3 Best Things I Painted Using a Chalk Furniture Paint
It’s been such a busy time lately and I have been day-dreaming a bit of old DIY projects. So this week, I wanted to share with you the 3 best things I painted using a chalk furniture paint. Did you know that Bungalow 47 has a furniture paint line? If not, let me tell you all about the great things you can paint with it!
Why do people use chalk paint instead of regular paint?
The short answer is time. When chalky paint hit the U.S. marketplace over 14 years ago, it was hailed as a time saver. There was no priming, no prep, just painting. You could grab your piece of furniture, wipe off the dust (hopefully), and get started.
So in a simple world, where no problems arise, this type of paint is better for the creative (or not-so creative) to paint a furniture piece or other item.
How is a chalk-style paint different from latex?
The biggest difference is synthetics. A latex is made from synthetic resins that don’t really do the things that you want a chalk style paint to do, like distress. Latex paint is also much more flat looking. It looks great on walls, but it will chip on wood furniture or kitchen cabinets. A chalk paint will wear naturally.
Our furniture paint is made of chalk and clay, and more natural properties. When you want a distressed look, or a decorative furniture paint that is versatile to many surfaces, then a chalk-style paint is the best choice.
What are the pros and cons of using a chalk type paint?
The pros of using our own chalk paint are many. First, it’s easy to paint and go. I would even say it’s kind of ‘idiot proof’. Not that anyone is actually an idiot, but if you are not a confident painter, you can feel good about achieving success with it.
We created our own chalk paint line almost a decade ago because we wanted consumers to have success with the simple ways that they wanted to use it to add personal style to their homes. Sometimes people just want to paint pieces of furniture to make them feel like their own style, and not Grandma’s dresser. And our furniture paint makes that easy.
The clean up is very simple with soap and water, and yes, the prep work is minimal. It is easy to distress, within 24 hours with a damp cloth, or with sandpaper. The paint is also very thick, much more than latex, and will adhere nicely to several surfaces.
It also provides a depth of pigment, that you can really see when you buff or distress it. I have painted a lot of old furniture with just one coat, and many others with a second coat of paint too. But the best part, is it is easy to use.
You can also paint over old paint, bare wood, stained pieces, just about anything. It will also stick to many surfaces, so if you want to paint furniture, then great! But you can also paint more than that.
Now for the cons, but some of these I look at as personal preference, which may make it a pro. Because the paint is thick, with a natural bristle brush you will see brush strokes. These can be minimized by using a synthetic bristle paint brush. If desired, you can thin the paint a bit of water. Some people want those brush strokes, especially when painting in different directions, to achieve a shabby chic look.
Also, you may not find the paint color you were hoping for, where latex can be tinted to any color. But the paint is very easy to color mix for small projects, which is a fun way to get that bespoke look you may be looking for. Bungalow 47 Furniture Paint comes in 40 colors, and we currently have 5 extra seasonal colors available.
What can you paint using a chalk type paint?
This is where the fun part begins because you can paint many surfaces. You can paint; wood, metal, glass, fabric, stone, concrete, and more. I have done countless projects over the years, but there are three that stand out as my favorites.
Before we get there, let me share a few projects that have been big winners in home decor and entertaining.
Painting metal fixtures, where using a spray paint just wasn’t convenient
Transforming a kitchen with painting the kitchen cabinets
Creating centerpieces with Mason jars for a celebration
Updating a vintage camper with bead board paneling and fun colors
Painting cement pumpkins for Halloween outdoor use
My 3 best things I have painted using Bungalow 47 Furniture Paint
I love a good transformation and that is why I love to use paint. I can’t even express the thrill I get when I see that first coat of paint go on, and you just know, it’s gonna be soooooo good! Over time, these 3 projects are the ones that I have loved the most. I can’t wait to tell you all about them.
Wood furniture
When Bungalow 47 started out in 2011, we were transforming endless chalk-painted pieces of furniture. When I look back at pictures from when we had the home decor shop, I marvel at the many pieces we found, painted, and sold. There were (what seemed like) thousands. It was always funny that the popular choice of color that people wanted to buy was always white. However, if we ever painted anything white it would sit. People wanted color!
When we began focusing all of our attention on our paint line and closed the shop, we literally did see thousands of pieces that our retailers and customers painted. But with all the many pieces of wood furniture and kitchen cabinets that we have seen painted over the years, there is one project that will always remain my favorite. Keep reading for the full story.
Upholstered furniture
Over the years, I have seen countless pieces of furniture that people have painted, including some with fabric. What an odd thing to think about painting something upholstered. But the great thing about paint, is it stays put once it dries, so why not paint fabric?
I mean, you have probably painted something in the past and then realized you got some on your clothes. With our chalk and clay paint, if you don’t get it off right away, it’s staying there. So painting an upholstered piece, especially when reupholstering it is cost prohibitive and unavailable (for whatever reason), is a great solution.
But my favorite piece still looks amazing. The transformation is just too good to ignore. I can’t wait to tell you all about it below.
