I was recently chatting with a new interior design client when a project of hers stirred up memories of my own DIY project with Chalk Paint. Despite loving all things building and construction – including all the finishes and home decor, I’m not that handy with tools – and especially not so with a paintbrush.
I also don’t like the idea of having to sand back furniture. The sound is akin to nails down a blackboard. Yes, I’m that old and I’m wincing even as I imagine the sound.
So with this in mind, I went trawling through my now-defunct family blog to find some information about my DIY Chalk Paint project. As some of you may know, I’ve moved house a number of times. This project was completed at our last house but has survived the move.
The idea for the project
So how this project came to be: In between two of our house builds, we rented for about 8 months. This console entry table was inherited from a display home and we used it in our rented home. From memory, we may have even screwed our TV to the top of it.
Old timber console in need of some love
It had marks on top, possibly from the TV we used on it.
When we moved, I decided I liked the shape of the console but wanted to give it new life with some paint. As I said earlier though, sanding and painting wasn’t in my repertoire of skills. The idea of using Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint came from bloggers who were, at the time, using it to restore furniture. They made it look easy! It appealed to me because even though it was a bit more expensive than normal paint, it required no priming or sanding and no second coats – right up my alley!
I’ll add here that my husband was ready to dump the console entry table after we moved, and was very skeptical of my plans to paint it. He knows I’m not a handywoman by any stretch of the imagination. But I had faith in the paint…
The process
I got my brother and husband to pull off the old handles, help me source new ones and put them on after the painting was done. I could have attempted this myself, but hey, the painting was a big enough job! Yes, the painting. Turns out it’s not so easy to coat a piece of furniture with a lot of hard to get to places, even when using Annie Sloan’s paint. I’m obviously not a natural painter either but I wanted a little of a distressed look, so my dodgy painting kind of helped that aim along.
I wish I had taken better photos at the time. I also wish I had taken note of the paint colour. Annie Sloan has some beautiful Chalk Paint colours and from memory, out of the three similar colours on her website, I think this was the Duck Egg Blue.
Finishing touches
After I painted it, I applied a coat of wax to take away the chalkiness and give it a smoother finish. At this stage, my husband still didn’t like the piece or the colour. He likened it to mould (I think that’s a bit far-fetched) and said it was definitely distressed – and calling out for help! Such a comedian!
Just after the console was waxed.
Finished DIY Chalk Paint project
I was pretty happy with the finished product. And my husband ended up loving it too. It not only stayed in that house, but travelled to our new one as well.
Before
After
The photos below are of the table in my previous house and current house. I’ve already changed the painting twice and may change again soon.
I actually also have some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in a white shade that I’ve carted here from a previous home, but haven’t yet used. Wondering what I should do with it…
What would you restore with Chalk Paint?
