A Refinished Dining Set

 A while ago I went to an auction in Mitchell, Ontario.  I bought more than I thought I had room for, so I had to leave this dining set behind.  Well, a few weeks later, I took another trip out to Stratford, and was thrilled they still had it.  It came home with me and became this weeks' project.




I painted the table in Annie Sloan's Pure White chalk paint.

The chairs I simply oiled with hemp oil to bring out their natural beauty.

I also reupholstered the chairs in a brand new line of fabric from Ottawa Textiles.

It was my very first time using Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint.  I've heard so much about it - and everyone asks if I've used it.  It went on fairly easy, but I did have some run-ins with it.  It boasts that "no prep work is required", but that's not the case.  After 2 coats, I found the old varnish was still seeping through in spots, causing a brown blotching.  It was awful.  So I repainted the top in cover stain, then again with chalkpaint.  After it was fully dry, I noticed the legs were yellowing.  So I repainted them in cover stain, and then again in chalk paint.  So do not be deceived my friends... this paint is a little temperamental to work with!

I coated it with beeswax, and buffed it the next day for a brilliant sheen.

I didn't distress it at all - just kept it purely white.

The carved detail on the chairs is STUNNING.

And the detail on the base is absolutely elegant.

So it was a little bit of a rocky introduction to chalk paint.  However, we were working on this armoire this week.  I picked up the main part of the armoire off a guy on kijiji, and had Mark fit this elaborate top on it.  I painted it with grey chalk paint, then whitewashed over it, distressed it... and it's gorgeous.

But, you will have to wait for another day to see the finished product :)