-For people who normally suck at things like Chalk Painting furniture.
For all of you who
are terrified to tackle a huge piece of ugly (used to be beautiful in the 90’s)
cherry wood furniture, this is for you. If you normally destroy nearly
everything that requires manual labor, this is for you. You can do this. If I
can, you can. My husband and I do projects like this together and have so much
fun! If you’re super busy all the time like us, just take it ONE STEP AT A
TIME! We can typically get a piece done in two days or so just working just one
to two hours in the evening. If you need some alone time, this is so therapeutic.
Just play your favorite music or podcast (I HIGHLY recommend Dear Sugar) and
paint!!
What you need:
·
Piece
of furniture that needs some love
·
Some
kind of drop cloth (blankets my puppy chewed holes in worked great for us)
·
Chalk Paint
·
Crème Wax
·
Sand
Paper
·
Paint
Brush
**If
you furniture has hardware you can either paint over it or you can take it off
and paint it with spray paint. I selected a dark grey matte color that was
$5.99 at Hobby Lobby (but of course, I used a coupon). It took two coats! Oh, and you probably need a screwdriver to take the hardware off. My husband obviously did this part.
Tips on buying what you need:
·
Michael’s
& Hobby Lobby both carry the Americana Décor Chalky Finish paint. A small 8
fl oz container will work great for things like a pair of night stands, a
medium sized table, a bed, etc. These are typically $8.99 a container but with
a coupon (you can nearly ALWAYS find one for either store on
www.retailmenot.com for about 40% off). This means a container should be around
$6.00. I LOVE this brand. It goes on very thick and the quality is GREAT!!
Wal-mart also has chalk paint for $4.96. I have never used this so I can’t
speak on the quality of it.
**if you are doing
a very large project like kitchen cabinets (we did this) or a dresser set, you
can mix your own. My dad actually mixed us about 5 quarts and that’s the off
white color that you see on some of our furniture. I actually suggest buying a
small container already mixed and ready to go if you are only doing a single
piece of furniture. It is more headache to mix it than it is to spend $6. And
honestly, with the materials you need to mix it you will probably spend more
than that anyway.
·
Crème Wax
is typically a little more expensive than the chalk paint. You can get an 8 fl
oz for $11.99 at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s (but again, you can use a coupon and
get it for around $8). This is in the section with the Chalk Paint! It is in a
container that looks just like Chalk Paint. Wal-mart also has a version (once
again, I haven’t actually tried this) for $4.96 that is also with the Chalk
Paint.
·
Brushes-
You don’t need the nicest brush for this. We both love the 1.5” brush that I
bought at Big Lots the most.
·
Sand
Paper- This is really just your preference. I let my husband pick this out. It should be less than $2 - $3 for a pack of 6 sheets.
Pictures of some of the things you need:
Okay, so what do I actually do?
1.)
Put
your furniture piece on the drop cloth that you selected. Make sure to wipe off
any dust or randomness that could be hanging out on your furniture with a rag.
2.)
Paint
a coat of Chalk Paint with your brush. It does not need to be perfect! Let the
first coat dry completely.
3.)
Do
another coat of Chalk Paint. We typically do another coat on the top of
whatever furniture we’re doing since it’s used more than the rest of the
furniture. Just judge it by what you think looks good!
4.)
After
the paint has completely dried, get out your sand paper. Sand the edges or
whatever you want to create a distressed look. You don’t have to even do this
if you don’t want the distressed look.
5.)
Get
the dusty stuff off of your furniture. We use the attachment on our vacuum cleaner
to make sure we get it all.
6.)
After
it’s dried, sanded, and wiped down, get out your wax! Put a coat (or two) of
the clear wax on your furniture.
7.)
If you
have painted some hardware, but the hardware on it after the wax has dried. If
you just painted over the hardware or didn’t have any to begin with, carry on
with your life.
Don’t
freak out if something isn’t perfect, it’s distressed furniture. It’s not
supposed to look perfect. That’s what makes it interesting and pretty.
You
have just created a magical piece of furniture with your own stamp of
awesomeness. Congratulations!
Here are pictures of our most current magical furniture creations:
