So I thought I’d give y’all an update about the progress I’ve made on the house in the last few weeks because I think at least ten percent of you might care and it’s not like I have anything else exciting going on here right now.
Here’s what I’ve done so far:
Not much.
Actually that’s not totally true. Right after Holly left I was motivated. With a capital M. And not even fake motivated like I sometimes pretend to be to make everyone around me feel good, but really and truly excited and ready to get some things done. I painted those lanterns red, ordered some word art for above the mantle, and bought some fabric for the couch and throw pillows.
I’m still waiting on the word art to show up. Meanwhile, the fabric is lying on the floor in the playroom, rolled up and covered in plastic, just waiting to be dropped off at the upholsterers. But I’m not sure when that’s going to happen because did I mention that our dog, Scout, had to spend five days at the hospital so we can enjoy him for eight more months?
And did I also mention that P’s twelve-year-old truck finally wore out and we had to buy a new one?
Being a grown up is super awesome.
We also got a few bids on fixing all the cracks in our walls (Thank you, Texas drought!) but decided the first bid seemed too high and then our second guy, Lupe, never called us back with his estimate and I’m not really excited about hiring someone who isn’t even motivated enough to call us back.
And so basically my home improvement project is the complete opposite of all those shows on HGTV where they have almost immediate results.
At least it was until yesterday.
When Holly came to visit, she made a ton of suggestions. And I loved all of them. She just has the best taste and can envision things that would take me years to figure out.
Who am I kidding? I’d never figure them out. I’d put ivy on top of my china cabinet and call it a day.
One of the things she suggested was to paint the base of the island in my kitchen a charcoal gray color. And I thought that was a great idea. I’ve wanted it to be painted since practically the day we got it and I realized that what I thought was going to be a gorgeous, dark wood stain looked more like cheap laminate. My problem was with the realities that actually come with painting a large piece of furniture.
That is to say, IT IS HARD.
The last piece of furniture I painted was the cabinet in Caroline’s bathroom and that was back in 2002 before she even existed. And I had to use oil based paint. And primer. And I still think I have black paint on my hands from that experience and lost countless brain cells. I’d paint a few drawers and then go to the kitchen and eat a pan of brownies.
It was terrible.
And so I haven’t been motivated to paint anything else. I’ve been motivated to hire someone to paint, but that requires money and taking the time to find someone who knows what they’re doing.
So when Holly suggested that the island needed to be painted, I agreed as I mentally put it WAY DOWN on my list of priorities because in what deluded world am I going to exert that much time and effort?
Here’s the island since I like to provide visual aids:
This is the prettiest side because the doors are a good wood finish.
But this is one of the sides that always bugged me. The plain flat surface looked cheap.
And here’s a picture of it featuring P’s elbow floating mysteriously in mid-air.
Then Holly posted about my house project on her blog and mentioned the island. And a nice lady named Jennifer sent me an email and told me she owns a store in San Antonio called Woodley Cottage Finds and Design that carries a brand of paint specifically for furniture named Annie Sloan CHALK PAINT. She said she would love to supply me with the paints, brushes and wax I needed to paint the island. And, not only that, would come to my house and help me do it.
SHUT UP.
But I’d never heard of Annie Sloan CHALK PAINT and was a little concerned this might all be an elaborate ruse by a ring of thieves to gain access to my home. I forwarded the email to Holly and said, “What do you think about this?”
And I received an email back from her that said, “YESSSSSSS!!!!!! DO IT!!!!! IT’S AWESOME PAINT!!!!!”
It took me a while but I eventually figured out that meant she thought it was a good idea. Then I looked a the Annie Sloan website and saw all the gorgeous colors.
I emailed Jennifer back and told her that sounded great and figured I didn’t really care if she stole my T.V. as long as she painted my island before she left. We agreed that Monday was a good day for both of us and she said she’d be at my house by 9:00 a.m.
Which meant that I spent Sunday afternoon cleaning the island so it would be free of grease and dust. It was a very humbling experience that made me reevaluate my cleaning skills. But, finally, it appeared to be ready for paint.
Jennifer showed up and we got to work almost immediately. I was prepared to lay out all manner of tarps and newspaper to help with the mess, but once she showed me the paint I realized that wouldn’t be much of an issue. Annie Sloan CHALK PAINT is water-based so you can totally drip it on your wood floors and wipe it up with a paper towel.
You can even do this a hundred times. I know because that’s how many times I did it.
But it was so easy. There was no need for primer and oil-based paint and all that other stuff I read about that stresses me out and makes me decide that everything is a color I can live with because painting would kill me. It’s all just one paint that goes on easily and dries quickly. There is no prep work required.
I repeat, there is NO PREP WORK REQUIRED.
Are those angels singing?
