Chalk it up to paint...

A few years ago... I got crafty. 

 After four years of living in a builder's grade town home with hand me down furniture I decided it was time for a refresh.  In retrospect, I believe this also helped sell our town house in just one week.  The idea began with an acute obsession for all things rustic, farmhouse, French provincial  and romantic.  We had this drab, tired, dingy , pinkwashed builder's grade kitchen with hideous hardware and I was simply tired of it.  I began research on refinishing the cabinets myself since a new kitchen was not an option for us at that point.   Most of the refinishing products such as Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations seemed way to involved and all around a daunting undertaking I was just not ready for.  Let me also add that my husband (G-d love him) usually is not on board with any of my wild shenanigans until I am half way done with them.   So, I focused my research on the "easiest way to refinish cabinets." In fact, this is exactly the phrase I typed into my YouTube search window.  The answer came flooding in with numerous videos on something called chalk paint.  I was excited!

Here is the best part about chalk paint.  

There is absolutely no prep involved in refinishing your furniture with chalk paint.  I mean there is no sanding or priming at all.  This means way less mess and a huge time saver.  For people who have zero patience and need instant gratification this is the best kind of DIY. Furthermore, chalk paint itself as a medium is very simple to use. It has almost no smell, wipes off easily, and dries in no time.  Not to mention the cost is very friendly for budget conscience do it yourselfers.  For that project and all chalk paint projects there after I used Renaissance Chalk Paint available on Amazon.com.  In fact, they sell a terrific starter kit which comes with everything you need to get started. There are also individual gallons and quarts of paint available as well.  The selection of colors is wide and with Prime shipping you can get started on your project ASAP.  If you are super adventurous or just love a particular color of wall paint, you can make your own chalk paint by mixing 2 cups of latex paint with 5 tbsp of Plaster of Paris and 3 tbsp of water.  Good luck!!!

My kit arrived on a Friday afternoon.  By Sunday night, the entire kitchen was finished.  Now I am truly insane sometimes. I have been know to stay up all night to finish something I set my mind to and that is precisely what happened here.  If you are a normal person, a 16 cabinet kitchen will take you approximately 4 days to complete alone.  This includes two coats of chalk paint and a wax finish topcoat.

Some helpful hints. 

1.Dust of your project before you begin.  Leaving dust behind may effect the paint finish.
2. Paint in the direction of the wood grain.
3.Wait at least 30 minutes for the first coat to dry.
4. Slightly thin out your second coat with water.
5. Skip wax for outdoor pieces.

Chalk painted table and chairs (originally cherry wood)

6. Use clear wax before dark wax.  (optional)
7. Use 150 grit sand paper to distress (optional)

To really finish off the custom rustic look of the cabinets I switched out the knobs for these aged bronze pulls I found on Amazon for pennies.  You can find pulls and knobs that are unique and show stopping at places like anthropologie and Etsy as well.

It doesn't stop at cabinets.

There are so many ways to use chalk paint.  You can repaint furniture pieces to give them new life.   You can also paint lamp bases for a quick and easy update. You can paint floor tile ( home depot tutorial here)to bring a whole new look to a room without the cost of redoing your floors.  You can even paint fabric!!!!

So go ahead a start a project. It really is fun and easy.  My next up are our night tables... they need new life the Spring!  Hope that I inspired you a bit and gave you some helpful hints along the way.

Till next post,

DecorJule