Oh, my word! This is the post that I’ve been so excited to bring to you! Can’t you just hear the excitement in my voice?!?
Drumroll please…
China Cabinet Chalk Paint Makeover
A few months ago my daughter scored this antiquated out-dated oak china cabinet. She found it on Craigslist, and the whole family (i.e. mom, dad, both daughters and their hubbys) went to load it onto a trailer for the move to their home. It’s a large piece, and she really needed the storage and display. It was a pretty good deal… it just wasn’t her style. We desperately wanted to find a way to update it!
If you’ve been following for a while, you know that I was fortunate to attend the Haven Conference for bloggers last month in Atlanta. It truly changed my life – on so many levels – but one workshop I was excited to participate in was the Annie Sloan chalk paint session. What fun we had playing with paint and learning new techniques! So… what better update for this china cabinet than an Annie Sloan makeover??
My daughter asked if I would do it and I jumped at the chance! {Does Tom Sawyer and the fence-painting scene ring a bell here?} We went together to select a color and purchase the supplies. We settled on French Linen, a gorgeous shade that looks just like raw linen.
Since chalk paint can be applied without sanding or removing the original finish, as soon as we wipe the piece down, we are ready to begin! Our Haven workshop guide instructed us to just ‘lay the paint on’, using random paint strokes. We’re not after a smooth coat here. I begin to brush on the paint. It goes well, but the oak grain is very porous and soaks it up some. No big deal. I just give it another random coat!
Next comes another fun part – distressing! Why is it so much fun to make something look old and beat up? I don’t know, but it sure is!! I take 220 sandpaper to the edges and some of the detail and gently sand down to the original finish. Not too much, just wherever I think it might have shown wear had it belonged to Marie Antoinette! {It IS a country French piece, n’est pas?}
When I’m satisfied that I have aged it enough, I again wipe it down. Now is the time to apply the soft wax. This is the step that will deepen and protect the finish. It’s amazing how it enhances the color immediately! I apply the wax, then go back and remove any excess. In a few minutes I will buff it to give it a smooth, though not glossy, finish!
You can definitely see the line of demarcation in the photo above: the paint on the left still looks ‘chalky’ while the paint on the right is deeper and richer.
After the wax dries a bit, I take a clean, soft cloth (T-shirt or diaper works well) and buff the entire piece to the desired shine. Since the bun feet are not our favorite trait of this piece, we decide to leave them as they are and let them blend with her floor.
OK… are you not as wowed as we were? I don’t think we could have imagined it would turn out this beautiful!! It looks great in her present home, but can truly go with her wherever she might live in the future.
And here’s a split screen, just to emphasize the dramatic transformation!!
Have you ever tried chalk paint? This was a big piece, and it did take a few hours, but I hope you’ll agree that the results were well worth it! Let me just tell you… if I can do it, anybody can!!
Y’all have a fabulous Friday!
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I’m so proud! My little painter has grown up. Nice job on a lovely piece. You should be very happy with yourself.
The Other Marian
Yes, Marian, you should be! Ha!! Couldn’t have done it without you! But seriously, thanks so much for the affirmation… means a lot.
Love love! Forwarding out and pinning!
Thank you, Denise!
Looks great! Such an improvement. I just spent the last hour on the Annie Sloan Pinterest board getting ideas for my next project. It’s a lovely paint to work with!
Thanks, Darla!!
Looks fabulous! I’m sure that was a lot of work being so big! Great job!
Thank you so much, Sara! I love your blog name, btw!! I think I met you at Haven. But anyway, I do appreciate your feedback and I’m so glad you like the way the project turned out!!
Major wow! And I’m glad you made the outright statement “chalk paint can be applied without sanding” because I didn’t go to the Annie Sloan session and I had read other people make hints at that, but I wasn’t totally sure… I’m glad to hear how easy it is, and that you used 220 sandpaper to distress. I now feel ready to go buy some paint and pretty something up! I’m so excited!
Oh, Brooke, I’m so glad you liked it!! And yes, it was pretty easy. Just time consuming because this piece was so BIG! Can’t wait to see what you transform!!
I just found this entry from Pinterest. I have a HUGE china hutch similar to this that I’ve been dying to paint, along with the table and 6 chairs that match. My husband is leary of me even starting thinking that painting it will make it look worse. We got all the pieces free from my dad’s lady friend that was getting rid of it. I store all my white dishes and serving pieces in mine. For that piece, did you only use 1 quart ? And, because I’ve never used Annie Sloan paint, did you wait for the paint to dry before sanding and waxing ? I think you would, but the photo above showed wet paint and part you had waxed, so I wanted to be sure. And, last question (I promise !) did you have to do more than 1 coat on the entire piece ?
Hi Brooke! Thanks for reading!! I hope you’ll consider signing up with your email so you can receive Sondra Lyn at Home each time there is a new post!
