Chalk Painting

Being housebound is a great time to work on home-improvement projects. In the fall I started experimenting with chalk paint. Most of my furniture was dark. It was time for a change. My father was an antique dealer. Antiquing was his hobby, and as a dealer he could make it profitable as well as rotate his collection. It was his second job; his first job was being a doctor, a passion since childhood where his best friend’s father and nextdoor neighbor was the town doctor. But he loved his antiques, particularly French cameo glass and small pieces of 17th-19th century American furniture. He left me a few pieces but, as I just said, they were dark wood, and my house is small and my decor sunny. As much as I loved and respected my dad’s sense of purity regarding antiques, I needed to make these pieces my own. And it was time for me to generally make the entire house more a reflection of who I am now, not who I used to be or anyone else who no longer lives here. A friend and decorator helped me chalk paint a silverware chest a couple of years ago. I liked that the prep for chalk painting involves only a wash down of the piece, no sanding or priming needed. I tried the traditional method of using latex paint on a small drop leaf desk last fall. The sanding and priming were endless! It took me over a week to get just that part done. It was messy and the paint fumes forced me to do it outside. I was ready to try chalk painting on my own. I had two pieces: a dark cherry jewelry chest that was part of a vanity I had given my daughter years ago, and a highboy dresser my father had left me. I have nothing but time now so I decided to forge ahead. Fortunately, I had most of the supplies at home and didn’t have to make more than one trip to the hardware store during these physically distancing times. I had my room painted yellow in November and the inside of my walk-in closet painted a gorgeous blue. I poured some of the leftover blue paint into white chalk paint to stay within the same color family. It took a healthy two coats to completely cover the wood. Then I had a bit of a quandary: I needed to ‘age’ it with a dark wax. I was so in love with the blue that the thought of dirtying it with a brownish wax was not sitting well. When you use a dark wax you are supposed to rub it on in a circular motion with one rag and then immediately rub it off with another. It gives the piece character and brings out edging, beveling, designs and the like. At first I rubbed it on with up and down strokes. That looked too linear. Then Judy told me to use a circular motion. That worked much better, but I couldn’t wait to get rub it off. So, I lightened the wax with a whitish wax I had, and the results were more acceptable to me. Finally I put on two coats of clear wax, and buffed them. There are eight drawers, each having two pulls. I painted the pulls with a brass color, put them back on, and my dresser was ready to reload! I took the clothes off my bed and the boxes on the floors, and put them back in the drawers. I am very pleased with my work! The dresser looks authentic but fresh and my bedroom looks larger because there is no longer a dark wood highboy on one wall.