We just moved into a new house. Brand spanking new. I LOVE it! The first world problem I have now is furnishing this massive place. It is literally twice as big as the place we were living in during the past year. I have been looking at blogs and pinterest and watching a lot of diy tv lately and love all the repurposing of older furniture that is popular now . In particular, I wanted to try chalk paint. Annie Sloan is the brand name, but there are not that many places that sell the paint, and I found a homemade recipe (yes I know some of you are cringing) that fellow bloggers SWEAR by.
I was given this table by our neighbors. It was damaged in a military move, and we needed a table when we first moved to Fort Hood. They just gave it to us. They didn't need it anymore, and their style is no longer formal, but the Texas Rustic look. My style is not really formal either, but I loved the lines and shape of this table. Here are some photos of the set before.
I was given this table by our neighbors. It was damaged in a military move, and we needed a table when we first moved to Fort Hood. They just gave it to us. They didn't need it anymore, and their style is no longer formal, but the Texas Rustic look. My style is not really formal either, but I loved the lines and shape of this table. Here are some photos of the set before.
I took the cushions off the chairs and covered them with a new material (a donation from another neighbor, yep Army neighbors are the best).
The chalk paint recipe is basically 2 Tablespoons of sandless grout to a cup of paint, and then you water it down to be the consistency you want. I found that I like it very thin. And I did around 4 or 5 coats of the thin paint to slowly build up the paint to be the look I wanted. You can layer different colors to have a rustic or vintage look, but I like the flat look for these chairs. I then used the wood wax and gave it two coats. So far, I have one chair completed with two more close to being done. I wanted to try out a couple of chairs first to see how the paint holds up. Bloggers claim that you do not need to sand or prime with this method, so I want to make sure this is true before I do the whole table. If its true, it would be fantastic. I think they look pretty good.
Before and After :
So a few hours of work, and several coats of paint.... I enjoy painting furniture so to me, its relaxing. I am already on the lookout on Craiglist for another dining set and some dressers, and some barstools. This could be fun, because with chalk painting there are so many options and "looks" you can go for.
So.... it is done! Today. July 12, 2013
I am a new girl. Changed from this experience. I am now addicted to chalk paint. I love furniture wax. I may try it as a finish on other painted furniture too. It is even easy to wipe clean. Tonight we had grilled salmon and as my 15 and 13 year old boys gooed up the table and dripped and dropped various textures of food and fluids all over my newly painted table, I cringed. How will this waxed finish hold up to a real cleaning? Well, it was beautiful. Very easy to wipe up.
And here is the finished product...
