Tag Archives: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

Reviving Brown Cabinetry with Paint

A Beautiful White Laundry Room…goes from Dark Brown to White

 

painted white laundry room cabinets

I recently helped a client revamp her Laundry Room. Her dark brown cabinets were getting her down and she needed a change. White cabinetry was the answer – Annie Sloan Pure White Chalk Paint was the tool. It’s so important to make our more utilitarian spaces look beautiful and fun to be in. Most of us forget that (me included). When a room we labor in is beautiful, stylish and functional – we don’t mind being in there and we don’t mind (at least we mind it less!) doing work there.

Selling Your Home? It’s even more important to have work spaces in our homes look beautiful and a pleasure to be in. When selling, you want to keep the notion of the word “WORK” out of Laundry Rooms, Kitchens etc. I always tell clients to hide the paper towels, dish detergent, toasters and the like in kitchens…and the same goes for the Laundry Room.

Here were some inspirational rooms that I used to get the creative juices flowing…..

laundry room with potting table

via Pinterest

laundry-room- center island glass canisters

via Pinterest

white laundry room with baskets

 Pinterest

My client had attempted to paint the cabinets herself with some chalk paint but she was nervous because they weren’t coming out at all like she thought. Chalk Paint is kind of thick and if you put it on too thickly – it can crack and not look good at all. A phone call to me and my painting partner, Marty Wiesehahn – and she could relax and do other things rather than toil away painting cabinets, walls, moldings etc.

Here are some before shots…

before painting the cabinetry with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

client trying to paint with chalk paint on cabinets

 While Marty went to work fixing and priming the ceiling and painting the walls (with a gorgeous color I love to specify, Grey Owl by Benjamin Moore), I went to work on the cabinets. An issue that my client’s room had was that a few of her lower cabinets were white laminate – and the rest were dark wood. She wanted to have all the cabinets match (who wouldn’t? I didn’t ask her why some were white and the rest dark – I was only there to help!) The laminated cabinets had a slight shine to them – so we had to approximate that shine on the other cabinets as well as get the right color white! Luckily – the chalk paint (Annie Sloan’s Pure White) she started out with turned out to be a really good match. We had to do 4 coats for total coverage. For protection, I decided to use a wax that only had a slight, satin shine that would be a very close match to her laminate cabinetry’s shine.

Here are some photos of the process…..

during the painting of the cabinetry with Annie SLoan Chalk Paint

My client had a section of one wall framed – apparently she thought about installing a corkboard.  I suggested that we paint on a blackboard with some Graphite Chalk Paint. This was one of the pics I showed her for inspiration…

blackboard inspiration for a laundry room

Via Dear Lillie

She loved the idea…

 

I left her with a cute saying on her blackboard!

chalkboard sign pianting in a white laundry room

And, of course, I had to stage the laundry room for her. Naturally!

chalk painted laundry room

The most difficult (and frustrating at times) part of this job was that there had to be complete coverage (so, no distressing). We had to match as best we could the white laminate cabinets on the lower left side of the room. We applied 4 coats (plus a wet sanding) and if the underneath color came through – apply more paint! Then a clear wax coat…then a buffing. Tedious – but it was exactly what the client wanted.

 closeup pf white painted cabinetry in laundry room

If I can help you with your laundry room – or any other room you’re not happy with…just let me know. I am only a phone call away – 631 793-1315

chalkboard in laundryroom with white cabinetry

Sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch

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Leave a comment | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, Benjamin Moore, Decorative Finishes, Home Staging, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Painting and Decorating Architectural Fragments

Chalk painted and antiqued ornamental board

Creating something from nothing

I was coming back from a decorative painting job out in the Hamptons and I came across this wonderful old antique shop named Lloyds in Eastport, New York. I had passed this store many times before and finally – I had a little bit of time to go in and take a look. The store is a lot larger than it appears from the outside – and there are two large floors full of antiques. Just what I needed – a ton of stuff to choose from! Anyway, I fell in love with a couple of things that I just had to pick them up (I only had about 20 minutes to peruse because I had another appointment to go to). (more…)

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10 Comments | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, Decorative Finishes, interior design, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials

Decorating the Porch for Fall with an Outdoor Rustic Sign

So, I came across a wonderful, rustic Welcome sign made by Shayna of The Woodgrain Cottage – such a nice touch to her absolutely beautiful fall porch.

porch decorated for fall The Woodgrain Cottage

I am in the midst of decorating my front porch and felt that something like that sign would be a great addition.  My husband had an old wooden board taking up space in our shed, sooo… I felt it could have been a little taller…but for now…it was perfect.  (more…)

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3 Comments | Posted in Decorative Finishes, Garden etc, interior design, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials

