Chalk painting a small piece of furniture is one of the quickest and easiest ways to make you feel like you are a DIY’er who deserves a primetime spot on HGTV. It is also an inexpensive and simple project that can make a big (and cute) change to your space!
If you’ve never chalk painted before, this post is for you. It is #nofail!
Not sure where to start? Just do this… find an old chair, stool or side table, chalk paint it, put it in the corner of a room and add a plant (or in this case, a stack of blankets). Then, sit back and admire all of your DIY’d-ness!
For this project, you will need a chair or stool that could use a little makeover. I definitely have a thing for chairs and have painted a pile of them over the years. I found this one at an antique market close to my work and thought it was so cute!
You will also need just one small container of chalk paint (120mL/4 fl oz). For this project, it really doesn’t matter the brand. You can get less pricey chalk paint at places like Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. Alternatively, the best known (and more expensive brand) is Annie Sloan (which I do love) but it can be hard to come by depending on where you live.
I chose to try Country Chic Paint for the first time because I loved the colour (a soft sage green) and had to use it! It adhered well, was super easy to work with, and I would definitely buy it again.
Steps to Chalk Paint a Small Piece of Furniture
Step 1 – Prep the surface.
Chalk paint is supposed to be easy to use so I don’t complicate things with a lot of prep. I will only do a quick sand to scuff up a surface if I’m painting an item that has a shiny finish. Usually, I just give whatever I’m painting a quick clean (I like to use a glass cleaner like Windex). In this case, the chair was pretty dirty so I washed it with warm water and Dawn dish soap first (it cuts dirt and oil well), then I used glass cleaner on it. I spent almost as much time washing the thing as I did painting it! 🙂
Step 2 – Apply two coats of paint.
Next, I slap on the paint. Aside from watching for drips and trying to be reasonably uniform with the paint, I’m not overly picky about this. Keep in mind that chalk paint has a matte look and doesn’t give you that smooth, factory finish that is often on today’s furniture so it is natural for it to show some light brush strokes. Two coats generally does it. As well, one of the reasons why so many people love to chalk paint is that it dries super fast so you can get the whole thing painted quickly without having to wait a long time between coats.
Step 3 – Add a protective coat (if desired).
For some of my small projects like this, I haven’t bothered with protecting the piece unless it’s going to get a lot of direct use or handling. If you would like to protect it, you can use a wax topcoat or a liquid top coat that are made for chalk paint.
I find that a topcoat like Rustoleum Topcoat is easier to apply and provides better protection compared to wax so I usually use that. In my early chalk painting days, I used the Annie Sloan furniture wax which does give a nice finish but waxing furniture takes a bit of a knack and is definitely more work.
I wrote a blog post about which product I prefer here.
Regardless, if you are just going to put a plant on your piece and want to save the money, don’t even bother with the topcoat. If it gets scuffed or scratched, you can just give it a touch up with your paint.
That’s it. Pretty simple. Congrats on being a DIY’er! Check out some tips below…
Chalk Painting Tips
Tip #1 – For the first coat, I like to lightly wet my paintbrush. I dip it in a bit of water and dab excess water on a papertowel. This helps the paint go on smoothly and easily. As well, I like a thin first coat because it adheres well. It also helps your paint go a long way!
Tip #2 – I’ve chalk painted stools, chairs, bookshelves, dressers, side tables and desks. However, the one thing I personally wouldn’t chalk paint are kitchen cabinets. I don’t think the look of the finish is well-suited to a kitchen (remember, it has an imperfect, chalky look) and it would take forever to protect the cabinets with either a topcoat or wax! Rather, I’d likely go with a painted intended for such projects such as Benjamin Moore Advance paint. I’ve used this to paint bathroom cabinets and a desk and it has a smoother, more professional looking finish.
Tip #3 – If you are painting fresh wood and have a knot bleeding through your paint, cover it with shellac first, and then paint over it. The shellac will prevent any bleeding through the paint and the chalk paint adheres just fine to the shellac.
Tip #4 – If you choose to use the Rustoleum Topcoat, it has a thick consistency and I find it applies best if you only brush in one direction.
Tip #5 – If you already have latex paint on hand, you can easily make your own chalk paint. Find my favourite DIY chalk paint recipe here.
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