I had an idea. Many months ago I decided my lowly kitchen needed a little more storage, and so I decided to look for a sideboard to use as a beverage center in my kitchen. I searched for a few months on craigslist, but everything was either too expensive or too far away. I was then invited to join a local yard sale group on Facebook. Low and behold I found a piece I liked, at a price I liked and it was in my town. I went over to check it out with my husband, liked the quality of the piece and picked it up for $100.
So I really liked the bones of the piece, but that was about it. It had a few scratches on the top and door, some hardware was off, and the doors stuck. I decided to make it my own. I searched pinterest for coffee bar ideas as I have so many items I use for my
Choffy business and I needed a place to store it all. This includes my french presses, choffy, my husbands coffee, all my coffee mugs, my kids lunch boxes, straws, sweeteners and tea bags. I saw a few pieces I was drawn to and decided to go with the stained top and painted body. Only problem is that I do not care for cherry finish so I knew I had to start by stripping, sanding and staining the top a darker color. This was probably the most time consuming part of the project.
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| sanded top |
I sanded and then put on my stain (I used an ebony stain), the first time I put it on I left it on too thick so the next day I had sticky spots.
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| first try with stained top |
I thought I was going to have to strip and sand it all again but found(through online research) that I could just add more stain and wipe it off better a second time and the sticky spots were gone. I let it dry a few more hours and started with the first of 5 coats of semi gloss poly. I let the poly dry 2 hours in between each coat.
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| top with 5 coats of poly |
So now it was time for the body. I had thought long and hard about what I would use for paint and choosing the color was probably the hardest decision of the project. I finally decided on Annie Sloan Chalk paint. I loved all the projects I had seen online and knew from reading that I should go to a stockist to really take a look at the colors in person. I went to my local shop
Counting Sheep Antiques in Berlin Ma. I looked at the books and many pieces throughout the store but was still not sure what color I wanted. Luckily the owner Sally was there to guide me. I mentioned that I liked Aubusson Blue and she said that she had a door upstairs which she had just painted that color. She took me to see it and I knew that was the color for me. We went back downstairs and Sally helped me pick out all the supplies I would need to start using my Chalk Paint. I bought a quart of Aubusson Blue, a can of clear wax, and a can of dark wax. I bought two wax brushes, one for each kind of wax. I also bought an Annie Sloan Paint brush. When all was said and done I spent about $200 on the supplies, but the brushes and wax will be used many times more and I only used about 1/4 of the paint on this project so I can use it for many more things.
It took me one day to paint the sideboard. I did 2 coats of Aubusson Blue and then 1 coat of clear wax and 1 coat of dark wax. I made sure to wipe off all the excess wax with a lint free cloth after applying it with the brush. I also spray painted my antique brass hardware with an oiled bronze spray paint. I did not want to have to find new hardware and the spray paint was a quick and easy fix.
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| Painting in progress, you can see my mugs and french presses in the lower cabinets. |
In the end I LOVE the final piece. The Annie Sloan Chalk Paint really is gorgeous. The wax brings out a depth in the paint. I would do this again in a second. I am actually now thinking of doing my dingy old kitchen cabinets over now also. They are 70's dark would cabinets and anything would make them look better, but I think that Chalk Paint may actually make them look great! I will keep you posted on this!
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| The final product! Annie Sloan Aubusson Blue! |
My husband loves it just as much as I do. He actually walks by multiple times a day saying, "I can't believe how nice this turned out, It looks so professional." It is also very functional, which is my favorite part! If you have any questions about using Chalk paint let me know. I am not a professional by any means but I can tell you what worked for me. Have a great day!
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