The Custom Blue Chalk Painted and Stenciled Coffee Table

 

Louis Blue Chalk Painted and stenciled coffee table

I finally finished a coffee table I had been working on for a while. I didn’t want to post it until I figured out how to tame the super shine I was getting from the wax I put on the table.  I figured it out soon enough…made the necessary adjustments (not hard – a little more sanding back) and it’s a beautiful finished table. (more…)

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4 Comments | Posted in Decorative Finishes, interior design, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials

Bringing More Color into the Dining Room

Bringing More Color into the Dining Room

For today’s post I am showing you my plans for revamping my dining room space. Some will say I have enough color there – but you can never have enough color really!  It just all has to blend. My dining rooms chairs really need an update, badly. So, here’s my revamp plans so far…

Rosenburg fabric from Robert Allen in Peony

(more…)

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Leave a comment | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, Decorative Finishes, interior design, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials

Creating Art with Stencils, Plaster and Chalk Paint

 How to Create Some Dimensional Art Pieces with Stencils, Plaster and Chalk Paint

closeup of the Union Jack table

I had promised a tutorial on how to do this awhile back on the blog…so here it is (more…)

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Leave a comment | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, Decorative Finishes, interior design, Makeovers, Paint, Tutorials

Making a Real Estate Office “Pretty”: Part 1

A very good friend of mine, Dianne Scalza, just opened up a new real estate franchise – Exit Realty All Pro in Bay Shore NY.  Dianne is a colorful, dynamic and fearless woman and so when I saw her private office – all beige – I knew I had to feminize it and bring more color and “Dianne” into the space. Luckily, she asked me to help make it her own.

before picture of the real estate office of Dianne Scalza,

Before the transformation

…And we just had to do something about those glass blocks (with no budget to remove them. Tomorrow on the blog I will show you how we transformed the window!).

She needed some extra storage in her office but she didn’t want ugly file cabinets – so she brought along a bombe chest that she had purchased 10 years ago.  A bookcase was also a priority – so I went in search of something that would work in this feminization of a boring real estate office. I found just what was needed on Craigslist – for $60!

an antique bookcase and a bombe chest before a transformation

Before: The antique green bookcase and the bombe chest

Both of these pieces had some nice curves and sex appeal – but the colors were ugly.  So – I got to work.

The Bombe Chest

painting a bombe chest Napoleonic Blue

During…

I used some Annie Sloan Chalk Paints to revive this piece – Napoleonic Blue and Old White.  Dianne loves anything nautical, so these colors really hit the mark. But I had to add some beachy elements to bring in Dianne’s love of shells and the beach.  So – I added this…

a revamped bombe chest done with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints

On my porch, ready to go to her office!

I added this shell and roses design to the middle drawer.  It’s a design called Shell Eloquence from Royal Design Studio – but I did something a little different than just stenciling.  I first stenciled the design in Old White…then I freehanded the rest of the motifs – adding some Dutch Metal Gold and some dark brown for shading. I also touched up the hardware with some Dutch Metal Gold. Here’s a closeup of the drawer…

Royal Design Studio Shell Eloquence with handpainted details on a bombe chest

Closeup of the middle drawer design

I waxed the entire piece with Miss Mustardseed’s wax to make it durable.  Here’s the chest in Dianne’s new office…

 

a revamped bombe chest done with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints and Miss Mustardseed wax

Additional elements added were a lovely blue coral picture that I found at HomeGoods (for $10), but it had a black frame, which I changed by adding some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and some shells – including a shell planter with a faux orchid.

The Bookcase

Being that it was a deep forest green, you really couldn’t see the lovely scroll work at the top of the piece, so I had to make sure that this was prominent.  You also didn’t really notice the wonderful paneled backing of this bookcase.  I don’t know what year it’s from but the panels had a lot of depth being that every other panel protruded a bit (a staggered bead board effect). I wanted the inset top and the back of the piece to stand out – so I created a custom pale blue paint color for it.  The rest of the bookcase was painted an Off White.

an antique bookcase revamped with off white and pale blue paint

During – right before antiquing

I antiqued the bookcase with some raw umber and dark brown glaze, just to bring back the history of the piece.

a revamped antique bookcase with off white and pale blue paint and antiquedMuch more feminine…don’t you think? So – please come back tomorrow when I show you how we transformed the windows!!!

Let me know what you think in the comment box below!

Linking this project to: Miss Mustardseed; French Country Cottage; Redoux Interiors; Liz Marie; Common Ground; Between Naps on the Porch; It’s So Very; Katherine’s Corner

 

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8 Comments | Posted in Annie Sloan's chalk paint, interior design, Paint