Thursday, February 14, 2013

The Twins and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

On my birthday my Mamma and I went to a Thrift Store to have a look around.  You will never guess what happened next.....

Do you give up?

Oh fine, you are right....I found some furniture to refinish!!!

I found two end tables for my living room that were so darn cute with their Queen Ann legs and cute little hardware, I couldn't pass them up!!  My Mamma actually gave them to me for my birthday because she is awesome like that :)

This is what they looked like when I got them (excuse the picture quality, I was outside using my camera phone).



As you can see in the background....I forgot to take pictures before starting but at least I remembered before I started painting the second one and was able to take pictures to show you guys!

You can see my little baby girl Molly in this picture...she is always near me when I am doing anything and wants to be a part of everything I do :)


This is what the drawers looked like before I got my hands on them (insert evil laugh here).


This was my first project using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint....I had no idea what to expect but was really excited about trying out my new paint!


This is what the table looked like after the first coat of paint.  I was not really liking the paint at first.  It dried really fast, faster than I could have imagined especially sitting outside on my balcony painting in the winter.  


Here are the two drawers after getting their first coat of paint, they were covered up a little bit better than the table....I think it was due to me painting them with a thicker coat than the table.


One of the drawers after getting the second coat of paint and I gotta tell you, I am really liking the results after the second coat of paint.  As a matter of fact, I am also loving the color!!


Here is a picture of the two tables after getting their second coats of paint....I love them!!!  I love distressing furniture but after painting these two tables, I decided that my dining room table will be painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White!!!  I love the way these tables turned out and it didn't take as long as it would have with regular paint because I didn't have to sand the tables before starting (not only does that save time but it saves a ton of money because sand paper isn't free!!!). 


Look at how pretty the top of the table looks!!!  If I would have left the tables without distressing them, I would have gone one more coat to get an even color on top but because I knew I was going to be distressing them, I left them as is.


 I love these tables and their great features.  Painting them white brought out the features that the brown color made blah!


Now, for those of you that say you can't paint and distress furniture in the winter time......I did this project in the winter time and it was 45 degrees out at 6:10 pm....I was out there till 8 pm and it was definitely colder by then.  If I can be out on my balcony painting in 45 degree weather, so can you!!!


Are you ready to see what the twins looked like after I got my hands on them??

Here is the first one...


This is a close up of the front by the drawer....squeal!!!  I loved working with the Annie Sloan wax...I used the clear wax on the tables and it turned out great and made the color of the tables pop even more. The one thing I wish I would have known before starting is how to use the wax.  I applied the wax and then wiped it a little bit and sanded....the paint came off too easily and next time I am going to let the wax dry properly before I do anything to it.  I am thinking I might distress before the wax (I read online to distress after putting the wax on the furniture).



This is what the top of one of the tables looked like....




Here is the other top...


Here are the twins tops together....



Finally, for the big reveal of the twins together...




What do you think???  

I love how the tables turned out and can't wait to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint again!!  It was the quickest and simplest project I have ever done!!  It was a huge time saver and the cost of the materials was not as much as everyone told me it would be.

I actually would like to take a moment to discuss the price of the materials.  I paid about $70 for the wax and paint and maybe $10 for shipping.  This summer I refinished my bedroom set and I bought a gallon of paint from Lowe's and paid about $35 for it.  I used it on quite a bit of furniture and still had half a gallon left when I had to throw out the paint because it was ruined (not sure what happened there).  Besides the $35 for the paint, I probably paid well over $100 for sand paper.  It took me hours to sand my bed and dresser and if I would have used Annie Sloan, I wouldn't have had to sand at all except to distress the furniture.  Imagine the money that would have been saved there!!!  Also, I bought Polyurethane for my furniture and it turned my furniture a yellowish tint....I haven't heard of that happening with Annie Sloan Wax and am hoping that is not a problem I will have to deal with.

What kind of paint do you use to refinish furniture?  Have you tried Annie Sloan or any other chalk paint?  What about Milk Paint....have you ever tried it?  I am going to a class where we get to try out milk paint and I am really excited to see how that works.

Leave me a comment with a link to your blog...I would love to check out what you have been doing :)


I linked up to the following parties...

http://www.blissfullyeverafter.net/2013/02/paint-it-challenge-blog-party.html

http://www.elizabethandco.blogspot.com

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com




8 comments:

Edda Soffía said...

Flott hjá þér Helga mín. Ég væri alveg til í að prófa þessa málingu. Ég sá hjá einhverjum sem notaði dekkri vax og það kom mjög vel út.
Love mamma

Nanci said...

Looks great. I love the change. Btw, I think it's called Queen Ann legs. :)

Helga said...

Thanks Nanci and you are soooo right....they are called Queen Ann legs lol It's times like this that you can tell that English is my second language :) I am going to edit my post right now ;)

Handmade and off-centered said...

I love them! Love love love them :) You have a knack for this sort of thing and I cant wait to see how the dining room table will turn out. Talk about a time saver with this paint. Hopefully it doesnt chip after some wear and tear.

As always your furninture pieces are gorgeous!

xoxo
Birgitta

Donna Wilkes said...

I know that it is hard when doing distressed painting to have two pieces match. Great job. They are truly twins. I use homemade chalk paint with good results. I usually distress before and after waxing. Then I add another coat of wax.

Taryn @ Design, Dining + Diapers said...

These are super cute and thanks for the great info on your experience with the paint! I need to try it soon :)

Helga said...

Taryn, thank you and you won't regret buying this paint! I love it and know that I will be using it A LOT more in the future :)

Helga said...

Thank you Donna! I think I may try distressing before and after as well. I need to just play around with the wax and see what works. It is so much fun that I don't mind anyway :)