In the spirit of Summer holidays to faraway foreign lands, we finished this lovely petite bombe chest in a style reminiscent of a Parisian antique. To learn how we did it, read below:
Here’s how we did it:
Wipe down the piece of furniture you are painting. No sanding or priming is required when using Chalk Paint as long as the surface finish isn’t peeling. The original finish was a glossy walnut veneer…very 90s and not very appealing.
Once the piece is wiped off, apply Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in GRAPHITE. Use an Annie Sloan Natural Brush, dip the tips of the bristles into your paint, and base coat your piece with thin brushstrokes with the grain. The 1st coat does not need to be fully opaque. Allow some of the original finish to peek through, let it dry 30-40 minutes, and repeat the step so you have two thin coats of graphite for an opaque paint finish.
Once the paint is fully dry, mix a wash of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in OLD OCHRE. A wash is paint mixed with water. In this case, we did a mixture of 50/50 paint to water ratio. Apply the wash with an Annie Sloan Synthetic Blue Brush with the grain, about a drawer at a time. Brush on the drippy wash, then immediately gently wipe it back (in a horizontal fashion) with a clean, dry paper towel to give the piece a striated look. If you wipe too much, apply the wash and wipe gently over it again. If the wash is too “heavy”, lightly wipe it off with a damp paper towel. Repeat this wash step over the entire piece then allow 30 minutes to dry.
“Wet Wax” the piece…this means apply the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax in Clear over the entire piece using an Annie Sloan Wax brush but don’t wipe it off. Immediately Paint a light coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Louis Blue over the furniture, a small drawer-sized section at a time, and wipe the Clear Wax and Louis Blue off together. It will feel somewhat difficult to wipe and cause a distressed look. This is the goal! Keep wiping until it feels smooth and dry.
Apply the Annie Sloan Gilding Wax in Bright Gold for the final touch! We used our fingers to apply it wherever we wanted but you can use a small brush also if you prefer. Voila! Magnifique!
We really love how this piece turned out! If you buy it, you can tell everyone you found it at St Ouen, the famous French flea market…we won’t tell! If you recreate this look, tag us on Instagram so we can see!
follow us on instagram @verdigreenhome to see more paint projects!
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