For the love of Coral (a furniture flip)

           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