chalk painting

I have been having fun painting furniture this winter, using Annie Sloan chalk paint. Like millions of others, I am now a huge fan. There are so many reasons to love her paint.  Just google and thousands of tutorials, videos and reviews will come up. I got started after reading a post by my friend, the very talented DIYer, Pam of Simple Details blog. She wrote a post about transforming old outdated armoires. I had one of those! 

I uncharacteristically caught the bug to paint and started researching. Annie Sloan paint kept coming up and sounded too good to be true- no prep! I found a source, chose a basic light shade, Old Ochre and a can of the clear wax and started painting. I was finished with the armoire in a few hours, I used less than half of the quart sized can and it came out great! I was hooked.

I have since added brass knobs from Anthro. 

I then purchased a can of Country Grey for some variety, which is more of a khaki, 

and with just two quarts of light paint have been moving through the house, trying to add variety to each room by reducing the amount of "brown furniture" and furniture that might have been more suited to one of our earlier homes. Still too much brown in this house as you can see but getting better (convincing husband is part of the process).  This lamp is painted in Country Grey. There is the picture my Uncle Murray took, that story is still continuing. More on that later.

I have since painted a coffee table, two side tables, a baker's rack, two lamps (you can paint glass, brass, any surface with chalk paint) and last week this little tray table next to the couch in the family room. I still have paint left in both cans! Added a gold leaf design to it for interest. Excuse the glare.

  I just purchased Graphite 

and am painting a wood kitchen table/possible desk for our son to use in a college apartment when the time comes. It is not black but a very dark blue grey that is a really attractive color, richer than straight black. 

Here is her color range. I get excited looking at it! Mulling over Emile 

or probably a lightened Emile for a side table in our bedroom. The stockist closest to me has painted pieces in the store to see, very valuable as some colors looks different once painted and waxed. For instance, Henrietta paint is too pink for our room, glad there was a table in the store for me to see. Also ordered Versailles, 

a soft lemony sage and Coco, 

a warm dark putty, not sure how I will use them, just liked the colors.

Have you tried Annie Sloan paint? Come on, paint something this winter while you are hibernating!