We’d already finished with the first coat when P came home to make sure I hadn’t been taken captive by a mass murderer posing as a kind boutique owner specializing in faux finishes and various painting techniques.
Here it is after one coat.
And here it is after two coats, but before the wax.
And here is the general wreck that was my kitchen.
Anyway, we finished the whole thing (two coats!) in just a couple of hours and then there’s a wax that seals it all in and makes it like the Superman of furniture. I would have made Mr. Miyagi proud yesterday. You have never seen someone WAX ON, WAX OFF like I did. My left arm is totally in shape for summer now.
Best of all, the island looks great. It’s not totally finished because I still need to wax one little section, but ran out of time and had to pick Caroline up from school and whip up a delicious hot dog dinner. BEST COOK IN THE UNIVERSE.
Here’s the finished island after I put the hardware back on.
And my favorite view.
I wanted to show you the whole kitchen and how great it looks, but I still have a few shelves I need to finish waxing and put back in and I bought some feet for the island that P is going to help me install. Plus, the contents of all my drawers are scattered from hell to breakfast.
But tomorrow I’m finishing the island and painting my barstools and putting the kitchen back together. By myself. Which ought to be an indicator of how easy Annie Sloan CHALK PAINT is to use.
If you’re in San Antonio, you should totally check out Woodley Cottage. Jennifer offers workshops that teach you how to paint, distress, crackle and wax furniture. I honestly learned so much yesterday that I may paint anything that stands still long enough. It will be like that time in fifth grade I got my own label maker, but with paint.
And if you want to find a store that sells Annie Sloan Chalk paint near you, check out all their stockist locations.
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I’ve needed to hear the things in this post for at least 3 months now. I have a green hutch that I need to paint white but I have been scared to death to touch it because of lack of knowledge in the furniture painting department. I had a major run-in with some oil-based paint and a front door several years ago which has left me with bad thoughts of painting anything but a wall, but I believe this post may have inspired me to get going on this hutch. If I get paint from this woman and it ends up with tears of frustration and a hutch that needs to go to the dump, I’m SO letting you know about it! But really, thanks for the tip on this paint!!
That looks WONDERFUL!
Great timing I might add .. I was just in our new Wally World (4 days old) yesterday and decided to get some paint like that and asked the sales clerk in the paint department if they had anything like that (since it was the NEW Wal-Mart) to which she said, “Wait, let me get my manager .. ?????? and then he came out and said, “mam, that is TOO sophisticated for Wal Mart!) … to which I added a BLANK STARE O_O …. so thank goodness, the good Lord guided you to write this post, so I could get me some good ole fashioned high class paint and paint my kitchen too. Never thought of myself as “sophisticated”. hmpf
Fantastic!!!
Love it!
I’m cracking up at wax on, wax off! I love it! The island looks awesome, great job.
I think it’s fabulous that you are owning “best cook in the universe”, you should probably have an apron or something made with that on it, haha!!
Tell the truth: did you have to google how to spell Mr. Miyagi?
The island looks great!!!
I need to paint my whole kitchen. Want to come spend a week or so in the North Georgia mountains?
I am surprised you had never heard of the wonderful Annie Sloan before! Love Love Love that paint! You really can paint ANYTHING!!! The island looks great!
Love the island! Might do the same thing to the island in my kitchen.
Ps — noticed you said your LEFT arm was ready for summer. Are you a southpaw? Me, too! We’re smarter, you know.
That island looks great!! I am very impressed!
It looks great and glad to hear Annie Sloan paint was so easy to work with. I know it is really popular in the design world but wasn’t sure how much work it was.
If you still think the side of your island with the flat panels on it needs a little help, just add some trim to mimic the doors. It would give it a little depth.
The paint color you chose looks great and the hardware really stands out on it.
Girl, I have been putting off painting the bathroom vanities due to my strong aversion to oil based paint. I. AM. INSPIRED.
Ditto…was just thinking that hideous powder room vanity is the perfect place to try this.
It looks wonderful! Great job!
It looks great. I LOVE Annie Sloan paint. I have it in a few colors. I have painted everything I could get my hands on. I was shocked when I painted right over this polyurethaned dresser with no sanding/primer. It was awesome!
Oooh, now I want to paint something in MY house charcoal gray! That looks SO great! However did you go about choosing the right shade? I tried to put gray in my kitchen a while back, but since I have dark wood trim, it all looked purple. =P
Love ASCP! My first foray into the furniture painting realm involved me painting my entire bedroom suite (envision 80′s pine) Coco. It was actually pretty easy. The waxing was harder than the painting. Chalk paint has spoiled me for any other type of furniture paint!
Wow! I love it!
