Hey friends! 🙂
Well, it had to happen eventually. As a home and garden blogger, I am bound by the Blogger’s Code (cue ominous monk singing) to use chalk paint on something bigger than a picture frame. It also helped that I was getting really tired of my entertainment center. It was time for an entertainment center makeover!
So here we go!
This is the picture of my entertainment center before:
Now, I’m not saying it was absolutely horrible before… I mean, I did buy it this way, so this means that I really liked it at some point. But I tend to tire of furniture quickly, which is helpful for the blog, but not so much with my wallet. At least it’s very in to refinish your furniture instead of tossing it and buying new stuff.
I should also mention that it is laminate wood, so though it looks okay in the picture, it was looking pretty rough in real life (and not in a used, distressed vintage sort of way… more of I ran into it with the vacuum cleaner and the cats peed on it sort of way).
I also realized that I should have done the “before” pics right before I started painting it with all décor removed. The “after” pic just doesn’t have the same “wow” effect if it really didn’t look all that bad before. So from now on, I will store future furniture projects in my shop where I can shoot the before pics of said project covered in an inch of dust and surrounded by all my other crap for maximum effect.
Here’s what I used for this project:
- One gallon Speed-Cote latex semi-gloss in white
- 5 1/3 cups plaster of paris
- 1 lb Minwax paste finishing wax – regular (no added color)
- FolkArt Home Décor Wax – antiquing wax (dark brown)
- Wax brush
- 3″ paint brush
- detail brush
- round metal file for distressing (you can use sandpaper instead)
- soft cloths
First, I removed the doors and all hardware. Then, I mixed the semi-gloss paint with the plaster of paris. The measurements above are a 3 to 1 ratio. I was ready to paint! What I wasn’t ready for is that it would take FIVE FREAKING COATS of paint to cover up the darker color and keep it bleeding through.
Lesson learned: when covering a darker color with a much lighter paint, be prepared for a lot of painting!
After the first coat, the plaster of paris started forming tiny clumps whereas there were none when I started. The only thing I can figure is I didn’t mix it well enough and left a clump of plaster on the bottom of the can which got mixed into the paint later. Because of this, I had to scrape the little clumps of paint off the entertainment center between each coat of paint. Did I mention I had to do five coats? And now I had to scrape everything down between coats?
Lesson learned: when making homemade chalk paint, mix it really, really, really well.
Here’s what it looked like after five coats of paint and a coat of finishing wax:
Now it was time for the antiquing wax. I’ve never used it before so I really didn’t know what I was doing, but it turned out pretty good despite myself. Here’s a few of pics of application and blending:
I blended using both the wax brush and the cloth as needed.
Then came the fun part- distressing! And it really was a lot of fun to take out my frustrations after having to do all that painting and scraping! Needless to say, I got sawdust shavings everywhere.
Lesson learned: don’t do this again in the house. That’s what the garage is for. Well, that and cars.
All in all, it was a great learning experience, and despite the multiple coats of painting and scraping, it was a lot of fun to do and it turned out awesome! Which I’m really glad it did, because after all that work, it would have really sucked if it didn’t!
Let me know what you think and if you’ve had any similar chalk painting experiences (but hopefully you were smarter about it than I was)! 😉
Michelle
Your paint job looks good. And you mixed your own chalk paint………….Wow!
Thank you Jeanie! 🙂 I am cheap, so whenever I can save a buck or two- like mixing my own chalk paint- I will jump on it. My cheapness backfired on me this time because I bought cheap paint which resulted in having to apply multiple coats and my painting arm feeling like it got caught in a large vice grip.
Michelle…you did an amazing job! We know that entrainment center is a beast to paint. Please link this up to our party Something To Talk About today. Great transformation!
Hey Ladies! Thank you and I linked up! And I’m glad someone feels my pain on how hard this was 🙂
This looks so neat! I love the idea!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
Thank you Jess! Always a pleasure linking up with you. Have a wonderful week!
This is amazing! The accessories on this are stunning, I love them. And I will say you are breaking the blogger code by talking about it! I have not tried chalkboard paint yet and feel really delayed and like I will get my bloggers member card revoked or something. Just stumbled onto your blog and can’t wait to read more!
Hello Emily! Thank you so much for your kudos- most of the stuff you see on it is from my late grandfather. He was quite the “collector”- let’s just say he never passed up a yard sale. And fair warning, when you do get around to using chalk paint, you will be hooked!
