Turtle w/brown glaze, I tried a colorwashed finish. These are pictures after the hutch was stripped, stained with a light gray color to get rid of the yellow pine, and then washed with a mix of 1 part General Finishes Ivory Milk Paint and 3 parts glaze.

For some reason, these pictures weren't included in my previous post.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baby Turtle/glazed hutch

Thanks juddgirl2, it seems like it's a trial and error process. I'll try experimenting a bit with some old scrap wood first and try out a few color combinations.

I was going through my big tub 'o swatches and found Ellen Kennon Gustavian Gray and Martha Stewart Signature Sherwin Williams Gustavian Blue. These might be a good jumping off point for me to get that grayed down time-worn look. I think I also have one of those American Accent Distressed Ivory kits around here somewhere. I'll see if I can dig it out.