As we were putting together the nursery, we decided the rocking chair needed a little side table. We debated buying a brand new table, but just didn't want to spend more money. My mom recently got a beautiful new bedroom furniture suite, and I thought one of her old nightstands might be just the thing for our side table.
Of course, the 80's Queen Anne style didn't quite fit into our fresh and somewhat-modern nursery.
I decided to give chalk paint a try. Instead of buying the more expensive Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, I simply researched Pinterest and the internet for recipes on how to make my own. We already had the paint from the stripes on Jaxson's wall.
Here is the recipe I used from this blog:
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup plaster of paris (I just used some that I found in the craft section at Walmart- $4/box)
Mix together until dissolved.
Add 1 cup of paint
I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but the chalk paint covers so well it goes a LONG way.
No stripping. No sanding. Pretty much no prep work. I just got right to work, and here is what it looked like after one coat.
The first coat looked very streaky, but the second coat filled everything in.
I ended up doing 4 coats, just to be sure everything was well covered. After the piece dried for a couple hours, I started sanding off the grit and distressing the edges a bit. If I wanted some of the dark wood to show through, I simply sanded a little bit more in that area. This is where you can really make the piece your own by deciding on how much distressing you want to do.
To cure everything, I applied one layer of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax. I put a very small amount on a soft, lint-free cloth and buffed it over the entire piece.
Once I finished the table, we picked out some new hardware to replace the old, flashy, brass drawer pulls.
We went with a brushed nickel pull. Because of the size and spacing of the holes on the drawer, there were only a few pulls to choose from at Home Depot. Thankfully we really liked the hardware that would fit the original holes.
Both of us love how the nightstand turned out, and I can't wait to mix up another batch of chalk paint to try on something else! I really love when things can completely transform in just a few hours of work.
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