Welcome to my nuthou- er, blog!
Wow what a transformation Michelle! Your blogger cred is totally intact now 🙂 I’m about to start a chalk paint project so your tips are a huge help. Thanks so much for linking up to our “Something to Talk About” link party ~ hope to see you again next week 🙂 Bwg
You’re so welcome, and thank you! 🙂 And I’m glad my blogger cred is still good 😉
It’s gorgeous! Fantastic paint job, and I love all your cute vintage decor too!
Thank you Amy! 🙂
GORGEOUS!!!!!! I love the color and how you arranged it all with the window…wowsers
Thank you Christine! 🙂 I’m a sucker for old windows and put them anywhere I can.
I love it, what a fabulous makeover. Can’t wait to feature you next week. Thanks for linking to Inspire Me.
Thank you so much Marty!!! I’m so flattered you chose this for your feature next week! You are so awesome!!! 🙂
i have used chalk paint on my kitchen cabinets. It was Farmhouse Paint. I love the way the cabinets look. Farmhouse Paints don’t require any waxing. It isn’t cheap, however. I will be trying DIY chalk paint on my next project.
I really like the way your entertainment center looks!
Thank you! 🙂
A chalk paint that you don’t have to wax afterward?!? That sounds like a dream come true!!! I’m thinking about painting my kitchen cabinets so I’m definitely going to check out Farmhouse Paints! 🙂
I love everything about this!!
Thank you so much Rose! 🙂
This is beautiful! What a wonderful transformation. Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend? I hope you will join us again this Monday morning 🙂
Thank you so much Joy! 🙂
Wow…your hard work really paid off! I’ve never had to do 5 coats of paint before, but I’ve made my chalk paint with unsanded grout, and used Valspar paint from Lowes. The entertainment center looks lovely! Thanks for sharing at Totally Terrific Tuesday! I hope to see you again tomorrow night. The party starts at 10pm!
Thank you Christie! 🙂 And thank you so much for the tips… anything to avoid having to do 5 coats of paint again! My shoulder hasn’t been the same since!
WOW!!! I love the transformation! The way you have everything perfectly placed, just beautiful!
Thank you Tricia! 🙂
What a great post! Love it! Pinned and tweeted. We love to party with you, so I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm. That would be so awesome.
Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
love love love the after!!!awesome makeover!
Michelle, this is just gorgeous. Your sense of decorating is amazing with all of the rustic antiques and wire baskets. I love it. Thank you for sharing at Inspire Me Wednesday. Featuring you in this week’s issue.
Thank you so much Mel! 🙂 I’m flattered you’d choose my project over all the other wonderful ones in the link party. I’ll be sure to swing by and check it out!
Ladies the best mixture for chalk paint is Calcium Carbonate. you can buy it off e-bay very cheap. I bought 5 lbs for $10.50 with free shipping. had it 3 days after I ordered it. Best part is it does not get hard while painting with it and you can use any brand of paint and will not get lumpy. I even forgot to put a lid on mine one night when I finished painting and when I realize it about 10:30 a.m. next morning it was still as good as when I started . I just had to stir it up. this will allow you to make up paint and what ever is left seal in container and will keep for a long time . This mixture is better than the plaster of Paris, grout, baking soda and any other I have read about. to make a quart mix 12 tablespoon of the calcium with enough water to make it smooth. then add to your 24 ounces of paint and stir good. if you only want a pint just half the recipe. a lot of what you are reading or seeing about paint minerals is this. they buy in bulk then repackage it as paint minerals to make chalk paint and make a big profit off it. Hope this helps someone
Ann from Arkansas
Hi Ann! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! I bought some Calcium Carbonate for my next chalk paint batch and I can’t wait to try it out!
Hey Michelle…i love reading your blog. Now i can chalk paint also!
You’re welcome Millie! 🙂
good news..valspar announces on their web site they have a new chalk paint . will be in Lowes and on shelves within next week or 2 …they also will be having the wax…clear and dark. this is good news as valspar is a good paint and this will be a good chalk paint.
ann in Searcy
That’s awesome news! Thanks for the heads up Ann!!! 🙂
You did an awesome job! Where did you get your original furniture? I have been looking and looking for something similar to them with no luck
Thank you Laura! 🙂 I bought these a few years ago at JCPenney. I doubt if they still carry the exact same entertainment center, but they might carry something similar.