Old Side Table Livened Up With Annie Sloan Chalk Paint In Graphite

I had been seeing all over the internet, pictures of furniture using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I wanted to try it!

I quickly got on the computer and searched Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I thought "Oh maybe Lowe's or Home Depot carries it."  Not!  Only certain stores carry her paint.  Lucky for me, there was one store in town that carried her paint.

I went over to Old Town Temecula where the store is located and dragged my family with me.  As soon as I walked in I was so excited! The furniture, the colors, the EVERYTHING was amazing!  I fell in love.  There was a whole corner in the store dedicated to Annie Sloan Chalk Paints! With samples of furniture for sale in the store painted with her chalk paint. Oh my! Such beautiful pieces!  If you get a chance head on over to The Vintage Begonia in Old Town Temecula.  Here is their website:  http://www.vintagebegonia.com/

Annie Sloan's paint is expensive at about $40 a quart.  Yes, I said a quart.  I read everywhere that it would go a long way though.  So I bought a quart of Duck Egg, because I immediately fell in love with that color and two sample bottles $15/each in Graphite and Antoinette.  I wanted to paint my daughter's furniture in Antoinette but she was digging it so I got a small sample of it to test it out. You can see how that furniture turned out here and here.

I started with the Graphite on this small side table I had.

I was reading everywhere that one coat would do but I wasn't seeing that here.

You could still see the oak underneath and that's not what I was going for.

I went from leg to leg and after the fourth leg, I was able to start the second coat right away.  The paint dried pretty fast.

I was really liking the matte finish this paint gives.

I have never used chalk paint before so I didn't know what to expect or really what brushes to use.  I didn't want to use a roller brush so I used a paint brush I had laying around.  You can see the paint is still drying above.  I then took Annie Sloan's Clear Wax to it and scuffed up the edges a little and rewaxed.  I like the way it turned out!  Perfect for my magazines in my little corner of my room.

Have you used Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint yet?  What was your experience and what colors have you used? I'd love to hear about it!

~Myda