My Creative Blog:
Chalk Paint

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I'm so excited to show you guys the first step I took in making our living room jive with the attached dining room. This project is super simple, easy on the wallet and totally customizable! Love that.

We're both huge fans of Ikea. I mean, really, who doesn't love cheap, Swedish, hard-to-pronounce and even-harder-to-put-together furniture? I purchased this chair for the my living room, but the scale of it just wasn't right. It really needed something to help fill the space, and I thought an ottoman would do the trick nicely. While at IKEA, I came across this LACK side table which is only 10 bucks (depending on the finish you choose), and knew it would work as an ottoman that could fill the void in my living room. Round up the following supplies and let's get started!
Lack side table 1 1/2 yards of fabric 1 1/2 yards of quilt batting- Look for a coupon or a sale on this! Foam (mine is 2 inches thick)- Don't buy without a coupon! Staple Gun Spray adhesive Paint (optional) Chop saw (optional)

1. Lay the table top upside down on the foam and trace it using a Sharpie.

2. Cut the foam with an electric carving knife. I saw the girls at JoAnn's doing this, and let me tell you, the foam cuts like butter when you do it this way! If you don't have one, use an X-acto knife or razor.

3. Spray one side of the foam with adhesive and press it firmly onto the table top.

4. Grab your helper and lay the foam-covered table top onto the quilt batting and trim the excess. Make sure you leave enough batting around the edges to cover the sides of the table. (Adorable little helper is optional.)

5. Using your staple gun, fold one corner in towards the middle of the table and staple into place. Work your way around the table pulling tight on the batting and stapling as you go. Use a hammer to wack any stubborn staples into place. I've always wanted to use"wack" in a sentence. Check that off the bucket list.

6. Iron your fabric so you don't have to deal with any annoying wrinkles. Or ignore this step if wrinkles don't drive you nuts. If they don't, I envy you. Please tell me your secret.

7. Determine the placement of your fabric and trim the excess, but be generous with your cuts so that you have enough to go all the way around. Working the same way as with the batting, start with the corner and fold towards the middle. Staple in place. Work your way around, pulling the fabric tight. Every once in a while, flip the top over so you can make adjustments to the placement of the fabric if necessary (and it will be necessary, trust me!)

8. This step is completely optional, as well. I wanted the ottoman to be a bit lower than the height of the seat of the chair, so I used a chop saw to cut about 3 inches off of all four legs. Surprise! Ikea table legs are hollow! I guess that's how they keep the price at $10. *Wink*

9. To achieve a similar finish to the chair, I used two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk paint in French Linen, then lightly spray painted them with Valspar Satin in La Fonda.

That's it! For under $25, I have an adorable ottoman that helps ground the chair in my living room, adds additional seating (yes! You can sit on it!), and a comfy place to put your feet up at the end of the day. I call that a win-win.

I'm super happy with the finished product, and love that I can easily change the fabric when I get tired of this one. I mean, let's be honest, that WILL happen at some point, knowing me, and when it does, it won't break the bank to recover it! Woohoo!
To see these other projects in the living room, click below:

Planked Wall with Exposed Studs Stenciled Faux-Tile Fireplace
Have a happy Tuesday!

Oh goodness, this dining room is taking forever to finish! I've been working on it for the past several months as money and time have allowed, and we're definitely in the home stretch, but it's the little things that are making me crazy! I've already showed you the side table I made over, and the planked wall with exposed studs accent wall we created, which really helped change the feel of the whole space. But let's be honest, one of the most obvious things that had to change to fit the whole"coastal/cottage" vibe I'm going for was the dining table.

It's a nice, solid wood table that my hubs and I bought for only $60 (yes, you read that correctly!) when we first moved into this house. I was so over the black hutch and the finish on this table, but it's functional piece so I didn't want to buy a new one. I haven't done too much furniture refinishing, so I asked my bloggy pal and furniture expert, Shaunna, if she could make some recommendations as to what I should do to change them up to fit my style. Not only did she come up with some incredible furniture ideas, but she dreamt up an entire inspiration board for my room!

