The China Hutch

 In our dining room we have this pretty hutch I found at an antique store and it needed some repair. I realized once I bought it that it had a veneer that needed to be clamped in some places. Also, it was going to need some new knobs. Knowing I wanted to paint it, I started researching different techniques and decided I wanted to try Annie Sloane Chalk paint. What I love about AS Chalk paint is it doesn't require any sanding, or priming!!! What the what? Chalk paint is a very flat paint and easy to work with. You can thin it down by just adding water or paint as is. It is a bit on the pricey side, but that quart will last you awhile and several projects.

Here's the AFTER!!! 

                                                              Progress picture.

I added glass knobs and decided to paint it in not only Paris Gray but Old White on the drawer and doors. Once I painted I took a wet paper towel and wiped some of the paint off where I wanted to have a bit of distressed look. Once it dried I then applied Annie Sloan clear wax all over with a clean rag. The wax is the protecting layer. I bought the Annie Sloan wax, however, I have done some more research and you could use a clear wax that you can buy at any hardware store instead and save yourself some money. Annie Sloan also has a dark wax that can give your pieces a real distressed look, but I wanted a very small amount of distressing on this piece so I went with the clear wax. I feel this paint gives furniture an old world or more French look. It was easy to use and didn't take as long to paint than other paints.

                                        The arch has just a bit of distressing on it.

I love that I can now house some beautiful heirloom pieces in here. The china with a green and gold pattern is a luncheon set from my late grandmother who got it in Germany. My mother in law gave me these pink jeweled colored old Venetian glass pitchers for our four girls.

Have you used Chalk paint before? I might not use it on all painting projects but it sure makes the painting process easier. I love how my china cabinet turned out and that it holds meaningful things in there.

The Layered Look

We moved into our home on Valentines day 2013. In the few months that we have lived here, we have made a list of projects we want to tackle. I love finding treasures at Yard Sales, Salvation Army, and Craigslist.
Here is a quick and easy project that added a touch of uniqueness to our family room mantle. Everything except for the painting came from yard sales (vases), Salvation Army (Books), and Craigslist (shutters for $10). The shutters I got were weathered and pretty beat up. I sanded them down and painted them with Annie Sloane Chalk Paint (Paris Gray), which gave them a second life!

My grandmother had painted this small oil and I wanted to display it above our mantel, but it's not large so I liked the idea of layering it on the shutters to give it length and depth. The shutters are also great at any season to put a wreath or chalkboard art, or a mirror on top.

There are some other ideas for our mantle that I'm working on so stay tuned. Whenever I find things that I like I keep them on file on my Pintrest boards- come check them out.