From Drab to Fab: My First Chalk Paint Furniture Rehab

I FINALLY was able to do something with these $40 end tables I found on an online yard sale when we lived in PA! I absolutely LOVE turning someone's trash into my treasure and haven't been able to do any projects for quite some time. Our old house didn't have enough room for these but our new home here in Texas does, so I knew IT WAS TIME! I originally thought we would do more of a cream color but they didn't turn out that way. Regardless, I'm loving them! Not shabby for my FIRST time using chalk paint!

So, let me take you step by step and tell you what we did in case you're inspired to give it a try...



1. First, you need to go find yourself a cheap piece of furniture to play with. These bad boys were only $40 and I knew there was hope to turn them into something fun! I love Craiglist, Salvation Army, Goodwill, and online yard sales. You will be shocked at what people get rid of and/or are willing to sell for dirt cheap. One day, George and I want to have an up-cycling/furniture rehab business!  WE LOVE doing it and would love to get better at it. We learn something  new each time we do it and find so much pleasure turning something ugly into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece!

2. I was REALLY torn with this step but the guy at Home Depot suggested a primer -- simply because these had already been finished. I know they say with Chalk Paint you don't have to prime a piece, but we listened to him and did. I really want to do my next piece WITHOUT primer and see how it turns out (I already have the piece...so stay tuned!). 

3. Apply chalk paint! Ok, so I've heard about a few different brands and when we went to Home Depot to get Annie Sloan, they didn't carry it. They sell Americana Decor, which I'm not sure if I love because I don't have anything to compare it to. Here is one tip -- a little bit goes A LONG way. The containers are small and I was able to do both end tables with 1 container and still have some left over. I also did 2 coats. It needed 2 coats considering the primer really showed through. The primer left somewhat of a blue-ish tint underneath and I wasn't crazy about it --- which is why we chose to do the next step...

4. Apply 1 coat of glossy finish! Since we wanted it to look "finished", we used a glossy finish and added a brown tint to it since I wanted some depth. I really didn't know how this was going to turn out but I ended up loving the streaked look and the brownish tint! 

5. Last is my favorite part -- adding the finishing touch of these ADORBS little knobs!  We found them at World Market for like $2 on clearance!  Nico points to them and says "tweet tweet"...haha!

Aren't these adorbs?!

HERE IT IS IN OUR HOME! One step closer to making this new place our H-O-M-E!