Let’s Talk Chalk Paint

Hello everyone, and thank you for taking the time to come read my blog!! It truly means the world to me!!

So I chalk painted a piece of furniture for the first time ever recently. Yes I know, where have I been?! Apparently under a rock somewhere. But that’s me, always late to the game. All of my life I’ve decide I like things wayyyyyy after everyone else. It takes me a while to decide! Someone will tell me about a song (usually my sister) and I’ll listen and think meh not for me, then 6 months later I hear it and fall in love with it. And she’s always like “I TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT SONG FOREVER AGO!!” I’m weird that way. But anyways onto the reason for this post- CHALK PAINT!

Well of course I love it!! It was so easy to just paint and not have to sand!! No one likes sanding! The consistency of chalk paint was very different from regular paint so that took some getting used to. The only time I’ve ever used chalk paint was on my fireplace and it was mixed with water so I didn’t notice the thickness of it.

I used Valspar Chalky Paint that I bought at Lowe’s:

It said “must be tinted” so I took it to the paint guy and asked if I could just use it as is. He was super nice and shook it for me and opened it up to show me the shade of white. It was classic bright white just like I was hoping for so I didn’t have to have it tinted. But if you are looking for a different color they tint it for you at Lowe’s and will show you your color options.

Next I bought a chalk paint brush. It was located right next to the Valspar Chalky Paint:

And lastly I bought the Valspar clear sealing wax:

Now I was ready to start! I wiped down the piece of furniture really well and made sure it was clean before I started. I removed all the knobs and got started. Here is what it started out as:

I also removed the top piece because this was being turned into a coffee bar.

I started painting the first coat and quickly noticed how easily you could see the brush strokes. Then I remembered one of the bloggers I follow saying you have to use long strokes with chalk paint. (Thank you Shae from @sweet_southern_grace) So I started making sure to paint in long smooth strokes and it really helped. I love to paint so this was so fun to paint furniture!! The first coat was done quickly:

I let the first coat dry for a couple of hours (be sure to read on the can to see how long to wait between coats) and then started on the second coat. Painting on the second coat was much smoother and you could already tell how great it was going to look!!

I’m already in love at this point and ready to chalk paint anything that will stand still! Now time for the fun part, DISTRESSING!! I had been looking forward to this part from the very beginning!! I just used sand paper that I already had in the garage and started sanding. I had always heard that you want to sand the parts that would naturally get scraped and bumped, so that’s where I started. I sanded corners and edges, places that would get touched a lot so it would look like “natural” wear and tear. The distressing just sealed the deal, now I was really in love!!

Since this piece was for a coffee bar I wanted to make sure to seal it really well with the sealing wax. I read all the instructions on how to use the wax and did exactly like it said. You work in small sections so you can wipe off the excess before it dries. So I waxed and wiped, waxed and wiped (starting to feel like Mr. Miyagi’s student at this point). I let the first coat dry for a little while then did a second coat of wax. Waxing and wiping, waxing and wiping. I let that dry and put the hardware back on and it was finished! I am still surprised how easy this was!! And also I’m wondering why it took me so long to start chalk painting all the things!! This whole project only cost me around $50! $50 for a piece of furniture that looks like you went out and spent hundreds!! Chalk paint you have my heart!!

Stay tuned for the plans I have for the inside of this baby!!

Thank you for reading!!

~Becca

@rebeccaannehome