I
might be a tiny bit OBSESSED with coral (the color that is). Coral is what’s popular
with the Poplins right now… well, maybe not with the Mr., but with me it
definitely is!
Thanks to my close friend, and
practically sister, April, I was able to incorporate coral into our front room
in a big way! April came to visit and help me with things around the house (she
is without a doubt the very definition of a ‘domestic goddess’ and true DIY’er).
The two of us transformed a beautiful old hutch into a modern and fun coral
piece.
I was a hesitant to start the project
because I had never painted furniture before, but after it was finished I
didn’t know what I had been afraid of. Painting the hutch was a breeze, not
only was it easy but I thought it was relaxing and sort of fun. There is
something very soothing about spending a few hours with a new project and the
music up loud.
For the paint we made our own chalk
paint (it is much cheaper than buying chalk paint) all you will need is water,
unsanded grout and eggshell or satin paint in the color of your choice. Our
paint was Valspar and it was a custom color that fell in between their “Blaze
Orange” and “Sweet Melon”. I was really excited how the color turned out
because it matched perfectly to a pillow and a few décor items that I already
had!
The whole process only took a few
hours and I am really loving the new look of the hutch, and even JD (who
thought we were nuts for our color choice) really likes it as well. It adds a
great pop of color to the room and is so cheery and fresh. I kept the original
drawer pulls on it and spray painted them a vintage white, it really gave the hutch
character and kept its old charm. Here are pictures of the before and after, and
below are the directions for mixing your own chalk paint and painting furniture. Have a great weekend everyone!!
xoxo
Rachele
Chalk
paint:
-
A plastic container that you don’t mind getting messy
-
1 TB of unsanded grout
-
Splash of hot water
-
1 cup of your paint
In
your plastic container mix 1 TB of unsanded grout with a splash of hot water
(just enough to dissolve the grout). Add your 1 cup of paint and mix it all
together- that’s it! Depending on how much paint you need you can double the
recipe.
Technique:
-
Lay
old sheets or towels down so you don’t leave a mess
-
Remove
pulls or knobs and take the drawers out to paint separately
-
Prep
the furniture by sanding it down really well to remove the existing finish (a
mouse sander with low grit paper works best but you will probably have to sand
by hand on the legs and smaller parts)
-
After
sanding it down take wet rags and wipe it off really well to remove all of the
grit and dust
-
You’re
ready to paint- grab your brushes and give it a good coat of paint, don’t worry
too much how this coat looks- you’ll be adding another coat or two
-
Once
the coat of paint has dried you’ll need to sand it down again and use your wet
rags to wipe it clean
-
Add
another coat of paint, make sure you get every angle and it looks evenly
painted. Let it dry
-
Now
that it has its final coat of paint you can sand it again very slightly to give
it a distressed look (optional, but it really gives the piece character)
-
Wipe
it clean and add a top coat of clear protective finish by painting it on just
as you did the paint. This is so the paint doesn’t chip or scratch and you can
dust and clean it without worry
We
only painted 2 coats of color, but you may need to do 3, just remember to sand
and wipe it down between coats of paint. Once the protective finish has dried
you can put the knobs and pulls back on and you are set!
Products
we used:
-
Keracolor
Unsanded Grout with Polymer, in White
-
Minwax
Polycrylic Protective Finish, in Clear Satin
-
Valspar
paint and primer in Satin
