chalk paint desk

On Saturday I tackled another chalk paint project.

This little desk.

It has lived a long and useful life.  It was a desk for my Mom's sisters when they were young.  My grandfather painted it white with red drawers for them.  Later my Mom took it for a sewing table and painted it in this off white enamel.  I took it for a drawing desk in our old apartment and most recently it was in my basement craft area.  I never got around to repainting it and it was time for an update if it was going to come live in the master bedroom.

So I mixed up more chalk paint with good old plaster of paris.  The same 1 part plaster of paris to 2 parts paint worked well.  If the color I made for the desk looks similar to this table  I did that is because I used the same left over samples to mix up a nice silver grey.  I painted the whole desk in the grey but thought it needed some flair.  So I taped off a square on the top with painters tape.

and one down at the bottom as well.

I mixed up a nice buttery yellow for them since I've been thinking about introducing some yellow to our master bedroom for a while now.

I put a coat of minwax over the whole thing, put on new knobs and here she is in her new glory.

I picked up this $5 chair from an estate sale and recovered the seat with an extra curtain panel.

I put some of that fabric in the top drawer as well as a liner.  A happy surprise when I open the drawer.

Look at this swatch of fabric I found at a discount fabric place a while ago.  It looks perfect with the desk.  I hope they have some of it still because I'd love to make a pillow or two with it, well actually ask my Mom if she would make a pillow or two.

So there you have it!  I did a happy dance when I finished this desk.  Isn't it nice when something comes out better than you expected? I'm so pleased to have this pretty little thing to blog at.

See that lovely little owl dish to the right.  It was a gift from my friend Anna who just started the blog A Warm Home she is a super talented artist, cook and crafter and I'll no doubt be getting some great inspiration from her and some serious laughs as well.  Make sure to give her blog a visit!

linking up to The shady porch 
and Miss Mustard Seed

and we're off!

Happy 2012!  It's back to life as usual around here so I got right to work on project number one.  Remember this table?

I had big plans to mix of some homemade chalk paint with this.

I read up on a bunch of other people's experiences with homemade chalk paint and found some interesting consistency issues.  Someone said it resembled painting with lumpy pancake batter.  Whaaaat?  Well, turns out that was exactly what it was like but strangely when the lumpy mess you've mixed up hits the furniture it smooths out rather quickly.  The lumps are gone and it adheres really well without any sanding or priming which as far as I'm concerned is a miracle!

I couldn't find any really specific ratios for mixing aside from a 1 part plaster of paris to 2 parts paint.  So I mixed one part plaster of paris to one part paint first and got it as smooth as I could and then mixed in the other part of paint.  I got to work quickly because it does stiffen up and I kept stirring as I worked.  I even added a little water when I was nearing the end to loosen it up again.  Two coats did the trick.  I sanded a little around the edges to distress it and a bit on the top where I was a little sloppy with my strokes.  Everything I read said that Annie Sloan's wax is far superior to any furniture wax you can buy but I opted for a $9.00 can of minwax and it worked just fine.

So, with a $6.00 container of plaster of paris, a $9.00 can of minwax and some Behr paint samples I had left from our bedroom I transformed that table to this.

distressed detail

It's a very pretty soft grey.  I'd say my first homemade chalk paint adventure went well.  I am always trying to figure out a way around priming and sanding and this let me skip those steps with a clear conscious. The distressed look I wanted allowed me to be pretty relaxed about painting since I was going for an aged and imperfect look anyway! 

My little desk for the bedroom is up next and I'm walking around the house sizing up other furniture victims to paint as we speak.

linking up to It's Overflowing 
and Delightful Order
and Creation Corner
The Shabby Nest
Tatertots and Jello
At The Picket Fence

What was old is... still old! We like it that way.

How was your Christmas?  Ours was lovely.

We are enjoying some quiet family time and we went through some great old photos.  I was glad to find the one below of my older brother in his room when he was about four.  Isn't he cute?

Look at that green wall and that animal wallpaper.  I'd gladly decorate a child's room just the same now, minus the shag carpet perhaps : )  See that little dresser to the right there?  That dresser was purchased for my brother's room when he was a baby with a little help from my Dad's parents.  When my brother got his "big boy" furniture I had that dresser in my room for years.  When I picked out my first real bedroom set at six with a white canopy bed of course, that dresser went on to live in the guest rooms of my parents homes.  It got a knob change once or twice but that was it.  This summer I talked about wanting a dresser for our little one's room and my Mom offered it to me.  I gladly took it and here it is now.    

I thought at first I'd change the knobs but those old jenny lind style handles are sweet.  I never even considered painting it, I'm not sure why.  The pieces that I talked about here really scream out for paint to me.

The dresser doesn't.   Maybe because it's always been around in my home, even before I was.  Sometimes its nice to freshen up an old piece and sometimes its nice to just keep it as it is.  Especially when it holds a bit of your history. 

Hope your holiday was wonderful.  I'm going to get back to my family and have a cookie I think!