Chalk paint is a thick paint that has a “chalky” feel to it when it dries. When you paint a piece of furniture with chalk paint right out of the can you can see the brush marks in it when it dries. With a good paint brush they will be less noticeable but with a chip brush you can see almost every brush stroke. Chalk paint can be sprayed on but you have to find the right spray gun and you need to add water to the paint to thin it out. When spraying chalk paint it comes out in a very fine mist and goes on smoother than brushing. And of course because you don’t use a brush there are no brush marks. Whenever I use a spray gun to paint a piece I always go over it once with a brush because I like the brushed look for most of my projects. Especially if I am going to distress it and give it a more antique’d look. This week I worked on a curio cabinet that I have in my living room and I wanted the paint to have a smoother look. Here’s the before picture of the curio cabinet:

I chose Old Ochre with just a little Old White added to it to lighten it up a bit to match the furniture already in the room. After taking the hardware off and successfully removing the glass without braking it (it was in there pretty tight and I spent about 20 min trying to pry one of the side pieces out) I took it out to the garage to spray it. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my paint sprayer. (I will do another post on spraying chalk paint another day and tell you all about it.) I was hoping to just spray a few coats on and wax it but I wasn’t getting the coverage I wanted so I ended up brushing the last coat on. When you add water to chalk paint always add just a little at a time and mix it well to get the consistency you want. For the paint sprayer I add enough until it sprays well. I haven’t measured how much water I add because I usually add some test it and add a little more. As for brushing it on you can get a smooth finish to chalk paint with a paint brush a couple of ways. You can paint it then use a fine grit sandpaper and lightly sand it til it’s smooth. Or you can dip the tip of your paintbrush into a cup of water before dipping it in paint. I have done this before and it works great. Just don’t get the brush too wet or it will start running down your brush and arm. (Yes I learned this the hard way) But for this piece I used the paint that was already watered down from the paint sprayer and brushed it on. It gives the same smooth finish as the other ways mentioned. One thing to remember when thinning chalk paint with water: Don’t pour water directly into the can of paint unless you are planning to use it all within a week or so. Instead pour some paint into another disposable container and then add the water. Water can cause things to grow in the chalk paint and you may end up with mold or just a funky smell. Nobody wants that!  I used a good flat paint brush and brushed the paint in the same direction to get a smooth, even look. I didn’t have to sand it, but I could have for an even smoother look. I also decided not to distress this piece or antique it with dark wax. I just used clear wax and buffed it.

Loving the smooth silky finish. And it always amazes me the difference a little paint makes in transforming a piece of furniture. I wanted a more classic accent piece that would showcase the fun pieces inside and give a little more polished look to the room. And I love, love, love this color. Old White was going to be a little too white for the room but by adding a little Old White to the Old Ochre it lightened the piece while staying with the color scheme of the room.

Want to see it all lit up?

I put it all back together last night, put all my pretty decorations in it and stared at it for a while. haha It’s a girl thing I guess. My husband teased me a little for leaving the light on all evening. But this is why I take on these projects. I love the end result. And there’s a definite satisfaction when you’ve put the time and effort into it yourself.

Thanks as always for taking a look at my latest project. Please share your thoughts and your projects with me. I would love to hear from you.

Cindy

I have had this lovely coffee table sitting for a while waiting to be refinished. It didn’t look like this when I bought it. It was pretty scratched up and worn out.

My plan was to paint the entire thing with Annie Sloan Old White but as you can see from the pictures I (thankfully) decided to check under that thick finish to see if it was wood or a veneer. I’ve been fooled before into thinking the top of a piece of furniture was real wood just to sand it and find it was a veneer. But the bottom of this coffee table had the word Mahogany written on it so I started sanding. It looked to me like it was going to be veneer over plywood but the underside of the table looked promising plus it said Mahogany. Hello Cindy, pay attention to the clues! Once I started sanding off the thick finish I could see the beautiful wood underneath! I patted myself on the back for not making the mistake of missing out on this and went searching for just the right color to stain this beauty. I love the Minwax Early American so that’s what I went with. The bottom got 2 coats of the Old White, a little distressing and a clear wax finish and she was done!

It doesn’t hurt to check if you aren’t sure and want to stain something. I almost missed out on uncovering this amazing piece of wood. This table wouldn’t have had the same look if I had painted the top. I cringe a little that I almost pained over it. I do love painted furniture but a lovely stained piece of wood is worth the effort.

Let me know what you think and thanks for taking a look!

Cindy

Recently Annie Sloan put out a white and black wax. I bought a small can of each so I could try them both out. I decided to try the white wax first because I have been thinking I may want to use it on my kitchen table I’ve been wanting to refinish and paint. I had a project chair that needed a coat of paint and a new cover for the seat. I had a can of Aubusson Blue I have been wanting to use on something. Aubusson Blue is a dark color so I thought it would show the contrast well. So I took the seat off, reupholstered it and gave the chair 2 coats of paint. I LOVE this color!

