Entryway

We have built in shelves in our family room and they’re in the process of getting a makeover. I’ve changed out a few pieces but I want to keep a few and give them an update. Chalk Paint can be used on most surfaces including plastic, glass, veneer, metal and of course wood. I have a small decorative chest that’s been on our shelf for several years. This was the first piece to get a makeover.

I’m going with lighter color decorations and accent pieces so the dark brown wasn’t working anymore.

I used a mix of Annie Sloan Old White and Pure White. After painting the first coat the stain from the wood and faux leather started bleeding though so I sprayed it with shellac before putting on the second coat. Shellac or a polyurethane will stop stain from penetrating/bleeding through the porous chalk paint.

This chest is made of wood, faux leather and metal. The chalk paint adheres to all of it. I used sand paper to distress the chest, then sealed the paint with Annie Sloan Clear Wax.

Not a brand new piece but a brand new look for my shelf.

Several more pieces will be getting a makeover including the cupboards. Chalk paint is a great way to keep what you have but get a different look. The cost to paint a small piece is much less than buying a new one. And you can customize it to get the look you want.

Stay tuned to see the final results of my shelf makeover. Sign up for emails to see future blog posts.

Thanks for stopping by

Cindy

Have you ever been obsessed with a piece of furniture or decoration and you can’t stop thinking about it until you get it? Ya me too! 😉 My recent obsession was this cute entryway bench.

Well actually not this bench, but one that looked just like it. I was shopping the Facebook Yard Sale sites and saw a farm style entryway bench that would fit my space. Right size, right style, perfect color. So I thought about buying it, and thought about it, and thought about it and then someone else bought it. 😕 Ugh!

Problem was, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I checked on line to see if I could find something similar but wasn’t having much luck. Every time I walked into my entryway I imagined how much better it would look with that cute bench sitting there. 😩 After obsessing about it for a few weeks I came up with a plan. 💡

Maybe someone could make one for me that looked just like the one I let get away!! 🤔 Turns out I know someone who makes furniture. His name is Colton, he’s 17 and he’s my daughters friend. I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask, right? So I sent her the picture of what I wanted and asked her to talk to him. A few hours later he was at my house getting measurements and specifics. I’ve seen some of the furniture pieces he’s built from scratch and they were really nice. So I figured if he said he could build it, he would be able to. And he did. About a week later he brought it over.

What!! Now I’m not saying I couldn’t build this but……I could not have built this! I mean I could have cut some wood and nailed it together, but it wouldn’t have been something you would want to sit on. 😉 Some people have a talent for building stuff from nothing. I am not one of those people. But my hats off to those of you who are, especially Colton! He saved me from a life time of obsessing about the bench I missed out on.

What I could do is finish it. I stared with picking a stain color. I tried out a few samples on the back to help me decided.

I liked the Minwax Special Walnut, so I put it on and immediately wiped it off so it wouldn’t be too dark. I decided to add a layer of the Minwax Grey over the Special Walnut, and it really brought out the wood grain.

I sealed it with Minwax SemiGloss top coat and it was time for paint. I wanted to paint it Annie Sloan Old White but my trim is bright white so I added some Pure White to brighten the Old White.

With this mix I am still getting a creamy white, but a little brighter and less contrast with my bright white trim.

Once it was painted I put a coat of clear wax on without distressing it. Then it was time to add hardware to the faux drawers. I love the wood against the white. So pretty!

Want to see how close we came to the original piece I didn’t buy?