After a few months of marriage my husband and I quickly realized that sharing one dresser was not going to cut it for us. Instead of purchasing another dresser I retrieved my childhood dresser from my parents house and gave it a facelift.
I remember when I died off for this antique dresser because the top lifted up to reveal a jewelry box. It is a great antique piece that just needed some attention.
I have heard a lot about chalk paint and have seen numerous DIY recipes for it. After some research I decided that making the paint wasn't the route for me even though the leading brands can be pretty pricey. I ended up going with the most well known chalk paint on the market, Annie Sloan. While it was hard to swallow the $34.95 price tag for just a quart of paint plus the wax to seal it, the reviews were great and I loved the idea of no prepping before I paint so it made it worth it.
I ordered my paint and wax online from the Purple Painted Lady and received it within a week along with very detailed information about the product. This was the cheapest site I found that sold the paint and they have great resources on how to use their products. They suggest using a specialty Annie Sloan paint brush, but I was not ready to invest in a $35 brush so I went with a cheaper on the site for about $8 and it worked great for me.
I must admit I was a bit skeptical about the no prepping claim that Annie Sloan Chalk Paint makes. I decided to paint my old desk as well that was a bright turquoise color. I could not imagine anything covering this deep color, but it did! I was very surprised with my results. With one quart of paint I was able to paint my dresser and desk using two coats on each piece. I waxed each piece, which I really recommend. It gives them a nice finish and protects the paint from wear and tear. I still have 3/4 of my can of wax left.
I spent around $150 to makeover both my desk and dresser. I got new knobs for them at Home Depot which made a huge difference. After using the Annie Sloan paint I am a huge fan and will definitely use it on future projects. It is so easy to use and you really do not have to do any prep work which I love. I love the finished look of the matte paint.
So if you are wanting to update an old piece of furniture I highly recommend Annie Sloan chalk paint. All you have to do is get the paint and you are ready to start your project. I did not like the look of just one coat on my pieces, it was a little to rustic looking for me. I applied two coats, waxed and then used sand paper to sand some of the edges to give it a distressed look.
Here are some pictures I took during my project. Let me know if you have any questions about the paint, wax or how to use them.
