Two words.
Annie Sloan.
If that name doesn't cause you to pause and bow your head in reverence it will after you're done with this post! I've heard the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint hype for years now. But after visiting the website once and seeing a price tag it was an absolute no. No is underlined because I couldn't believe the price of one of these gosh dang brushes.
Hold on though!! I promise this post gets better! Don't click the red X just yet! Stay with me, frugal pants.
We've been using Jaron's grandparent's table since we moved into our first apartment together after we were married. It is an expanding table with the option of two leaf insertions. The table was on loan from his older brother Patrick, but as the years went on, and the table went from a round table to a dining table, from two chairs to four, and then to six- the sentimentality had grown too strong for me to ever be able to part with it.
Once Patrick agreed to give it to us, I set out to bring new life to the old orange table.
Can you see the chair that is partially sanded? That took me two hours. Two hours of breathing in dust and only partially sanded. How the heck I was going to sand down around the spokes I had no idea. So I sanded one chair, and was totally over it. I left it alone, waiting until I had the motivation to ever try and take on that impossible project (subconsciously knowing that time would never come).
Well then we bought our home. We had really stepped it up in the home decor department, and I could no longer let the orange eye sore stay.
Determined to have a cohesive design throughout my new open concept living room + kitchen, I stormed into Jen's Furniture Rehab not caring how much money I was about to drop. (Okay, not entirely true. I had birthday money in hand so that eased the guilt... a little....)
After I told Charles how much I spent on the brush, he said, "What?! Is it made of unicorn hair??"
Basically.
Basically.
The paint and the brushes are magic. Serious magic. There is nothing this paint can't do. I know for a fact that Annie Sloan is no muggle.
Her chalk paint can cover ANYTHING.
Wood, plastic, tile, metal, glass.. even fabric. FABRIC!!!
Don't lose your hair. That's not even the best part yet.
You don't have to...
-prep
-sand
or
-prime
A lazy girl's dream! Perfect for gals like me.
It doesn't have any fumes, so you can paint indoors and leave your windows closed. Crazy! I painted in my closed garage. Not once did I feel faint or dizzy from the smell... because there was none!
The magical thing is... this paint goes a loooooong way. I still have plenty left over for other projects! And that is after my table, chairs aaaand... uh... I might have also painted my front door with it too lol. I'm telling you. I'm a believer and I am hooked!
Wanna know what else? It DRIES like... almost instantly. Granted, it was still pretty warm while I painted, but it seriously dries wicked fast! Another extremely fantastic perk!
Let me address the brush- it's necessary. A good brush, and these brushes specifically, are key players in the application and texture of your project. Although my plan was to skimp and go buy a brush from Walmart, I'm so glad I listened to Jen and didn't!
Paint made from the finest witches and wizards, and brushes made from unicorn hair..
what more can I say?
I can't believe it's the same table!
I can't believe how much life it brought to my kitchen! It immediately became so much brighter and happier. It's perfect! Better than I imagined!
The table was done in "Old White"
and the chairs in "Duck Egg Blue"
If I've made a believer out of you, go down to Jen's Furniture Rehab! Jen is amazing! She is so fun and her personality is so spunky and warm, she talked to me like we have been friends forever.
My plan was to just paint the table AND chairs in Old White.
But Jen convinced me to do the chairs in Duck Egg Blue. I won't lie, I was so stressed driving home and I felt so unsure about it. I didn't know if I could pull off having a white table and blue chairs! It seemed like too much. Even as I was painting, although I loved the colors individually, I still didn't know how it was going to look in the kitchen.
But once I put everything back inside... I stayed up until 3 am with all the lights on because I couldn't stop looking at my table!!! So I mean it when I say, Jen helped me get a table that was better than I imagined!! Thank you Jen! <3
There you have it! My shameless advertising for Annie Sloan. This isn't a sponsored post either.
I love Annie Sloan and Jen that much all by myself. ;)
Are you going to take on a Chalk Paint project?! I'd love to see it if you do!
-C