My clients wanted to repurpose this sturdy piece of furniture to house their 5 year old daughter’s ever growing collection of dress up clothes and paraphernalia. Although they wanted it to blend with her existing furniture they also wanted a pop of fun color inside. I knew that Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan would make the job both fun and easy!
After a thorough vacuuming I began the process. While the drawers were removed I sprayed a coat of Zinsser Clear Shellac on the inside of the drawer area to seal in any musty smells in the old wood. I applied two coats of Paris Grey Chalk Paint® on the exterior. When I applied the Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint® to the inside of the storage cubby above the drawers, I found that the existing stain was “bleeding” into the paint, turning it brown. Once again, I reached for my trusty Zinsser Shellac, only this time I applied it with a brush so that I could ensure that every inch of surface was completely sealed to keep the stain from leaching out. This is a common problem when painting old furniture, especially when there is not a clear finish over the stain. The exterior of the piece apparently had an adequate finish so I had no problems with bleeding in those areas, just on the inside parts. The shellac did it’s job and two coats of Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint® definitely upped the fun factor on this piece.
After a thorough vacuuming I began the process. While the drawers were removed I sprayed a coat of Zinsser Clear Shellac on the inside of the drawer area to seal in any musty smells in the old wood. I applied two coats of Paris Grey Chalk Paint® on the exterior. When I applied the Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint® to the inside of the storage cubby above the drawers, I found that the existing stain was “bleeding” into the paint, turning it brown. Once again, I reached for my trusty Zinsser Shellac, only this time I applied it with a brush so that I could ensure that every inch of surface was completely sealed to keep the stain from leaching out. This is a common problem when painting old furniture, especially when there is not a clear finish over the stain. The exterior of the piece apparently had an adequate finish so I had no problems with bleeding in those areas, just on the inside parts. The shellac did it’s job and two coats of Barcelona Orange Chalk Paint® definitely upped the fun factor on this piece.
I added stencils in Old White Chalk Paint® to the door of the storage cubby and the panel under the mirror. When stenciling with small, delicate stencils such as these I use some stencil adhesive to attach the stencil firmly to the surface and keep paint from bleeding under the stencil, marring the design. My favorite adhesive is Super 77 by 3M…you can buy it at just about any hardware store.
One of my clients brought in an old chiffarobe. It had been collecting dust in their garage for years, it’s only function was to provide housing for a few small spiders.