Annie Sloan chalk paint is all the rage in the DIY world.
You don’t have to prep your furniture piece; there’s no sanding or stripping involved.
Plus, Annie Sloan chalk paint works on many surfaces, doesn’t have any odor, and dries in 20 minutes.
This I had to try. I have many furniture pieces I’d like to repaint white for a shabby chic look in our Blue Cottage.
So I drove to the nearest store that stocks Annie Sloan chalk paint — Junktique Recycling in Rye, NY — a few weeks ago and picked up a can of white paint, clear wax, a paint brush, and a big wax brush.
Annie Sloan paint is pretty expensive (I paid about $150) , but it goes a long way, and because it’s water based you can easily wash out the brushes and use them over and over again.
A few days ago my mom and I decided to tackle the first chalk paint project. The first piece I wanted to paint was a little cart I’ll use for our TV in the Blue Cottage bedroom. I think my friend Joel gave it to me many years ago, and it’s well-made, from Denmark. Ikea?
As you can see, the cart had stains on it, so I couldn’t really mess it up by painting it, just make it better.
I reused old shower curtains for drop cloths, and we painted right in the bedroom.
I have to say, Annie Sloan paint is a dream to work with. It doesn’t run and goes on smoothly, so you don’t have to worry too much about getting paint all over your floor.
This is what the cart looked like after the first coat:
After the first coat, I took fine sand paper and sanded down the edges of the cart for the shabby chic look I wanted:
But I took off too much and painted the cart with a second coat. The next time I sanded just the edges and liked the result much better.
And after that I applied the Annie Sloan clear wax. This seals the paint.
This is the result! Now I just need to get Don to lift our old, heavy TV on this cart.
P.S.: Working with Annie Sloan paint is so much fun, my mom and I immediately started the next piece: a large dresser that used to belong to Don’s parents.
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