Painted End Tabes

Did someone say you can paint furniture without sanding or priming?! Sign me up! I love to take something old and make it new again. Even if a piece of furniture is black, wood toned, white or red, it's fun to change things up every now and then (or every month if you're me). I first fell in love with Chalk Paint about 2 years ago. The brand I use is Annie Sloan. She has beautiful colors. However, you can make your own chalk pant and I've also seen some stores like Home Depot now carry it.

Here is a plain IKEA end table that I'm sure some of you have. After two years of kids banging toys all over it, it was in need of some help.

 

I used the amazing Annie Sloan chalk paint, some blue painters tape, wax and I went to work. I love the contrast of the gray and blue but at the same time they compliment each other. Note to self: learn to how to take better pictures.

 

Here is an antique end table. It's tall and has beautiful curves. However, the top of it needed some putty and then sanding down. I will admit this was my first time to attempt a repair on a piece of furniture. I was so giddy to get painting that I did not do a good job. Lesson learned - be patient and take your time with your projects so they come out looking better than the way this one did.

 

 

This piece only cost me $15 at a local thrift shop. Do see a common color theme going on here? Gray and blue are my favorite decorating colors right now. Although they could change in two minutes. I'm such a moody decorator (at least if you ask my husband that's what he'll say).

The finished product:

 

 

Again, no need to prime or sand your furniture if you're using Chalk Paint. Just make sure it's clean and start painting. You can use blue painter's tape if you want to make stripes or if you're not used to cutting in around the edges.

With Chalk Paint you need to apply a wax on afterwards. There are two types of wax: clear and dark. I used clear on the first end table and dark on the second. Dark wax gives your piece a distressed look and also slightly alters your color. It's fun to experiment with both on different projects.

To use the wax, take part of an old t-shirt to wipe the wax around your piece. Then take another piece of the t-shirt to buff the wax. Which basically means scrub your waxed piece to death! This will make it smooth and also seal it. Let your project dry for 24 hours before you put anything on it (lesson learned the hard way for me!).

Are there any pieces of furniture your ready to try chalk paint on?

Happy chalk painting!