Category: vintage

There is nothing that I love more than finding a beautiful piece of second-hand furniture at a great price.  A few weeks ago while browsing one of my favorite thrift stores I came across a French Provincial-style dresser.  It reminded me so much of the furniture I had as a little girl that I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.



In its original state.


The quality wasn’t great, mainly particle board and veneer, but it had such a gorgeous shape and details that I knew I had to have it.  But first it had to be in my price range.

Tip: A tip no thrifter can live without is to know when their particular thrift store marks down their furniture.  Many of the bigger chains (Goodwill, Salvation Army) will mark down weekly, or consecutively  after 7, 10 and 18 days.  Look at the date on the ticket and count the number of days.  There is a good chance that it’s time to mark the item down, but the employees haven’t gotten to it, yet.  If you don’t point it out, you will be charged ticketed price.

It turns out that this particular piece was 25% off the ticketed price which was right within my budget!

Because the dresser was of less-than-awesome quality I knew I had to use just the right paint.  I had been eyeing a few blogs (my favorite being Miss Mustard Seed) and I’d learned all about Annie Sloan Chalk Paints.  I search high and low, and found a local Annie Sloan stockist, but they were back-ordered indefinitely.  I decided to order through Southern Institute of Faux Finishing because they had everything I needed in stock and ready to ship.

Three days later I was the proud owner of a quart of Paris Grey Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, a can of Annie Sloan Clear Soft Wax, a chalk paint brush and a wax brush.  (Actually it was four days later, the original order accidentally came with Country Grey which was more of a beige and the ladies at  Southern Institute of Faux Finishing over-nighted me the right paint.  I only point it out to show their excellent customer service!)

I was ready to begin the transformation:



Here’s the the most beautiful paint color EVER!




Chalk Paint Brush




I took the hardware off of the drawers and started to paint.




It took about 15 minutes for the first (and only) coat to dry. ONE COAT!!




About 25 minutes later the dresser was almost completely painted.



I literally took 15 minutes to wax the entire piece.  EASY PEASY!



Here is the end result.  I just love it!




Annie Sloan paint is great for distressing.  I did a little along the edges.




There was some damage that I decided to feature rather than to fix.




I kept the original hardware.




I pretty much want to marry this piece.



 Annie Sloan Chalk Paints were a breeze to work with!  I will never use latex paints again.  So, what do you think?  Do you love it as much as we do?   Have you used Annie Sloan Chalk Paints before?  We’d like to know!