Erin wrote about her adventures with Annie Sloane Chalk Paint here and here. Since she and so many others had such a great experience, I thought I’d give it a whirl.
I used it on two pieces, the dresser for the nursery and the dining room china cabinet. (Those of you who have been paying close attention might have noticed both of them hiding in last week’s posts!) The verdict: for the dresser, I loved it. For the china cabinet, it was so-so.
The best part: I loved the fact that it needs very little prep and can be done in any room. All I did was clean the piece down with a little bit of TSP and vinegar and water. Prep tends to be the worst part of any painting project, so it’s fantastic that prep when using Chalk Paint takes practically no time.
The worst part (for me): You have to use a brush. Normally, I like to use small foam rollers when painting furniture. I feel as though they give more even coverage and they get the job done so much faster than a brush. For the dresser, this wasn’t a big deal for me, but using a roller on the china cabinet would have saved me SO much time.
The verdict? It’s a toss up. I can see how this paint is perfect for small projects. And the time saved sanding/prepping is huge. But I’m not jumping to sign up for the Annie Sloane cult just yet.
Ok, now for the pictures. Today I’ll just focus on the dresser, and we’ll leave the china cabinet for another day.
The dresser was a hand-me-down from a family member of Jon’s. It was scuffed up and a bit outdated, but it had great bones and dovetail joints. I had used it as my own dresser for a while, but when we got new bedroom furniture I knew it was worth holding on to.
I had left the can upside down for about a half hour, a tip the woman who sold the paint gave me. It helps the paint mix since the “chalk” had settled at the bottom.
Then, I got right to painting. I ended up needing three coats, but the paint dries very quickly and I was able to do the coats back to back.
I followed up with the Annie Sloane wax, which you can read all about in Erin’s post here. We then put new hardware on the drawers, and here’s the result:
It looks like a brand new piece, and is perfect for the nursery!
It does look nice.
Thank you!