It is a lovely deep blue and I thought it would be fun to see how the white wax changed the color. On the Annie Sloan website the white wax is described as a finish that softens and lightens paint colors. I started with the top of the chair and applied the white wax directly onto the paint just like I would clear wax using a waxing brush. I left it on for about 30 min and then started buffing. Here is how it looked.

It was still pretty soft and was starting to come off a little more than I wanted. I was told that it’s best to leave it on for about an hour so it sets. 30 minutes definitely wasn’t enough time to set so I waxed the entire chair and waited for an hour. After it sets it doesn’t buff like clear wax. It stays on a little thicker unless you use pressure. But I liked how it looked for the most part so I lightly buffed it with cheese cloth and here is the finished product.

It definitely lightens the color and gives the piece a softer look. I like that you can still work with the wax and take a little more off in some places, giving it an uneven weathered look. And just like the dark wax it highlights the curves and designs of the chair. I have not tried it yet but this white wax can also be applied directly to wood to give the piece a limed look. Thinking I will have to try that out soon!

The white wax gives all sorts of options to Annie Sloan Chalk paint colors. I’m excited to try it out and see what else I can do with it. I have decided to use it on my kitchen table and chairs. I will be posting pictures of that when I am done with it. I am, to say the least, very excited about that project. It’s been needing an update for a long time!

If you have used white wax on any of your own projects let me know how it worked out and what your experience was like. I am still new to white wax and would love some idea’s and tips. If you have any questions for me about this or any other project please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for taking a look

Cindy

It seems like white, grey and black are the most popular colors people choose when deciding what color to paint a project. I love anything done in those colors, but don’t be afraid to add a little color when doing a project. I recently painted a few smaller projects and used some of my favorite Annie Sloan colors. These are great accent pieces that add a little “pop” if you will to any decor. Now I’m not an interior decorator in any way but I do love to walk into a room and see a fun piece of furniture or a decoration that stands out from everything else. Who doesn’t love that?

Red is a great accent color. A cute friend of mine, Julie, had me paint an end table that she wanted to update the look of. I asked her what color she wanted and she said white and red! Yay for red!! I showed her the Emperor’s Silk and that’s what she went with. I did Old White on the top and added dark wax to finish off the distressed look. You really can’t go wrong with these colors. Here’s the before and after.

What a difference a little paint and finish makes! Emperor’s Silk is my favorite red and it looks even better when finished with the dark wax. Here’s a close up of the red.

So pretty! I want to paint something else red now!

Teal, turquoise and green are also popular colors right now and a little bit goes a long way. I found this cute little stool that would be perfect in the corner of a room or on a porch with a plant sitting on it. It was already chippy but it was black and I thought it needed some color. So I painted it Florence. I have not used this color enough when painting different projects and that may change. Here the before and after.

This is a true “Drab 2 Fab” piece. I only painted one coat of the Florence then took some sandpaper to it, a little clear and dark wax and it’s perfectly imperfect!

This project took very little time but the transformation was huge. And that color! With the chippy black paint showing through gives it the perfect farmhouse look.

Green is one of my favorite colors and I had an Antibes Green and Pure White mix left over from another project that needed to be used up. This lovely leggy table was the perfect piece for a mint green makeover.

Is this piece singing to you the way it sang to me? Again just one coat of paint, some sandpaper and a little antiquing and this little table is ready to for display!

Don’t be afraid of color or you might just miss out on the perfect accent piece. Annie Sloan has so many great colors and if you don’t find just the right one mix a few colors together until you get what you want.

What’s your favorite accent color or piece you have in your home? I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for taking a look, hope to hear from you!

Cindy

When I found this lovely old antique dresser it had all the casters and original hardware. The casters are wood and one of them was broken in half. Fortunately the previous owner thought to keep the broken wheel. A little wood glue fixed the wheel as well as several of the drawers that needed to be stabilized.

Time for paint. I love Antibes Green but for this I wanted to lighten up the color a little. So I mixed 1 part Antibes Green with 2 parts Pure White. That was a little lighter green than I wanted so I added a little more Antibes Green until I got the color I wanted.

I started with the sides and painted them Pure White then measured and taped them to create stripes. Then I painted everything with the green and white mix. Once I was done I distress the whole thing and waxed it with clear wax and dark wax.

I love that this dresser had the original hardware with it. The green and white stripes on the sides add a little character to the piece without being overwhelming. Mixing Annie Sloan colors to get just the right look is easy so don’t be afraid to try it.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look

Cindy