My experiment with chalk paint.
Here’s the before …
And the after …
If you read my previous post on chalk paint, you know that I decided to try it out an a little desk I have that was pretty scratched up … (At one point, I liked the hand-painted details … now, not so much.)
I purchased the Annie Sloan paints in French Linen, Louis Blue and Old White, as well as a jar of dark soft wax (they also offer it in clear) from Carter’s Cottage Interiors. Over our warm(ish) Thanksgiving weekend we carried the two piece desk out to the garage and got to work.
Dan filled in the deep scratches with wood filler and once it dried I sanded over those parts (but nothing else) and then painted on the first coat. Pretty good coverage after even just one …
French Linen on the outside …
And Louis Blue on the inside …
It dried pretty quickly, within an hour, and so on went the next coat. It definitely is a very matte, flat finish … which is why I think it needed a little distressing …
I took a very fine sanding sponge and lightly sanded over everything … giving it a slightly weathered look, especially on some of the edges. This part was easy and fun.
Next step … the soft wax
I only used a tiny bit of this for the whole project … so one can of this would probably last a lifetime. You could definitely share this with a friend, or two or three!
I took a little paint brush and made streaks wherever I saw fit, rubbing each one in with a cheesecloth before it dried to blend it in for a softer look. This part was really fun … you are kind of able to give it your own artistic look.
It’s very subtle, but you can see the difference on these two doors. The left side has no wax and the right side does.
At this point, I wanted to soften it a bit more, so I mixed a small amount of Old White with water (about 1 part paint to 8 parts water) and then with a large paint brush I painted over everything for a kind of whitewashed look.
Perfect! This was totally the look I was going for.
Then … to replace the hardware … 5 small knobs. I kind of wanted to add a little bling to my desk, so I searched “tiny crystal knobs” and found these on ebay.
I loved the crystals … but the knobs themselves were still a little too chrome and shiny for my liking. So I took a little tube of Rub’n’Buff (purchased at Hobby Lobby) …
… and rubbed it over the chrome.
Voila! A more vintage look … (but it really does a number on your manicure.)
So that’s it! What do you think? It makes me swoon now whenever I see it.
Although now I am trying to find just the right place for my new little desk … it seems to get a little lost in our current office … definitely doesn’t stand out much again the green walls. But we are planning a mini-makeover of that room including new paint … so we’ll see if it stays in there or finds a new more prominent place in the house!
Experiencing how easy and fun this was has definitely got me wanting to find some more old furniture and start painting! I guess I will hold out for warmer weather and some of my favorite antique fairs this summer.
Sounds so far away doesn’t it?
Hope everyone is having a good Back-To-Reality-Week!
ooooh … it is so pretty!