Friday, October 10, 2014

. . . Step Ladder Makeover with American Decor Chalky Finish Paint . . .

Don't you just love fall!?  I know I do!  It is my very favorite season...pumpkins, the leaves changing colors, cool mornings, breezy days, that crisp air that promises another beautiful fall day.  I Love It!

I always get an assortment of gourds, pumpkins and marigolds for my front porch the minute I feel fall in the air.  Last year I added the flowers and pumpkins to a little step ladder my mom gave me that was all beat up and old as the hills.  I loved it and it got a lot of compliments when people stopped by so I knew I'd be using it again this year.  

When I was pulling the little ladder out I thought it looked like it was crying out for a little color.  I just happened to have some American Decor Chalky Finish Paint from Deco Art that I was dying to try.  I figured this ladder was the perfect piece for chalk paint. This was such a quick project and the paint is the bomb diggity!  


 If you haven't used Chalk Paint then I highly recommend this American Decor Chalky Finish Paint! It goes on so smoothly and you get a great feel when it dries.  Use some wax with it and you have a gorgeous finished piece.

 For my ladder I wanted the finished look to be "worn" out looking.  I knew I was going to be using at least 2 colors but as it turns out I ended up doing 3 different colors and I love how the finished product looks.


 For the first coat I used a light coat of the Vintage color.  I didn't do it real heavy but I got the wood mostly covered with this light aqua color.

 As you can see there is some of the wood still showing through so if you want this kind of look don't do a heavy coat of paint because you'll be adding more.

 For my next coat of paint I mixed equal parts of Vintage and Treasure.  As you can see it's what is in the little container above the paint.  I just dry brushed this on over the ladder but very lightly so it didn't add too much color.  I just wanted the color to deepen a bit.

 For the last step I used just the Treasure color.  This is a darker/brighter color by itself so I was very careful about how much I used.

 I really didn't want much of this brighter color to be on the ladder so what I did was just dab my brush in the paint and then blot it on a paper towel to take most of the paint back off and then went over the ladder in areas to add a pop of more intense color.  I liked that it absorbed better in some areas and not as well in others.  I joked when I was first doing it that I looked like I had a tie dyed ladder but once it dried it turned out perfectly!  I added a couple coats of wax to the ladder and lightly sanded it for a super smooth finish and I was done!  This literally took maybe an hour.
Using the three colors of paint really made this ladder "pop"!

It's the perfect pop of color for the front porch and it works well with my gourds and pumpkins.  

19 comments:

  1. Lindy, Lindy, Lindy! That picture and your porch looks like it should be in magazine! It's oozing with color and of course I love the paint choice.

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  2. @Jennifer OMG You have totally made my day! Thank you so much for that sweet compliment. When I was painting the ladder and the bench I thought of you because I know you like aqua. If you haven't had a chance to use this paint then you should give it a go. I just love it. Thanks again

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  3. Gorgeous! I love the color, and your directions make it sound so easy. Your porch is beautiful! I would love if you would stop by and share this post at my blog party, Celebrate It! It’s all about celebrating the everyday things we do!
    http://thefreshmancook.blogspot.com/2014/10/celebrate-it-blog-party-12.html

    Hope to see you there!

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  4. I love it ~ blue and orange in the fall are my favorite color combination! You're porch looks stunning! I have ... no, scratch that... my husband has a little ladder like that in the garage, hmmmmm.... I see a little ladder burglary happening later. : )
    Have a great sunday.

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  5. Love the look and this ladder!!! I have been thinking about buying the paint. With a coupon it's not that bad. I would love if you come link up tomorrow on the Monday party!
    Xo
    Isabelle

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  6. @Isabelle
    Thank you so much. This paint is fantastic and way cheaper than many other chalk paints especially with the coupon. I will stop by and link up. Thank you for inviting me.

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  7. @Leslie
    I love these colors together as well. I think it is just the pop of bright color my porch needed. I hope he lets you paint the ladder because I know you will love it.

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  8. @Teri Thank you for inviting me. I'm all linked up. You have a great party going on over there.

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  9. love the color so very cool and full of fall excitement
    come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

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  10. Featuring your project tomorrow Lindy. Thanks for linking up @DearCreatives Pop by to see your feature & grab a featured button. Feel free to share another post too!
    Theresa

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  11. @Theresa Wow thank you so very much! I can't wait to stop by tomorrow.

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  12. I love the mix of the blue with the Fall decor! Thanks for sharing. You are one of the features today at the Anything Blue Friday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link to the bash: http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2014/10/anything-blue-friday-week-73.html Hope to see you soon at the little, blue soiree! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

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  13. I love everything about this project! The color, the festiveness! :) I just found your blog through one of the linkups! I'm so glad I did, I love your projects! You should join us on Tuesdays for the Celebrate Southern link up over at www.2catsandchloe.com for some southern-inspired posts. You don't have to be a southern blogger to join, this post would be a great fit! Happy I "met" you! :)

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  14. Thank you so much for inviting me @Susan! I just linked up. What a fun party. I am in NC so I guess that is kind of southern :)

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  15. NC is definitely southern! Thank you so much for joining the linkup!! I hope you join us again next week! I'm pinning this post to our official Celebrate Southern linkup pinboard now! xxoo

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  16. This is such a cute idea! For a girl who gravitates towards burlap and gourds through the fall season, this is right up my alley! You are definitely giving me ideas on how to decorate that boring deck of mine. Thanks for sharing and for joining us for Celebrate Southern this week! I hope to see you back again next Tuesday! :)

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  17. These are my favorite colors, I do alot of projects on shades of blue. Love if you share this pretty post on Fabulous Friday Party
    Thanks
    Maria
    http://www.simplenaturedecorblog.com/fabulous-fridayhalloween-party/

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