I think you would find chalk paint easy to work with. White dishes would look great in a piece this color… French Linen. Yes, I used 1 quart and it didn’t take quite the whole quart. I did use 2 coats, but as I said in the post, only because the oak was porous and the grain soaked up a lot. Depending upon what the existing finish is, you might not need 2 coats. You could even do a dry-brush technique and let a little of the underlying finish show through. I really don’t think you could mess up, and since your furniture was free, what do you have to lose?!
The paint dries very quickly, so it was dry when I sanded and waxed. Not sure exactly which photo you’re referring to, but there is one that shows paint with no wax on the left and with wax on the right (the ‘raw’ paint is dry).
Hope this helps,
Sondra
Absolutely gorgeous!!!
Thanks, Tamyra!!
Did you paint the inside black, or just leave it as wood? It’s hard to tell in the photos. Btw, it looks great!
We just left it wood. My daughter didn’t want to paint it, and she wanted to leave it dark so that her white china, etc. would look great inside. I may take more photos when she has time to display her things like she wants…
Thanks for reading!!
Would this be okay for a dining room table? Would it be durable?
According to the Annie Sloan people, yes. They did say, however that you might have to re-wax every year or so. You could certainly look into putting a poly-satin finish on it like I did my kitchen table here
Thanks for reading! Hope you’ll be a regular!!
It turned out gorgeous. What a difference! I’m a fan of the Annie Sloan french linen.
Thank you, Lucy!
Beautiful update! Thanks for sharing on The DIY’ers!
wow that is amazing. What a transformation. I love it. Visiting from Handmade tuesday
Thanks so much for stopping by, Karen! I’ll be sure to visit your blog. Hope you’ll consider following! Blessings to you!!
amazing….love this and pinned!!! I have a Armoire in our Playroom I have been meaning to paint with ANnie Sloan paint as well. The French Linen or Typewriter color….not sure yet….this has been so helpful! Christine from Little Brags
http://littlebrags.blogspot.com
Thanks, Christine!! It was a lot of fun, though time-consuming! Good luck with your armoire! Hope you’ll visit again. Have a great week!
You truly did a beautiful job on this, it’s gorgeous! Love the color you chose!
Thank you so much, Abby!
Wait, what??!! You don’t have to sand to use chalk paint?!?! All the articles I have read and you are the first to mention that helpful lil gem! Son of a… I have spent two weeks prepping (read:sanding by hand of course due to all the lil nooks and crannies) a china cabinet for painting and if I had known this I would have used chalk paint. Well I will be using it on the chairs, table and second china cabinet I have on deck to do next!
Thanks for your comment, Becky! And it’s true!! No sanding before using chalk paint! Sorry you didn’t know… Some people do say, however, that the chalk paint finishes aren’t as protective, and thus may not be the best for table tops. For my kitchen table makeover, I did use a polysatin finish.
Hi! This is so beautiful! I have decided to apply this same concept to my dining set. My question is in regards to how much paint and wax to buy. I have a large china cabinet, buffet, and dining table and chairs for six. How much paint and wax was needed for the china cabinet?
Thanks, Katie! On the china cabinet I used almost a quart of paint (I did 2 coats). Depending upon the porosity of your existing finish, you may or may not need 2 coats. But it sounds like you might need 2-3 quarts. The wax goes a long way, so just one container should suffice. Let me know how it turns out!!
Hi there, the piece is beautiful, I was just wondering how many tins of chalk paint you used? Thanks x
I love the color! I think it makes the pretty details stand out more!
Thank you so much, Jenny!!
Would this be durable enough for a bathroom vanity? Hold up to the humidity of a shower?
I believe it would, Diane. What I might do differently is seal it with several coats of polysatin (not too shiny). It hods up very well and can be used over chalk paint. This post might help (before I discovered CP, but the top is finished with polysatin) .
Thanks so much! Now I must get busy! Ha!
Je suis d’accord ! Marie-Antoinette aurait adoré ce meuble !!! ( I agree……. Marie-Antoinette would love it !!! ) 😉 Cat from france
How many cans of french linen did you use for this project
Only one can, Melissa! Thanks for reading!!
Hi!
Approx how many cans of chalk paint did it require to paint this large piece? Thank you! Great post!
Tiffany, it only took one can! It took almost the whole quart, but chalk paint goes a long way!
Thanks for stopping by – please come back again!
Love your finished piece… Thanks for the post of what you did and the color used.
I live in Miami, FL . The home improvement stores don’t carry Annie Sloan chalk paint. Where can I get this stuff?
Hi Dominique! You are correct. Annie Sloan chalk paint is sold in smaller, boutique-type stores. There is a store locator on their website: https://www.anniesloan.com/stockists#/
So happy to find you in Pinterest. Just what I’ve been looking for. I’m planning to paint my sofa table. You’re amazing!
Beautiful! Did you tape off the glass on the doors?
Thanks for the tips. I am working on getting the nerve to try chalk paint for the first time, and this article answered a few of my questions. Your fabulous piece looked great when completed.