Chalk paint dresser makeover (& a giveaway)
By Heather Ledeboer | Category: Creating a Home, Mom 4 Life News & Giveaways, Organize Me!
I used to be scared of projects like the one I recently completed. I never imagined I would be sharing a post about a piece of furniture that I restored. People that do things like that have blogs with names like “Crafty Mama” or “Furniture Chick” (neither of which oddly enough are active websites!) But here I am giddy with excitement to show you my “trash into treasure’ project which was all made possible by a product I had never heard of before until my good friend Selina over at Creative Juices for Decor told me about it. The product is Chalk Paint. At this point you likely fall into one of two categories. Either you are nodding your head in agreement saying “yes isn’t that stuff wonderful?” or you are assuming that I am talking about Chalk Board paint (also a fun product but totally unrelated).
“What is Chalk Paint?” you may ask.
Only all your furniture dreams realized in the form of a can of paint.
Only the most simple solution to restoration (the furniture kind) that I have found.
Only amazing. No sanding. No priming. A-mazing!
Ready to see it in action?
-I found a three drawer dresser on Craig’s List for $10. It was nice and solid and had good lines. I had planned to use it as dresser. However, 2 of the 3 drawers were sticky and didn’t slide well. I decided I could turn two of the drawers into shelves. I offered $5 and they agreed. As it was lifted into the back of my car, the 1 drawer that did work toppled out and broke on the road. Bummer. Not figuring that they would want to buy it back from me, I decided to see what I could make it into. I decided to remove all 3 of the drawers and install shelves, transforming it into a toy storage unit.
-Because the initial piece was two toned and because I was going to allow some of the under color to show through when I distressed it, I decided to replicate the two tones with my paint choices. I used the “Arles” (yellow color) Chalk Paint on the top “changing table” area and also on the inside. For the rest I used “Emperor Silk” (red color).
-The only “prep” work I had to do was wipe down the wood with a damp cloth to remove any dust and lose particles. After that, paint! The first coat of paint went on fairly quickly and I was surprised by how fast it dried. But the second coat was even faster. Because I planned to distress the furniture and allow the original wood to show through, I didn’t have to worry about putting the paint on thick enough to completely hide the original colors. I was amazed at how much could be covered with so little paint!
-Once both coats of paint were dry, I went over the entire piece of furniture with sand paper lightly sanding a smooth surface and spending more time on the edges, corners and any areas that I wanted to appear distressed and aged. This was a fun step.
-Next I covered the inside back by painting Mod Podge over 12×12 sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper cut to size using a paper cutter.
-My husband cut to size 3 thin boards purchased at Home Depot and glued them on top of the pre-existing drawer sections (after removing the small wooden glide rail which was no longer needed).
-To finish the Chalk Paint, I covered the entire painted surface with one thin coat of Johnson’s Wax (which I purchased at Home Depot) using an old t-shirt. This provides a protective seal on the wood and brightens up the paint which, after sanding it, had been dulled.
-Using some left over scrapbook paper from the Mod Podge part of the project, I created coordinating labels for the plastic storage bins. I choose to have the most baby friendly items toward the bottom and coordinated each row of labels to match, in an attempt to make it easy for the kids to put each drawer back in the correct section.
The end result turned out better than I could have expected. It is bright and colorful, highly functional and because of the distressed nature, durable to child abuse.
Being able to look for furniture based on how solid it is and the beauty of its lines, rather than its color, opens up a whole new world of possibilities. I had been initially hesitant when I first saw that Chalk Paint was sold by the quart rather than the gallon. I had only ever purchased paint for the purpose of re-doing an entire room. However, after finishing this project, I can now see that a small quart of paint would be more than enough for most furniture projects. There are even small 4 oz. “sample” Chalk Paint sizes available which can be used for smaller projects such as picture frames, chairs or a small bench or stool. I also LOVED that the VOC s are so low. I couldn’t detect any paint fumes which was a huge plus. I am already eyeing my next project! If you have some additional questions about chalk paint, you might find your answers on this FAQ page.
How about you? Would you like to try out Chalk Paint on your own project?
Of course you can simply go to the Stylish Patina and buy some, but I would love for you to win some! Kelly over at Stylish Patina has graciously offered to give one lucky Mom 4 Life reader a $45 gift certificate to her store! I might suggest spending it on a quart of Annie Sloan chalk paint ($38) and perhaps a set of paint brushes ($10) or “sample” Chalk Paint for accent colors or a small side project ($13.50). To enter simply fill out the rafflecopter form below (you must be on the blog to view the entry form). The giveaway can be entered until Monday June 18th (MST). There are several ways to enter, good luck!
Also, if you like to be inspired, Kelly posts some fantastic stuff over on her Stylish Patina facebook page, go take a look!
Heather Ledeboer
I am a Christian, wife, mom and the owner of Mom 4 Life. I have a passion for helping moms and encouraging them in their journey through motherhood. I invite you to journey along with me!
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By far, my favorite feature of chalk paint is the fact that there is little to no prep work beforehand. I have purchased a couple tiny sample sizes in duck egg blue and I love, love, love that color.
You did a great job on your project, Heather!
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I love the feature that you don’t need to prime or prepare
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I like that it can be used indoors or outdoors!
