I needed to come up with a paint technique to create a certain look on a set of heavy wood dining chairs. They had to coordinate with many elements in the same room and I was going to be using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to do it.
 |
They needed to lightened up the space but the table top was staying dark wood, so I would have to keep some of the wood showing. They also needed some light blue to match the cupboards near by, and all the accents around were a butter cream color. After much thought, trial and error, I came up with this rustic paint finish. It is smooth and hard wearing. Not to mention slightly gorgeous. |
 |
Words of warning ... these chairs had many rough surfaces and this technique encompasses 6 steps for every surface. In other words, IT'S A WORK OUT! |
*****************************************
 |
| The paint used is Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. All colors are custom mixed using Provence, Arles, and Pure White |
BEFORE AFTER
 |
STEP #1 With a butter cream color I dry brushed all of the surfaces as seen below dry brushing is done by putting paint on a paint brush then wiping the paint off on the edge of the can before brushing the wood surface |
 |
STEP #2 With a wood block, I dragged on light blue paint as seen below The wood I used is a scrap of 2x2 and I used a rubber kitchen spatula to apply the blue paint to the block before dragging it over the flat surface of wood. The Wood on Wood contact creates the random texture. |
 |
STEP #3 Once the blue paint was dry I dry brushed a layer of butter cream paint over each surface. move to the next step with each surface as you want to work with wet paint |
 |
STEP #4 While the last butter cream layer was still wet I dragged my wood block over the wood surface. This smoothed out and knock paint off the edges and high spots creating the look you see below. You can do this step if the paint has dried but you will need to work much harder to get the job done |
 |
STEP #5 The final layer I added was Annie Sloan Clear wax to all the surfaces. |
*******************************************
 |
STEP #6 The following day I buffed all the chairs with a heavy terry cloth rag to get the finish to shine and help repel water and dirt. |
 |
TIP On some surfaces like the back rests I also did some wood block dragging with the butter cream color. You can see samples of that on the chair below right. |
 |
There was still more to do to this dining set but that will come in future articles. |
You can always follow along on
INSTAGRAM @4_the_love_of_wood
where you get sneak peaks of what I am up to.
INSTAGRAM @4_the_love_of_wood
where you get sneak peaks of what I am up to.
*******************************************
vintage hardware for your next project
*******************************************