A slate floor
Many times, I have heard our retailers tell us that they had painted the floor in their shops. The first time I heard this I was a bit surprised. Although our paint adheres to a variety of surfaces, I had never thought to paint tile (whether it was the entire piece or just a design on it).
But nothing would prepare me for the absolute transformation that took place when I painted the slate floor in our current home. It was a literal game changer!
My favorite furniture makeover – the milk glass cupboard
When we became empty nesters, we downsized to a house with less storage. So I began my hunt for a cupboard to hold my milk glass collection. I ended up with, what looked like a piece of crap, but with some work, I could make it fabulous. The good news was, it was cheap. $20 I think.
I was going to paint it a darker blue than the room it was in, and ended up with the color Paddleboat. This has since remained one of my favorite colors in the furniture paint line. Although that cabinet has lived in 3 different houses since I painted it, it stands out in all it’s ‘gorgeous color’ glory.
It ended up being not too much work. Well, less than I thought it would. I had to rebuild the drawer, add some crown moulding, and make shelves for the inside. The painting of it was the easiest part! With all the texture it had, I knew it would have lots of character. I ended up only using one coat of paint, did some distressing with the ‘wet distress’ method, and just buffed it. I didn’t even put the matte finish on it.
Our paint does not require a finish or furniture wax. However, if you have a piece that will get lots of use with horizontal surfaces, matte finish will protect it. To remove the chalky appearance, you can simply buff it with an old dry towel.
This cupboard still today, holds my beloved milk glass collection. I often get in there to use flower vases, when decorating for a change of seasons, and especially when I decorate for Christmas as I use a lot of my collection. This project was my favorite furniture makeover. You can read the full story with this link.
The guest room bed
Decades ago, I had a Calico Corners Outlet in our town. Those were the years that I did some serious home decor fabric hoarding! Occasionally they had furniture samples, and I purchased this beautiful queen sized bed for our (then) teenage daughter.
Years later, when she was getting married, she wanted to take a different headboard (one we had in the guest room) when she was choosing things to furnish their first apartment. That left me with the dark upholstered headboard/footboard.
I personally, was not into the dark color, so of course there was paint to the rescue! Painting upholstery requires many coats of chalk paint, especially if covering a dark color with a lighter one like I was doing. It is also best to do in thin coats, if you need the fabric to still be a bit supple. I wasn’t too worried about that, since this was a headboard so I painted it full strength. Also, painted fabric does not require a matte finish or wax sealant. You can just paint it and get on with your life.
For this project, the first thing I did was paint the wood part of the bed frame. I used the color Subway Tile, it is a soft white color. This did not take much paint.
Next, I began painting the fabric part using the color Layered Linen. This took way more paint, as I needed to paint both sides of the footboard, and added one coat to the back of the headboard that was to be against the wall, and then a few coats on the front.
Painting fabric is not as quick as painting a smooth surface, so I worked in small sections. Once the entire surface was done, I let it dry overnight and then put the bed together. It has since been 10 years since I have done this project, and it still looks as amazing as it did when I first finished it. What a transformation!
Our entry slate tile
We bought a house and did a major full house renovation. When it was time to do the floor in the entry, I couldn’t decide on what I wanted. Until I made up my mind that what I wanted was a slate tile like I had, classic to the house and its style, but just in different colors as the current hideous shades weren’t doing it for me.
Then I remembered what I do for a living, and thought, hmmmm, I could paint it! Our paint was not made for floors, but I figured it was worth a try, since it would save me a great deal of money. If it wasn’t successful, I would have been ripping it up anyway, so why not?
Well, here we are a long time later. And guess what? It still looks as good as it did the day I painted it 3 years ago! Essentially the entire project required some cleaning, a light sand, painting each individual tile (because I wanted it to look as authentic as possible), and a quick seal with our matte finish.
Our entry is in the center of our home and gets the most traffic as we walk from one end to the other a million times a day. It has stood the test of time, and is still standing. When you are in the room, you cannot tell that I painted the slate. It looks like it came that color. This was truly the most transformative project I have done with our paint.
Be confident and make it what you want
So, the 3 best things I have painted using a chalk furniture paint were projects that you could do to! You do not have to be an expert, you just need to really want a change from what you have.
Color shows our personality, and creates a mood that we want to live with. If you have anything that you want to paint, don’t be afraid to make it happen. You can do it! Once you have that first project under your belt, you will be looking around for more to do. A new paint job is a great way to update a space, make it your own, and allow you to live the way you want.
I believe in you, and in our paint, and know that you too can do it! If you’d like to get inspired, let’s hang out more. Follow along on these platforms.
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Thanks Susan! The bed was a super gratifying transformation and who would have thought that you could paint upholstery? I always love to complete a fun paint project like that.
I love all the color choices in your paint line! Anytime I’ve bought chalk paint, which is about the only paint I buy, I’ve never had those options!
I love the projects too, especially the bed!!!