How to Make Your Own Chalky Paint.

I've been a painting fiend as of late. Moving into my new house, I've been up to my ears in home decor projects. One small way that I've saved some cash is by making my own chalky finish furniture paint, instead of buying the expensive brands found at most home improvement stores. And I've discovered that this is even better than the store-bought stuff! I want to share a few tips for how to make your own paint and save cash on your furniture renovations.

In case some of you are wondering what is the allure of chalky finish paint is, I'm here to help. The beauty of this type of paint is that you don't have to sand or prime the furniture before you you paint. It simply takes care of those steps for you, which saves hours of time. Here is the method I used and a few tips for making your own batch :)

Chalky Paint Ingredients:
- Any shade of any kind of paint you like to use. The sky is the limit.
- 1 box of Paris of Plaster
- 1 Paint stirrer
- 1 plastic bucket
- A few tablespoons of water

Method:
1. Combine 2 tbsp. of water with 2 heaping tbsp. of Paris of Plaster.

2. Using the paint stirrer, mix well until the combination is a smooth, liquid consistency. This batch can be combined with 8 oz. of paint. If you want to make a larger batch, you can double or triple this recipe. Just remember that for every 8 oz. of paint, add another 2 tbsp. of both water and Paris of Plaster. *I like to keep my batches small by using only 8 oz. of paint at a time, see the tips below for my reasoning.

3. Once the paint is combined, you are ready to paint! It's that easy. Seriously. Get your paint on, my friend.

A Few Tips:
1. Choose a shade slightly more vivid than you intend.
When you make your own Chalky finish paint, there will be a slight lightening of the color because of the water and plaster additions. They thin out the paint a bit. Go ahead and choose one shade darker/more vivid than you prefer, so that the color will balance out correctly.

2. Use the entire batch at once.
Because of the ingredients in this mixture, you cannot save any leftover paint for later. The plaster eventually settles and becomes chunky, and you cannot remix it to the exact same consistency. So when you're ready to paint, go ahead and use the entire batch. Then if you want to paint additional coats, you will have to remix another batch. For this reason, I like to make small batches and use up what I have.

3. Sanding and Finishing will add more texture.
Chalky paint dries to a very matte finish. If you want a little more contrast, depth and texture, I would follow up with some light sanding, perhaps some antiquing (you can see how I distressed and antiqued this Living Room Toy Cabinet), and a finishing coat for protection. If you like a high gloss, you can go with a polyurethane, or if you like something more satin-y, I like this Valspar Chalky Finish Sealing Wax.

As you can see above, this is my recent homemade chalky paint labor of love. And I am certainly in love with it! Especially the price tag, which was about $15 total, for all the gear and ingredients. Can't beat that!

Let me know if you try this recipe out and how it works for you. Happy painting, friends!

Upcycled Living Room Toy Cabinet.

This is perhaps my favorite upcycled piece I've ever done. I was given an old TV cabinet in the slew of free furniture we were given when we moved, and I knew I wanted to turn it into a storage space for Everett's toys in our entertainment room. This actually belonged to my elementary school librarian, Ms. Olham, and was given to someone else, who then gave it to us, so this particular piece of furniture actually has a bit of sentimental value. I was kind of a book nerd, and spent a lot of time in the library as a kid, so I knew I wanted to keep this piece and make it something special. Because of it's largeness and depth, Stevie wasn't sure it would work in the entertainment room, but I knew I had to find a way to make it work. Because, Mrs. Oldham! As I brainstormed about what I wanted for this piece, I was feeling so inspired by the rich shade of Kelly green. I couldn't shake it. So I went with it! Our entertainment room has taken on a vivid, bohemian vibe, and I can't wait to share photos of the entire space once I'm finally finished with it. This piece is one of the centerpieces of the room and I am so so thrilled with how it turned out.

Here is the before:

As you can see, the piece was a lovely mohaghany cabinet with brassy hardware, but it felt a bit bulky and dated. Since I had some success with chalky paint on my bedroom furniture, I decided to tackle this one with the same approach. But this time - I made my own chalky paint! I will share how incredibly easy it is next week on the blog. But trust me - you will never want to pay high dollar for chalk paint again.

It's a little challenging to capture the exact color, but I chose Behr Balsam, a flat interior/exterior paint. And I managed to cover this entire cabinet with just one sample size! Hello, savings. I love you.

After the first coat, things were looking a bit streaky and turquoise-y. I chose not to be fearful.

After the second coat, things were looking extremely matte and, well, bright. Like Sesame Street bright. Much brighter than I had expected. Again, I chose not to question the color choice. I knew I could tone it down in the steps to come.

The inside remained mahogany. Isn't it sort of sad looking? We will get to that in a minute.

Next I sanded the furniture using an extremely course sand paper, 80 grit. I focused on all the edges, crevices, and hardware. Then I just kept going and sanded the surfaces as well, wearing it down to expose the brown underneath in some areas. Just for fun. Because who doesn't like beating stuff up?

Then I decided to get a little crazy. Okay, crazier than painting a cabinet green. I grabbed another paint sample that I had chosen on a whim while I was at Home Depot, one that I had literally no plan for and just bought because I thought it was so pretty... and decided, what the heck? I'll coat the inside of the cabinet with this sapphire-esque blue! Because apparently I am turning my entertainment room into an arabian bazaar. So Behr Indigo Batik coated the inside of the cabinet. And my soul rejoiced.

Rejoice, oh soul. Rejoice.