Isn't that amazing? I love so many of her ideas, and hope my room turns out half as nice as her dream room!: ) So with her help, I started out refinishing the table. The first step was to remove the legs of the table and give them a good painting with Annie Sloan Chalk paint, aka my new love. I decided to paint the legs in French linen, and then once that dried, did a wash of Pure White over top. That was the easy part.

The table top…not so easy. I started off by sanding the top with 60 grit sandpaper and my palm sander. It was so difficult getting through all the layers of whatever they sealed it with that it probably took me a good hour and half to sand it all down. 

I almost didn't mind, though, because what I saw as I was sanding made me super excited! I loved the look of the unfinished wood and the wood grain that began to show. 

Even with all the sanding, I still didn't feel like I had removed all of the old finish, so I brushed on a layer of CitriStrip. Basically, you brush it on and leave it for the recommended time. Then, you wipe it off with a lint-free cloth and with it, off comes the finish! This sanding/stripping method really worked to get my table back to it's gorgeous, unfinished state. 

Shaunna recommended that I try white-washing the table with Pure White chalk paint, so that's what I did. If you're unfamiliar with white-washing, it is an awesome way to keep the character of a piece, while subtly adding a touch of color to it. Basically, you add water to paint until it's the intensity you want. More water = less concentrated color.

I really wanted the grain of the wood to show, but I didn't care for the peachy color of the wood, so I went with a very watered down white wash.

I brushed it on, and then wiped it back with a paper towel. Because my wash was mostly water, I had to wipe it immediately after I brushed it on because it was drying very quickly. Wiping the wash back helps brings the color of the grain out, which gives it a very reclaimed wood finish.

After I washed the whole table, I was over the top giddy mildly pleased with the results. 

I can't get over how well the table now fits in my dining room! It's like it was meant to live in a coastal cottage all along.

The final step is sealing it with Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax. Because this is a surface that will get lots of wear, since people will eat and drink there, it will need three coats of wax. I'm planning on doing that this week, but that's the kind of little detail (that makes a big difference!) that I don't want to do. Any one out there want to come finish my table? Please!?!?

All that hard work was totally worth it, though, because I'm head over heels in love with the table now. A big thank you to Shaunna for helping me to see it's potential! Not bad for a $60 table, huh?; ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We're honored to be featured over at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar today for her week of all things curtains! Be sure to check it out to see what no-sew curtain solutions we came up with!

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So by now you know that I'm in love with chalk paint. I basically shout it from the rooftops whenever I get the chance. It totally transformed my fireplace, and is now helping me to makeover my dining room, one furniture piece at a time. The first piece I tackled is this old Ikea table that we bought when we were first married. Even though it looked fine with our barnwood organizing bins, I was so over the warm wood tone and ready for a change!

I chatted with Shaunna about some different color options and decided on the gorgeous Aubusson blue as an accent color. 

I seriously would kiss this paint if I could…and it wasn't so messy. I love that you don't have to prep the piece at all before beginning to paint. Because of this, I had a regular paint shop going on in my kitchen a few weeks ago… 

Once I finished painting, I decided I wanted to add a little more depth to the piece, so I brushed on Valspar's Translucent Color Glaze in Mocha, focusing on the cracks, bumps and holes in the wood. 

It's a bit scary, but immediately you can see a difference. Basically, you brush the glaze on, let it sit for a minute and then wipe it off with a lint-free cloth (I used an old t-shirt). 

Shaunna recommends that you use wax before distressing and adding a glaze, but oops! I didn't know that before I tried it. As I was wiping off the glaze, the paint came with it! Ahhhh! So then,I had to repaint and reglaze. Ugh. So… paint, wax, then glaze and distress! 

