Renew, Redo! My Maiden Voyage with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints

I've decided that my  Bedroom needed some freshening up and I want to create a tranquil space.

You may wonder what the heck this hideous little green chair has to do with that?

I've been perusing Pinterest and collecting decorating ideas for my Coastal Themed Room.

In my travels, I found some great ideas for painting furniture and decided that I definitely wanted to renew and redo my tired, mismatched, BORING wooden Furniture.

In exploring some options, I came across some wonderful samples created with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints. I found that you can't just purchase these paints at any paint store, but rather you have to find a "Stockist" who has trained with the famous Annie Sloan as a condition of carrying her line of paint.

What was more exciting, is that in searching for a Stockist I was delighted to find that we have one  in Bath Ontario; Elizabeth at The Melon Patch 

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Elizabeth earlier this week to stock up on some supplies and "pick her brain" for some basics with regard to using the Chalk Paints.

That's where this hideous little chair comes in.

Rather than tackling one of the larger items on my renew/redo list, I thought I'd start small in order to get a feel for the paint!!! 

So here's a little blogography of my process!

First I cleaned the chair with a little soap and water and dried it well.

I applied two coats of Graphite for my undercoat.

I must say that the paint was so very creamy and went on well.

I used a damp brush to apply a lighter coat the second time through.

How about this Primer Red?? Oh my GEE, I love this colour!

Totally does NOT fit in with my coastal theme, but I had to get into this deliciousness right away!

I applied two coats of the Red, leaving some of the Graphite show through.

That was a little scary, but I want to create a similar effect on my larger pieces and the next time, I'm going to get a little less uniform and expose the layers even more I think!

Two coats of  French Linen to the seat, followed by some serious scuffing!!

A coat of clear wax.......Never was partial to waxing my floors or my car, but I have to say this was kind of fun!

Then the good part- the DARK wax.......again, a little scary as it is quite dark, but I applied it sparingly with the proper brush and my fears quickly faded when I realized it's actually quite nice to work with. Being a Chalk paint Virgin, I must say that I'm looking forward to working on my next piece, which is a mirror that I spent many hours tole painting....... Out with the Old, in with the New!

I think perhaps that there will be many many more projects in the works!