Table Re-do with Homemade Chalk Paint

My friend Linda, from Rusty Pearls, uses Chalk Paint on all her lovely furniture. (Check her out on Facebook!) She has the perfect touch for paint, color and decoupage.

I love to re-finish and paint, but I haven't broken down and bought any of the chalk paint to try.  Of course I've also seen all the recipes for making my own...which of course, is what I did.

My first color mixture is a very soft gray.  I didn't want a stark white so I chose the lightest gray I could find to mix with my unsanded grout.  (I mixed 3 tablespoons of unsanded grout with 1 quart of paint.  I also did not follow the 'rules' and use a flat paint as suggested by many other bloggers.  I used a satin finish and I like the feel of my finished projects after I lightly sand them.)

Next...I bought a table that NEEDED to be refinished.  The top of this table has seen a lot of use.

I also got 5 chairs with this table, which I knew I would NEVER want to strip, sand and refinish.

Chalk paint appears to be the answer!

I did want to refinish the top of the table in a dark stain, because I also did not want to refinish the hutch I already have in my kitchen. Such dilemmas!

Hot or not...sanding is an outside activity.

We sanded the table top early morning, while it still "felt" cool.

Once the top was sanded I wanted to paint the edge of the table.  I used a blue chalk paint mixture for the rope and will paint over the whole area with the gray and then lightly sand to have the blue show through.

First coat of stain (I forgot to mention this great table also came with a leaf!)

While outside activities are drying, I started work on the base. 

Again...not going to sand or refinish. 

The detail work on this table was beautiful (and the base alone is HEAVY!)

I love red, white and blue.  Everyone that knows me can attest to this fact...so why would I not use my favorite colors on the base of this table.

My plan is the same as the edge of the table, cover the colored areas with the gray and lightly sand to have the color peek through.  Almost like it's been painted many times before.

Everything is dry and 3 coats of finish are on the table top.

Base is attached and I took the leaf out for everyday use.

Here is the finished base.  It has a wax coating (Johnson Paste Wax - Clear.)

I already have a set of press back chairs I've owned for many years.  They are painted red.

Here is a close up of how the table edge turned out.

My new press back chairs are all going to be painted gray.  The pressed areas are under-painted with the blue and lightly sanded.

The stain color for the top of the table fits perfectly with my dark hutch.

I think the new chairs painted gray will lighten the look of the kitchen...only 4 more to go!

I have several before and after projects I'll show you next. 

Till tomorrow...

debi