DIY - Paint by Annie Sloan

Per the suggestion of Carla, the woman who renovated my parent's house, Jeri decided to paint a buffet in her dining room with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. The piece of furniture was passed down to my mom after my grandfather (PawPaw) passed away, and my grandmother (MawMaw) moved into a new house. The buffet was pretty to begin with, but it was a little outdated and didn't match the rest of the decor in Jeri's house. So, instead of trading in the buffet for something a little more in style, my mom (along with the help of her friend, Pricilla) took Carla's advice and Painted the piece using the Annie Sloan Paint. Good thing because it turned out beautifully!

What's neat about this paint is that it's fairly low maintenance. There's no sanding required - even if you're painting over wood with a gloss. Best of all, you don't have to be perfect. In fact, the less perfect the better - it gives it a more rustic and authentic feel. You can even paint right over the hardware!! Either way, once the paint is dry (about one day), you're left with a very chalky painted piece of furniture, and now it's time to apply the wax. This is the finishing touch which gives the true antique look to the piece. Again, after about half a day, remove the wax, and you're finished, and left with a beautiful DIY piece of furniture.

See below for top reasons why this paint is the BEST (taken from the Annie Sloan website)

  1. It's the BEST paint for painting furniture by a long way
  2. You can use the paint by diluting it with water to make a wash to show the wood grain
  3. You can use it as an impasto ( thickly) - leave the lid off to thicken
  4. You can use it on any surface, indoors and out ( the outside of our shop was painted in it- perfect!)
  5. No need to prime or prepare
  6. The colours are mixed intelligently and the web site shows how you can adapt your colours for your use
  7. It's a girls' paint, but boys can use it too.
  8. It's flexible so you can be creative and change you mind
  9. The paint can be washed off your brush even when you find your brush weeks later.
  10. It allows your walls to breathe so it is perfect for cottage walls
  11. Extremely low VOCs so it is good for the environment
  12. It doesn't form a skin on it when you leave the lid off - just add some water if it's too thick
  13. Very little black is used in their manufacture so the colours are mixed with thought
  14. You can paint it on walls for a soft matt effect or wax it for a polished plaster effect

This has to be my newest obsession, and I want to redo every single thing in our house with this paint. Luckily, I have Beau here to reign in my crazy.