Giving New Life To An Old Dresser

This weekend I was working on an old dresser that needed a new life.

My sister-in-law wanted this dresser painted black.  Knowing that I had a limited amount of time on a quick weekend trip, I really wanted to chalk paint this.  Chalk paint is by far, the quickest and easiest paint to use. There is no prep needed to your furniture and you don't have to sand and prime.   But....Annie Sloan doesn't have a true black.  She has a color called Graphite, but it's more of a dark grey.  So I called a great resource out there....Trish, from The Purple Painted Lady.  If you are interested in painting and have questions, or need paint...you can get all of this from her and her website.

Trish explained that I could get a true black by adding three vials of India ink to the graphite paint.  I actually ordered this from her and had her ship it to my parents home in VA.  When I arrived for the weekend, I was ready to get to work.

I want you to know that painting is not an exact science.  Things don't always go the way you want them to.  And...even for someone who does this a lot, you have to expect the unexpected.  For whatever reason, the wax was not working for me on this piece. So I switched gears and tried something else.

Also, you don't have to use a brush and you don't have to wax if that isn't your thing.  Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is very versatile. It can be rolled on and you can also use a different finish, like a polycrylic, if you don't want to wax. I used a foam roller like these below and finished the piece with a polycrylic water based finished from Minwax.

So don't be afraid of working on that old dresser.  And if you don't want to brush and wax....don't. :)  

Hope you have a great week!

Paula