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Absolutely love it! Such an awesome idea. Thanks for sharing Heather!
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AWESOME giveaway! thanks for hosting it! It would be fun to try out the orange – I just like the color but it doesn’t go with my house so maybe I’d get the graphite (black) or the Chateau Grey (mossy green)
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I am so incredibly curious, I’m going to enter the raffle. lol I have several ideas. lol
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Sarah Reply:
June 11th, 2012 at 11:36 am
@Sarah,
And it’s the low VOCs that were a great selling point for me.
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this post makes me want to go hunt down an old dresser!!! very cute idea, can’t wait to do this
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I love that it has really low levels of VOC’s and is so incredibly versatile.
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Love the no prep work and the low VOC’s a must in my house.
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Emilie is a great color! That’s what my daughter wants her room to be. Not too girly but definitely feminine. Love how your project turned out. My favorite feature of the paint is that it is low VOC- great paint for a kid that has asthma.
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I love the no sanding or priming the 2 things i dislike the most about painting
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The low VOCs are the best selling point for me with my house full of kiddos!
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My favorite feature is that it’s safe for children.
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SO cool! I could have written your intro–I imagine such projects but have never attempted one! Love the transformation!
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It is so beautiful–great work!
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I Just love how that dresser turned out!! The best thing about Chalk Paint is no sanding! I love the Original white. I will be doing my kitchen cupboards with chalk paint real soon.
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My favorite feature is that it’s so dang beautiful…!
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The best thing about chalk paint? That’s easy, no priming, no sanding, just slap on!
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I have got to do something like this soon.
~Mad(elyn) in Alabama
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I love that it is low Voc and no preparations is needed of the item to be painted. Also I love the smooth surface and the matte finish.
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I would love to win! I have some projects I would love to try the paint on….
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I love her recent post on using flowers-can’t wait to buy my next can of Annie Paint-thinking of going nuts with some Emperor’s silk Red
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I love how it distresses! It doesn’t peel like latex!
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Love this! Thanks for the inspiration!
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We’re buying a “fixer upper” and this would be AMAZING! I like that there is No need to prime or prepare
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Annie Sloan’s chalk paint had me at “no prep work”…I have an old wood desk that would be a bear to strip and refinish so I’d love to go the chalk paint route, I’d love to try the Old Violet
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I really love the low VOC’s, and the fact that it’s great for furniture!!! {I have a sewing cabinet I bought a couple weeks ago at a yard sale for $5 that I have been wanting to paint and distress. It’s sitting in my living room, just waiting for a makeover!}
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I absolutely loooove your labels – would you mind sharing your techniques for creating these? Thanks for this giveaway & the whole post – it makes me so happy!
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I love that it is a “girls paint but boys can use it too!”
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have feature: No need to prime or prepare
xxoxo
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I like that it can be used on any surface inside or out!
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I like that you don’t have to prime. Such a convenience!!
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I love the feature that you don’t need to prime or prepare
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love thhe fact that you dont have to prime or prepare it..thank you
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You can use the paint by diluting it with water to make a wash to show the wood grain
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I love that it is extremely low in VOC’s and safe for the kiddos!!
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I like that you can use it on any surface indoors or out.
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Love that it is great for the environment!
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No need to prime or prepare
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love that i can see the wood grain if i dilute it!
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My favorite feature would definitely be that it is safer for children. With 6 younger siblings under 12, this would be very nice for our family!!
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Two things caught my eye:
You can use it on any surface, indoors and out
No need to prime or prepare
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I like that its so great for furniture, I have a few projects that I want to re do.
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No need for primer means less time and money.
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I like the fact that there are give or take 25+ colors
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aubusson blue
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I love that it is extremely low in VOC’s and safe for kids to use
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I love this idea! Great color choice as well.
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Love your project!!! My favorite feature of the paint is that it can be washed off your brush even when you find your brush weeks later – we’ve been known to do that. Ha!
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you can use it indoors or out
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I like that you do not have to prime or prepare the wood.
Thank you for the chance.
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I love the no priming!
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I like no primer coat needed, and no VOCs… Which usually causes me to have headaches when painting.
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I love the no prep work
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I love the feature that you don’t need to prime
sibabe64 at ptd dot net
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I like their blue chalk paint feature teh best.
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I like the fact that you can paint without priming.
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I love that you don’t need a special brush to apply the paint. Any brush I have should work! Saves me money from having to buy a bunch of extra supplies.
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It’s flexible so you can be creative and change you mind
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I like that it can be used indoors or outdoors
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The best part is not having to use primer or sand.
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I love that you don’t have to prime or prepare
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No priming needed.
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No sanding or priming!!
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No prep beforehand and it can be used indoors and outdoors
kport207 at gmail dot com
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My favorite feature is that you can ” use it on any surface, indoors and out”
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I like the fact that it has extremely low VOCs so it is good for the environment and safe for your children. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.
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Extremely low VOCs so it is good for the environment and safe for your children
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I like no priming.
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I like that it is low VOC, because I am pregnant right now, I have to be careful with my home projects.
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[...] primary colors in the room were reinforced with the toy storage bin that I refinished using Chalk Paint from Stylish Patina and tissue paper balls hung from under their beds. I also used some of my left over Chalk Paint [...]