Lifestyle
How Happy Haircuts Happen
by Mark Arnold
on 12th April, 2022
Chalk Paint Your Furniture Fabulous!
Transforming a piece of outdated & unloved furniture isn’t as hard as you may think - not only is it cheaper and more personalised to our taste, but it is also incredibly satisfying – after a few attempts you may catch the, ‘bug’, and no unpainted wood will ever be safe again!
From an old chest of drawers you have at home to a wardrobe or chair in a charity shop.
Sourcing furniture is half the fun of it & can be done in the comfort of your own home by trawling through buy & sell pages of websites like Gumtree, Ebay, local Facebook sale sites, Freeads and Preloved, to name a few.
Once you’ve got your hands on something to transform, it’s time to buy some paint and get creative.
Chalk paint has become incredibly popular throughout the past couple of years for up-cycling furniture.
Brands such as Annie Sloan, Rust-Oleum & Authentico have recently taken centre stage when it comes to all things upcycled.
Unlike traditional paints, it doesn’t require any preparation such as sanding, undercoating or priming; it is designed to go on almost any material, paint from wood to plastic or metal; it suitable for internal or external use; it covers easily, dries quickly and helps you achieve a beautiful finish that is perfect for distressing.
Painting:
Step 1: Make sure the item to be painted is clean & dry as well as removing any hardware, such as handles or hinges that you don’t want to paint.
Step 2: Get painting – this is the enjoyable and rather therapeutic part! As chalk paint is quite forgiving there is no need to be too precise! Depending on the original colour, you may need a couple of coats - you should be able to tell how it’s covering immediately, and thankfully chalk paint dries quite quickly.
Tip: If at any point you need to pause your painting project then just pop the lid back on the paint & wrap the paintbrush in some cling film or a plastic bag to stop it drying out.
Step 3: Once your final coat has dried, put your hardware back on - you could even try replacing handles with new ones which you’ll find in most DIY shops!
'Distressing', for that, ‘shabby-Chic’, look.
Step 1: Gently sand the edges with a fine grit sandpaper until you get your desired look.
Step 2: Rub some furniture wax over the piece to seal and gently buff this in with an old rag - this will help protect it against any knocks or spills.
Tip: Focus in the parts of the furniture that would tend to age naturally over time, such as edges and corners.
Your up-cycling project is complete – enjoy!
