I Tried It & Loved It! {Annie Sloan Chalk Paint}

One of  my first "bigger" projects around the house is to repaint our living room furniture. We were given some simple but very nice solid pine furniture when we got married that had been in my family for years. We originally choose this brown paint that turned out awful. However, we knew that our first apartment was only temporary and decided to stick with it until we moved into our house. So you can imagine my excitement to repaint the furniture this weekend after a year of staring at that ugly brown.

The BIG question.... what paint do I use???? I have heard some of my co-workers talking about their "Annie Sloan" projects. ASCP, say what?? ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT! After doing my research on ASCP, I decided to give it a try even though it seemed too good to be true. Let me tell you.... best decision I have made so far since we have started to redecorate. I am now ASCP hungry and want to paint everything in the house. Thank goodness I have Edward to reel me in.

I could list a thousand reasons to use ASCP.  But I'll stick to my top 5 for now. The colors are beautiful (there are only 30 base colors but the mixing possibilities are endless). The paint goes a very long way, you absolutely get your bang for your buck. The paint is very "forgiving". It dries remarkably fast. You do not need to sand, prime or do anything to your furniture/wall/etc before you paint it! SAND & PRIME <--- amazing!!!

**Side Note: ASCP is only sold by ASCP Stockists. I found that this is usually small specialty boutiques, definitely no large stores like Home Depot. Visit Annie Sloan's website to find a retailer by you. Talk to them. They know tons about the paint. I bought mine from a cute store near home, Melange by KP.  (I want to buy everything in the store, all joking aside!) Many of the stockists also offer classes too.**

PROJECT #1: Coffee Table and End Table

Color: Old white
Wax: Clear
Sandpaper: Fine & Medium Grit Blocks
Towels: Soft "T-Shirt" Rags
Paintbrush: 2" and 1"

Process: I painted on two coats of Old White (I read that many times one coat is enough but I went with two since I was doing a white over brown). After the paint was dry (~15 minutes) I used the sandpaper block to create the distressed look I was going for. This creates a lot of dust because when dried, the paint really does have the texture of chalk. (I did the smaller piece first... inside...but with the larger piece I was smarter and sanded outside.) I then did a light layer of the clear soft wax, wiping the excess off as I went. I applied a second layer since I knew that the tables were going to get a lot of use. Tonight I will buff it with a rag and then it will be complete!

I  now have a large list of projects to do, including my media cabinet, dining room furniture and a chest of drawers. I created a Pinterest board to store all my Annie Sloan inspirations. Check it out here!

Also, here are some great blogs/websites with lots of ASCP projects & tips:

• Annie Sloan Unfolded
• Carters Cottage Interiors
• Sassy Style Redsign
• The Cutest Blog On The Block
• The Mended Nest
• The Purple Painted Lady
• Unfolded

Have you used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint??? I'd love to hear about your stories, tips, and projects! *I will be having many more ASCP and home decorating posts to come so be sure to subscribe to my blog! Thank you :) Happy Monday and have a GREAT week!!

::Linking Up - The Shabby Creek Cottage::

::Linking Up - House of Hepworths::
::Linking Up - Simply Designing::