Chalk Paint Retro Table Makeover

I know you might look at this little chest of drawers and not think much about it but part of the reason I love it so much is for the memories that come to mind every time I look at it.  

Growing up when we would visit my grandparent's house my "room" to stay in previously belonged to my most favoritest aunt and this table sat beside the bed.  Over the years I would admire the table and wish it was mine but never asked for it because at like 9 years old where am I going to put it?  

Things changed though when I had my own home and I started pestering my grandma to let me buy it or have it and I even contemplated stealing it a few times.  She'd hardly notice it was missing I'm sure.  Sadly her answer was always "not yet, honey".  Then one day during a visit I asked yet again and she said YES!!!  I didn't care if I was going to have to leave my son behind in Ohio I was making sure this little chest of drawers had a seat in our car to get it home to North Carolina!  

Several years later the little chest of drawers was still sitting in the same spot and had never been painted even though I had it filled with craft supplies in my office area and used it daily.  I would walk by it literally 20 times a day and the thought would cross my mind that I should paint it but I couldn't decide on the color.  I thought about gray and then I thought about green and then I thought about coral and then I thought about blue and then I thought about aqua....you see my dilemma.  

I just couldn't decide on a color but then my pal Jennifer at Delightfully Noted started posting lots and lots of beautiful photos of her dresser she painted using Martha Stewart Vintage Chalk paint and I was in l♥ve.

The only photo I have of my little chest of drawers is this one and it isn't a very good one.  I had already taken everything out of the drawers and sanded it and removed the handles and then I realized I hadn't photographed it so I raced around putting it back together so I could snap one photo.  Ahhh, this blogging isn't for the faint of heart.  The struggle is real my friends!

Still the dresser sat for almost a year and I finally bit the bullet and bought some Martha Stewart Chalk Paint in Eucalyptus and the rest is history. I didn't care for the paint at all compared to other chalk paints but the color was amazing and I knew it would pop on my black and white striped wall.

There it is!  Do you hear Angels singling like I do when you look at this beauty?

I sanded the heck out of this little chest of drawers before applying the paint which I highly recommend doing with any piece of furniture you plan to paint, especially with older pieces that have probably been painted numerous times.  

The one thing I didn't care for with the Martha Stewart paint was how many coats it needed to get coverage.  I painted about 4 heavy coats and even then I debated about doing a 5th coat.  Most chalk paints I have used aren't like that at all.  This one is also a dryer consistency and seems to drag more.  If I hadn't loved the color so much I would have switched to DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint in a heartbeat but I'm no quitter so I muscled through it.

Once the paint dried really really well I used Minwax Clear Furniture Wax and did several coats to protect it from wear and tear.  Jennifer said she noticed how easily the paint chipped so I also wanted to make sure I wouldn't have to repaint the whole thing every couple weeks since I'm a little OCD and can't stand things to not be just so.  An unplanned chip of paint might send me to a padded room with me pulling my hair out.

I really debated about doing new drawer pulls but there was just something about the original wood handles that made me want to try using them.

It really is a pretty color green.  At first I was worried it was going to be a sage green color or a little too mint green but it apparently just didn't have enough coats on it.

I didn't want to paint the insides of the drawers but I also didn't want to have the drawers look unfinished when pulled out so I used DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint in Retro to do the sides and backs of the drawers.  This way it's something a bit unexpected when you open them.

I lightly sanded the handles and then used the Minwax on them and buffed them to a high shine and they are beautiful now!  I'm so glad I ended up keeping them instead of trying to find something different.

Jennifer says she "overgrams" her chest of drawers and now I see why because I pretty much want to share these photos with anyone that will look at them!

I'm over the moon with this little chest of drawers and love that it has such a special place in my heart because of all the memories of it in my grandma's house.

Don't mind the cords under the dresser.  Forgot about those until I added this photo to the post.  Ooops!  It's still pretty though!

Here is a link to see Jennifer's beautiful dresser she calls Pearl

Martha Stewart Vintage Chalk Paint Eucalyptus  

. . . Painted Chest of Drawers . . .

I am really not sure how long this chest of drawers has been in our family but I can tell you it's been a really long time!  I also can tell you it's probably been painted about fifty million times.  It first started out in my sister's room when we were little and it was painted purple, then it came into my room and it was painted pink and pale blue with hand painted flowers on the front, then when my husband and I bought our house we painted it two shades of plum purple for our spare bedroom, then when our son was born we painted it pale blue and navy blue and NOW it's lime green and pale blue.  I don't know where this chest was bought but I am so glad it's lasted all these years and is so adaptable to being painted any color we choose.

Recently we did a makeover on my son's room, which was long overdue!  He is 11 now and we hadn't painted since we decorated his nursery and believe me it was time.  Anyway, we did the walls pale blue and orange and the bedding is green so I decided this chest of drawers needed another coat of paint and why not do the drawers a different color so it is more fun!  I used a bright green paint for the dresser itself and then used a pale blue for the fronts of the drawers and then brought it all together with the bright green drawer pulls.  At first I thought it was too big of a contrast but now that it is in his room I love it.  

This just proves that a little paint can make anything new again! 

• • •

 As you can see this chest of drawers was really beat up so it was more than ready for some paint to revive it.  I first sanded the entire chest and the drawers as well and then I chose to use a Glossy finish to the paint so it'd be easy to wipe down and it would add a little more pop to the room.

 I used Behr Semi-Gloss paint for both the dresser and the drawers.  The green is called Japanese Fern and the blue is called Misty Surf.  I panicked at first because I thought the green was going to be way to bright but after it dried I loved it and really want to paint something else with this color.  I think it would look so funky to have a cabinet or a big dresser painted in this color for the pop in a room.  Once the frame of the chest was painted I then painted the drawers the pale blue color and then painted the knobs the same green.  I am sorry I have no photos to show you but I was so anxious to get the project finished I forgot about pictures.  Ooops--bad blogger!

 Finished and Love it!  It's just the pop this little area needed.

 Perfect for a boys room!

 My aunt gave us this piggy bank back when our son was born and he loves it.  We thought maybe he would want it put away since he's older now but he sure didn't.  He was like, "Um, no" when we asked if we should put it away now.  Guess it's because we fill it all year and then let him cash it in for summer vacation money.

And, done!

Easy as can be but the paint certainly made a big change!

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