Chalk Paint DIY

First off, I want to say THANK YOU to all of my followers as I have reached over 2K! I seriously cannot believe that, that many of you want to follow along on my home decor journey. I am very humbled and grateful.

Now, onto my labor of love....my chalk painted chairs.

Here is a before:

These 6 babies were found by my MIL & I one day at the end of her neighbor's driveway. They had loved them enough through the years and were giving them away for FREE! I knew the style was perfect for my farmhouse themed dining room that I wanted to achieve in our new home; they just needed a little love.

Cue, the need for some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and new fabric!! I wanted grain sack fabric and was searching the web like crazy. When I came across Farmhouse Wares I knew I had found the perfect fabric. Their shipping was super quick and the quality of the fabric is really amazing. It even feels like grain sack fabric which I just LOVE.

I will admit, I was very hesitant at first to try out this Annie Sloan Chalk Paint as it was my first time ever using it. My fears were quickly diminished as soon as I dipped my paintbrush in the can of paint. The beauty of chalk paint is that there is no prep work other than cleaning the surface with warm water. No sanding or priming needed!!

So onto the process....

First step, take off the old cushion and clean the chair:

Second step, paint the chair with the first coat of paint. I stirred the paint with a paint stirrer from Home Depot to make sure it was thoroughly mixed. I applied the paint in an even coat all over the chair. Here is what the first coat of paint looks like:

Third step, let the paint dry for a second coat of paint. In the meantime, I washed out my brush to make sure the brush would last a long time. The nice thing about Chalk Paint is that it dries extremely fast! I painted each of these chairs with 2 coats in about an hour. See the second coat finished below:

Fourth and fifth step is to sand and then wax. Talk about more intimidation with that wax!! Nothing to fear though, I promise :) You don't have to sand your piece if you do not want to, however I wanted the chairs to look distressed and aged so I gave it a little sanding before waxing. I distressed it in places that it would naturally distress (corners, edges, etc.). After sanding, which tends to make a bit of a mess, I brushed off all of the excess paint that was sanded off. Now it's time to wax! I used a different paint brush from the one I painted with and took a chunk of the Soft Wax from the can and put it onto a paper plate. I dabbed the paint brush into the wax and then rubbed it onto the chair. I went section by section and then wiped it off with a towel. When wiping off the wax, I really got into all the crevices and distressed areas to make sure that everything got an even layer of wax. I let it dry for at least 12-24 hours. Here is the sanded and waxed chair:

Final step, YAY!! Time to upholster the new grain sack fabric. This was probably the toughest part because I needed John Paul's help to staple the fabric down while I held it tightly in place. I ordered 3 yards of fabric which ended up being perfect. I was even able to use some for a little runner for our buffet table. I ended up doing our head chairs with a double stripe rather than the one stripe. This helped me conserve fabric so that I did not need to order more. It really was simple with the help of my hubby. Just a quick cut around the fabric and then staple it all in place on the back. I was very careful with the corners to make sure that they looked perfect, or as perfect as I could get them. These are a DIY project after all :)

Below are my completed chairs in my beautiful Dining Room! I am so proud of myself and John Paul for completing this first "project" in our new house. Everything came out just how I imagined, if not better!!

|| Table, Fork & Spoon: Pier 1 || Grain Sack Fabric: Farmhouse Wares || Table Runners, Napkins, Napkin Holders: Target || Vintage Sign: Magnolia Market || Buffet Table: Wayfair || Dishes: Crate & Barrel || Tool Box: Crompton Collective ||