Finally, once the paint had dried, I waxed the entire piece in order to protect it from damage. I used this method and it helped me tremendously and worked like a charm! This wax is unbelieveably smooth, goes on like butter and goes a long way. I've never tried the other brands of furniture wax, but now that I've tried Annie's, I don't think I ever will.

I made sure to let it cure for the specified time before setting anything on it, and then got busy decorating for Fall. Now for a slew of pretty pictures…

I can't get enough of this color. It doesn't scream at you, but it makes a statement, you know? It's like he's saying in a very polite voice,"Look at me. Aren't I handsome?"

I'm on the lookout for some late Fall/Winter decorative pillow or covers, so if you have recommendations, send them my way!

Gotta love the details.

And look! A sneak peek at my new accent wall partly dressed up! I'm still messing around with the layout of things, but we're getting closer to the big reveal!

I'm thinking it's a whole lot prettier now, but let's take a look at the before and after, shall we? 

What do you think of the transformation? I like it so much better.

I have Design and Decorating ADD. Never heard of it? It's when you start one DIY project, and before finishing it, you move on to something else that catches your interest. I'm pretty sure my BFF suffers from it, too. (Just ask her husband!) Just to prove it to you, let's take a look at the projects that are going on simultaneously right now at my home: Cleaning out and reorganizing my collection of barnwood, old doors and cabinets in the shed:

Recovering lamp shades for the chandy in my dining room. (No joke- this has been this way for at least a month)

Refinishing the buffet with Annie Sloan chalk paint- one coat done, two more to go.

I just finished a mini-makeover of this side table.

I'm sealing this project and letting it cure. I can't wait to reveal what it is to you soon!

Repurposing an old cabinet door into something cute for my son using some awesome paints.

Sanding, stripping, and more sanding of the dining table top. This thing is not going down without a fight, I tell you!

At least my mantel is already decorated for early Fall. Thank goodness.

I'm pretty sure Monica and I are not the only ones who struggle with this, am I right? Please say yes. Do you hop around from project to project, or stay with one until it's completed?

I am totally sold on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Up until last week, I had read that people fall in love with this paint after trying it out, but we don't have stockist near us, and it never occurred to me to order some online. Then, our pal, Shaunna, opened up her shop and I knew it was time. (Yes, it was just that dramatic). Did you know that you can paint almost any surface with chalk paint (not chalkboard paint) without prepping? No sanding, no stripping, nothing. And it adheres to everything because it's magic. And awesome. And we're a match made in DIY heaven if I ever saw one. Paint that eliminates all the hard work? Yes, please. I thought I'd give it a whirl on my marble fireplace surround, because I'm crazy like that. I did not like this marble one bit. It was sort of dirty-looking and leaned toward the peach color family. Yuk. Like I said, it was time for an upgrade.

I also took this time to try out the new Purdy paint brush I received in my haven swag bag. We love these things so much!

I used the color Coco- it's kind of brownish, and kind of grayish, if that's possible. It's crazy at how easily the paint goes on…even on a marble surface! Notice that we didn't prime this marble at all!

I still need to buff and wax the paint so that it's all sealed nicely, but I'm happy with the small, but noticeable change. I originally was planning on painting stripes, but for now, I'm digging the simplicity of the matte color. Doesn't it look better? More serene and understated and classic.

I've been messing around with some of the ideas I learned from Layla about photo styling, and alas, I still have much to learn.: ( But it's still fun to try!

I brought a few of the pillows my mom made for the bench in my basement upstairs to our living room to add some color and a summertime feel. So fun!

Looks pretty darn nice with my target dollar bin mantel, if I do say so myself.

And now for the {very subtle} before and after shot:

I'm thrilled with the way the paint adhered to the marble and the coverage it gave. I can not WAIT to use Annie Sloan chalk paint on a few dining room projects I have in mind.

Have you guys tried chalk paint yet? What are your thoughts about it?