Friday, October 21, 2011

Homemade Chalk Paint Dresser

I did it!  I FINALLY painted something with chalk paint!  I've been dying to try it, but could never bring myself to spend the money.  My friend and fellow blogger Lisa @ A Vintage Vine told me there was a formula for making your own!  What?  Seriously?  I didn't waste any time and let me just say, the results were AMAZING!
Here is the dresser I chose to refinish:
I purchased this dresser at Kirklands several years ago. It's held up great, however, we have a lot of dark furniture in our home... this piece was the perfect candidate for a change!
There are several different ways you can make homemade chalk paint.  You can go to Lisa's post here to get the ingredients.  For this dresser, we decided to mix 2 tablespoons of plaster of Paris with one cup flat latex paint.  When making your own, you can mix any color you want!  My color choice was Dolphin Fin by Behr, a very light gray.  It's important to store your paint in an air tight container.  I used a Ball jar.  Your paint will be very thick, especially after it sits for awhile.  Adding water can decrease the thickness, but only add one tsp. at a time.
I applied the chalk paint with a cabinet nap foam roller.  For the hard to reach areas, I used the end of the roller to dab my paint into the corners.  At first, I thought I wanted full coverage, as I do not have many distressed pieces in my home.  I LOVE the look of distressing, but could I pull off the look?  
After the first coat dried, I lightly sanded to smooth out the rough texture caused by the Plaster of Paris.  I started seeing the wood coming through and knew I had to distress!
After lots of sanding and distressing, the piece was amazingly smooth.  To seal and protect, I used a Minwax Cabinet Paste in Natural.  The waxing gives your paint color a slightly darker tone and really brings out the distressed areas.
I am beyond thrilled with the results!
Before...
And after!
Remember those Anthropologie knobs I mentioned in my recent post?  Swoon!  
This was my very first furniture re-do and certainly not my last.  I really enjoyed this project and cannot thank Lisa enough for her help and guidance!  








17 comments:

A Vintage Vine said...

Alicia, it looks gorgeous...You did such a great job...Those knobs really made this piece PERFECT!

Anonymous said...

It is absolutely gorgeous! Love the color you chose and I, too, swoon with those knobs. Great work!

Jen @ Bungalov said...

Hi there! You did a great job. Found you on MMS. For a first it came out great. I love the vintage pieces sitting on top too. I have an obsession for Ball jars.

Mimi@blueroofcabin said...

I love how it turned out!! Now I am bummed I didnt try making my own chalk paint! I have seen some how to's out there but I decided to just buy a quart of the ASCP. Now that I see your results I am kicking myself. Great job girlfriend!

Stephanie said...

It looks beautiful! I painted a dresser too and also distressed it. A little scary to make those first marks, but it's totally worth it :)
http://craftingintherain.blogspot.com/2011/09/dressed-up-dresser.html

Kahli said...

Wow great job on the homemade chalk paint! You saved a lot of money too! I love the finished look :)

Korrie@RedHenHome said...

This turned out beautifully! Love those knobs!

Cassie Bustamante said...

that is adorable! i love the color, finish, knobs! all of it! so glad lisa sent you my way! :)

Nicole Joelle said...

The perfect color! The table turned out so lovely--I may have to give that formula a whirl :)

Kammy's Korner said...

Those knobs are so pretty! Love everything you did, especially the color! Thanks for linking over at Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday.

Wanda said...

It looks beautiful, great job. I recently bought a tub of the the plaster of paris but was hesitant to try it, but not any more.

Unknown said...

love your dresser the color is perfect for the piece. id love to feature it , if that would be ok with you please let me know,
lauren

Suzy www.savedbysuzy.blogspot.com said...

Gorgeous! I spend all day painting the bathroom Dolphin Fin...love the color and the knobs are perfect. You distressed it like a pro!

Erin S. said...

Ooooo--make your own chalk paint? Thanks for posting the tip. Your project turned out beautifully!

Honey at 2805 said...

A Kirkland's dresser never looked so good! Nice job!

Layn @ reignalayn.blogspot.com said...

Awesome job! This looks amazing!

Elisa at home sweet nest said...

This turned out awesome! I currently own every color of Annie Sloan but after seeing your post and a few others like it I am seriously considering trying your recipe. hmmmm the color possibilities would be endless! I love what you did! Thanks for sharing.

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