I recently rescued this vintage chest of drawers; a neighbour who was moving out had thrown it in a rubbish skip on her drive. ย It caught my eye when I walked past, and again later. ย I know it looks sad and unloved here, but I could see potential in it to be quite pretty and useful once again.
When I plucked up the courage to knock on the door and ask if I could take it, I was glad I did because the lady was so nice and even offered me a second piece of furniture that she wanted rid of, a pine chest/toy box – more about that next time!
I’d ย been wanting to try some chalk paint and the vintage chest of drawers seemed ideal. ย There are loads of recipes on Pinterest for homemade chalkpaint using left over paint and Plaster of Paris, but as I have neither at the moment, I thought I would buy some proper Annie Sloan chalkpaint. ย I’ve read lots of good things about it, the best being there is no need to sand or prime! ย That is my kind of furniture makeover.
The cost was ยฃ16.95 a litre, plus a fixed delivery charge of ยฃ7.40, no matter how much I ordered – so I ordered two tins in French Linen and Old White, which can be used on their own or mixed together to make different shades.
It arrived the next day andย I couldn’t wait to try it. I found the consistency nice and rich and got busy with a brush and the French Linen; it dried reallyย quickly, to a chalky finish (no surprises!). ย After I had applied two coats of paint, I waxed it a couple of times, using clear Briwax since I already had a tin. ย It does the job, but stinks to high heaven when you are applying it. ย (Apparently the Annie Sloan wax doesn’t smell so bad.) ย The finish after the wax has been applied is more velvety and gives the colour some depth as well as protection. ย All the veneer on the drawer fronts was not in great shape, one drawer was particularly flaky. ย I thought it would be best to chip it all off, since I would be painting the drawer fronts anyway. ย MISTAKE!
Although a lot of it fell off easily, some of it just wouldn’t budge. ย I scraped and chipped and soaked with a wet towel. ย It was a real slog and left me with not a great painting surface. ย So with the two other drawers, I just flaked off the worst and used wood filler in the gaps, letting it dry and sanding it down.
The top drawer was missing its handles and I thought about replacing with glass knobs for glamour, or vintage style crackle-glazed ceramic. ย There were so many to choose from on Ebay – I was spoilt for choice! ย But then an unusual pair of Anthropologie drawer knobs caught my eye, which I think will work a treat, have a tiny peek…
I am really looking forward to the big reveal!
Thanks, Angela! Just waiting for those drawer knobs to arrive x
so pretty! i love the knobs, too!
Thank you Cassie, that means a lot coming from you! Your furniture makeovers are inspiring x