I love ASCP!! I turned a gun cabinet (the kind with deer etched into the glass fronts) into a china cabinet and we LOVE it!! (We also replaced the glass with something a little more china cabinet appropriate) I would have never sanded that bad boy down and painted it the “traditional” way. I have so many pieces of furniture begging for ASCP, but, alas, I am 8 months pregnant and I have a 2 year old. Oh and the stuff isn’t exactly cheap. How I wish I was wealthy enough to quit my job and spend my days painting my furniture with ASCP…
I’m so glad you posted this. I need to paint the cabinet in my bathroom, but when I imagined all the sanding and prepping, I decide it would be easier to just move. This looks like something I can handle.
Congrats! It looks fantastic! I have heard great things about chalk paint. Once I pop ( I am 36 weeks pregnant- HA!) I just might be inspired to try it out!
Does Jennifer have a painting sister with a store in coastal Carolina that could help me with my house? I’m trying to paint my whole interior, and besides going crazy doing it, I’m learning that my painting skills are deteriorating as I age. Seriously.
I love the look of your island! I would have never come up with that color on my own, but it looks awesome! I really like your hardware, too.
I have a similar look on my island (the finish on two sides of the island just looks cheap) and would love to try painting it. But, I’d need major help or it would all turn out all wrong, I’m sure.
I love her chalk paint! I used it on my baby’s dresser…I went the with Provencial (sp?) but have yet to blog about it. It was super easy to use for sure. So fun.
“Scattered from hell to breakfast” cracked me up. I had no idea there was such wonderful paint out there; we’re getting ready to move, and I can’t wait to do something like this in a NEW HOME.
I know you are happy to have one item off your “to-do” list checked off. I’m sure the island looks great!
Oh you make me laugh! And it is good to laugh :^)
I have a hutch to paint that I’ve been putting off because… duh. sanding. This paint seems like the perfect solution to my lack of muscle tone and motivation! I did some research and there are no retailers in my area, but I did find a place in Tampa that sells it and has flat rate shipping, so YAY ME! However, I noticed they also sell “Annie Sloan Paint and Wax Brushes” that are upwards of $50. Holy paint buckets. So, my question is – what kind of brush did you use for the paint? And for the wax? Thank you, Martha.
Bought a sample size jar of Annie Sloan paint MONTHS ago. I think you may have inspired me to actually get it out and fix up my scratched, water-ringed, ugly as heck end table.
Yay! Y’all did a great job. So glad it turned out. I’m getting ready to get dh to paint our house. The walls are in desperate need. And I’m trying to get motivated too when it comes to home improvement. But we are still in the stage where little boys like to smear ketchup on the walls or spill sippy cups on the couch.
It looks fabulous! Your two did and awesome job and I can already tell it’s made a big difference in the room. Yay!
So excited to have come across your Blog. I live in San Antonio too. I had never heard of the Woodley Cottage shop, so I will be sure to check it out.
Looks fantastic! I’ve seen a lot of posts about Annie Sloan and her paint, but I haven’t tried it for myself. Love your results.
Amanda my dear…you are right down the road from me!!! Come to one of my CHALK PAINT™ workshops and you will be forever hooked!!!!
janet xox
The Empty Nest
I just did my first dresser painting with ASCP, and it turned out great. As far as the comment about the expense it is expensive but you do not use very much, I bought a can and did a whole 12 drawer dresser and only used about 1/3 of the can.
I have been wanting to do that exact thing and I know where to get the paint…I’m now motivated…thank you!
Looks soooo good! And just so you feel really good about yourself, that is what my kitchen looks like all the time, and I’m not EVER painting anything in there. Honestly, I’m hardly ever cooking, so I don’t know how it gets to be such a disaster.
You are one of the funniest women I (don’t) know (but wish I did). For real.
JEALOUS!! Of your kitchen and your label maker. I always wanted one of those. (Label maker. I have a kitchen.)
I wonder why none of my 17 followers offer to paint my kitchen parts for me…They are just deadbeat followers!
OH.
And I live in a state with 750,000 people. Yes, state. Not city. I bet no one carries chalk paint in my local, uh, area.
Anyway, you can do anything now, because you took the first step. It’s all downhill from here, baby! Nice job!!
Hello Melanie!
Hot dog dinner….OMG, too funny! I was was almost run out of town when I had the nerve to serve my family macaroni and tomato soup (nostalgic childhood meal) for dinner. By the looks my Hubby and two boys gave me that night, I died a thousand times!! Maybe if I had tossed in a hot dog they would have approved ;->
Love this post and since I am a CHALK PAINT™ retailer in Virginia (ex. Texan..21 yrs in Houston) I very much appreciated your love of Annie’s fabulous product. Graphite is one of my favorite and best selling colors. As far as cost…I think spending under $40 dollars to totally revamp your Island is not a bad trade off indeed! Did you even use the whole can??