Then things got really crafty. I used this Varathane Wood Stain in Kona to tone down the shade of the green and give the furniture an antique effect. There are a lot of antiquing waxes on the market, but this was by far the least expensive way to achieve the same effect. I used an old cut up tee shirt to rub on the stain in small sections, then I immediately wiped it off. The stain really soaked into the edges and crevices that I had sanded down, and made the whole piece look like it had been living in the dark corner of an a genie's lair for like a thousand years. Mission, accomplished.

Yum. I couldn't be happier with the finished product.

After the stain dried, I coated the entire piece with Valspar's Chalky Finish Sealing Wax. This protects the paint, so that it doesn't further chip, and also gives it a nice matte sheen.

And there you have it! Everett's toy mecca in our entertainment room. I love the piece so much. I'll admit that my original plan was for the piece to look a bit darker and more Kelly green, but you never quite know how a color is going to turn out until you just go for it. I still love this shade and it's the perfect pop of color for the room. The total cost for this DIY? About $7 for the two paint samples. And that's rounding up. I had the wood stain and sealing wax already, and paid nothing for the furniture itself.

This has become the place to store all of Everett's toys and keeps them out of sight when we want the room to look clean. And he loves toddling over to his cabinet, throwing open both of the doors, and seeing all his stuffed animals and balls and trucks. I'll try to capture his expression soon so you can see it - it's so stinking darling. He loves and I love it and we are all happy in our bohemian living space.

So what do you think? Have you tried using chalky paint to refresh a piece of furniture before?

How to Upcycle Furniture + My (old) New Bedroom Dresser!

I'm excited to share this up-cycled DIY project today!

I mentioned a here few weeks ago that we were given a ton of old furniture from a family friend. We were so overwhelmed and grateful to be given so much, especially in the midst of buying and moving into our first home. However, for as nice all the furniture is, a lot of the pieces are pretty dated in terms of color, style and hardware. I decided to try my hand at upcycling the pieces and giving them some fresh life - and fresh paint :) I started in the bedroom.

I was given two coordinating bedroom dressers that are Johnsonville brand and from what I understand from the previous owner, are about 25 years old. The top of one of the dressers was scratched up pretty good, but other than that, these pieces were in excellent condition. They just needed a bit of beautifying, which I'll admit, is something that I love doing. Here are the steps I took for this home renovation/DIY/upcycling project!

To give you an idea of what I was working with. The "before".

1. Choosing the Color.
The first thing I decided on was a color story for my bedroom. I know that sounds so lame, but think about it! You really want to love the bedroom, because you spent 1/3 of your life sleeping in there. I have always loved white bedding and blue accents, and as much as I try to convince myself to branch out and try some new colors, I always come back to these shades for my bedroom. Blues and whites and all the colors in between are just so soothing, so I caved and once again went in that direction. This Anthropologie dresser served as my inspiration for the furniture. I chose the Behr shade "Pencil Point" (based on seeing it at my sister-in-law's house, thanks for letting me copy you, Lauren!) and I had it mixed into Valspar's Chalky Finish Paint at Home Depot.

2. Assembling the Tools.
I used this Purdy 1.5-inch brush and this Purdy 2-inch brush to paint with, several different weights of sandpaper (similar here) to distress the furniture and the Valspar Chalky Finish Sealing Wax to finish the piece with a satin finish. I also painted the furniture on a disposable drop cloth (similar here) and used several old t-shirts cut up to wipe the furniture down in between paint coats.

3. Executing the Strategy.
With this furniture, I was going for a gently distressed look. I didn't want the paint to look too chippy, and I wanted the finish to say "I've been worn in with love, not a chisel" (if a piece of furniture can talk). So I gently sanded the furniture's surface, then wiped everything down with a damp cloth. Next I painted the furniture with two coats, the first coat being ever so slightly sloppy (but thick coverage) and the second coat being more careful to keep the strokes all the in the direction of the wood grain. I let each paint coat dry overnight. Then I went back over the furniture with a heavy-weight sandpaper, and I proceeded to beat up the furniture I had just so lovingly painted pretty. I focused especially on the edges and corners, really wearing it down into the original stained wood. I also spent a lot of time sanding down the hardware and letting a bit of the gold gleam come through. After the piece was distressed to my liking, I wiped the furniture down with the damp cloth again and let it dry. Then I finished the piece with a coat of the Valspar Chalky Finish Sealing Wax. The wax goes on more like a lotion, and I got the best results by applying it in small sections and then wiping it off with an old t-shirt. It basically seals the furniture without any sheen whatsoever, so the pieces maintain an aged appearance.

4. Assessing the Cost.
The furniture cost me nothing. Which is glorious. Here's a breakdown of the other costs:

Paint: $29.99
Sealing Wax: $16.99
Paint Brushes: $8.83 + $10.11
Sandpaper: $2.97
Drop Cloth: $6.69
TOTAL: $75.58

5. Admiring the Results!
I am so happy with the outcome of this project. The furniture looks exactly as I hoped, but somehow even better in person. It adds just the right anchoring element to our bedroom and yet still remains calm and soothing.

I forgot how much I love making old furniture new again! I think I'm embarking upon a new hobby, you know, to go along with my bird watching and whatnot. My garage is full of projects-in-waiting!

Have you ever upcycled furniture? Got any great how-to tips to share?

P.S. In case you missed it, my other recent new-house projects have been planting my first vegetable garden and attempting to stay positive in the midst of moving and live in the moment.