I will be back to visit again…you are one funny lady.
janet xox
The Empty Nest
Thank you, thank you for the chuckle and the coffee through the nose this morning!!! This is truly one of the best blogs on Chalk Paint™ that I have read, and I have read a bunch! I sell Chalk Paint™ in CA and we Californians are trying to get rid of our Golden Oak cabinets, now using Chalk Paint™ to make it easy, fun and affordable! I also teach and help customers, by giving workshops and going to their homes and working along side them for a day if they need a boot in the butt to get going! Love this! Can’t wait to see what painting project you blog about next!
LOVE LOVE this post! I am a retailer for Chalk Paint™ in Oklahoma. You are one funny lady! Tell Jennifer I said “hello”! We were together in Dallas during Annie’s tour, and sat together at dinner. I am so glad you love your island, it looks Amazing!
You did a great job on the cabinet, it looks awesome:-) And you made me laugh, which was an added bonus. I have to say I am a little prejudiced since I sell Annie Sloan Chalk Paint™ in
Southern Cal. at The Painted Attic, but it is always wonderful to hear about someones experience with the paint, which is pretty terrific stuff:-) Happy painting.
Barbara
Hooray. Thanks for the pictures. I have two bedside tables and a headboard that I need to paint, but I had no idea what kind of paint to use on furniture.
I’m off on Saturday to buy some here in Parker, CO. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
I guess I am the only one who has had trouble with a capital T with ASCP. I was so excited to order all the stuff and paint a chest passed down from my grandma. It looked terrible! I ended up sanding it, trying it again, and then sanding it painting it with some random paint I had laying around. Anyone else? I would love tips! I watched several videos before I started but it just didn’t look right. It was very gunky. Anyway, your island looks great! Glad it worked well for you!
You aren’t alone! I have had a large coffee table in my foyer for the past month and I have painted, wax, painted, waxed, etc. It still looks lousie! I have sent multiple emails to bloggers and Annie Sloan herself with no responses! I could have stripped, sanded, painted and varnished this table in less time!
Wow Kathy…your experience with CHALK PAINT™ is absolutely not the norm. I am a retailer for CHALK PAINT™ and would be more than happy to try to help you figure out what went wrong. Please feel free to e-mail me at theemptynest.metzger930@gmail.com and I will try to provide some answers. Hope to hear from you.
Janet xox
The Empty Nest
I am very concerned to hear that you have written to me without getting a response. I wonder what email address you used. I take great pride in responding to all emails so I am annoyed when I read something like this.
Could you tell us what you did and why the paint didn’t work? Our paint is very thick – so it can be used in many ways ( textured, as a wash etc) – If you wanted a smooth finish maybe your can needed to be thinned a little so you could apply it smoothly. Just a thought.
Amy, have a look at the answer I gave Kathy about the thickness of my paint. Maybe you just had to ad a little water? it is very flexible and can be used in a variety of different ways. It is thick so a little goes a long way. Hope this helps
I see that I appear to be writing at 3 in the morning, so I thought I’d tell you I am in France painting in my house here and it is a very healthy 10 am! Drinking coffee and eating too many croissants.
Hi Kathy and Amy If y’all are in or around San Antonio I would love to stop by and help remedy your situation. Be mindful that some youtube instruction is not totally accurate. Please refr to the Annie Sloan youtube channel for proper techniques and info. I hand everyone I talk to about this fabulous product my business card with multiple ways to contact me. This paint is not complicated once you understand how it works. In fact it is so forgiving! Please call me. I’d love to chat. Possibly we could brainstorm and see what could have been done differently. Talk to you soon!
Jennifer Mueller
Jennifer@woodleycottage.com
210-651-1344. Or 210-487-1295
You know why I love your blog? I learn stuff! You know what I learned? There is a place in our hometown that carries Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, and they even offer classes!!! And since, I have a dining room table and chairs SCREAMING to be painted, I am headed there right now to check it out.
See how good you are? I have been listening to those things scream at me for paint since July 2005 when I bought my house, and finally, my head can stop pounding from the noise. (Well, if my motivation lasts longer than my lunch hour, that is.)
If anyone is in CA and would like some one on one with Chalk Paint™ instruction, tips and hints, please let me know – vicki@3oaksstudio.com. I’m certified, have been using it and loving it since it hit the states, give workshops and selling it like crazy! Sometimes there is a learning curve to working with wax, and once that is learned, projects are a breeze!
That is motivation right there. Thank you for sharing. I love that color choice, too!
You are a scream! Don’t know how you do it but you seem to put into words my every thought. It was so much fun reading this post and I don’t want to miss another. Waiting impatiently for your next adventure. It can’t be easy…thanks
Oh my gosh. I have the ugliest kitchen cabinets in the WORLD, and would love to “redo” my kitchen. But have I mentioned that I just quit my job? (Translation: no moola.) This paint looks amazing!!! I see a possible alternative to the kitchen redo scenario, which would have involved actual new cabinets. Thank you for posting this!!!