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    Home » Home

    DIY Chalky Finish Bench Makeover

    Updated: May 29, 2015 by Melissa Mortenson · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 4 Comments

    Have you ever wondered how to paint furniture?  If so, you may love today’s project, a DIY Chalky Finish Bench Makeover. If you like this post you may also like this Jewelry Box Makeover or this Painted Mirror Project. This post is sponsored by DecoArt, all opinions and hair-brained ideas are 100% mine…. all mine…

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

     

    Several years ago after we moved into our current house, I made a habit of stopping by my favorite furniture stores on a regular basis to see if they were getting rid of any of their floor samples.  The technique worked out pretty well and I was able to collect most of the furniture we used in our play room that way.  Most of the pieces were pretty worn by the time I got them but it didn’t bother me since I figured my kids would ding up the furniture once we got it home.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

     

    You may remember me mentioning (aka bellyache-ing) about the “great room shuffle” that we took on last December. We relocated my sewing room to the old playroom, donated all of our old toys, moved one daughter into my old sewing room and moved another daughter into daughter 1’s old bedroom.  It was crazy…. and I was totally exhausted when we finished it.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    When we moved my sewing room into the old playroom we decided to keep the furniture that was in there and repaint it. I spent most of December painting this entertainment cabinet (it was the same color as the bench and was also painted with Chalk paint). My intention always was to paint the coffee table next, but I was just too burned out by the time we finished moving to tackle that project. Here you can see the project mid move… if you want to see some very NOT STAGED photos of the room finished you can click here.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    With summer almost here I decided it was time to paint the coffee table.  The table is actually an entryway bench but I’m going to use it as a coffee table in my sewing room. It was pretty banged up after years of abuse from my kids and I decided that painting it and distressing it would really bring out some of the character.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    I used the Americana DECOR chalky Finish paint for this project.  The colors I used were – Everlasting (white), New Life (Green), Inheritance (yellow), Smitten (Coral). I also used the Creme Wax and a waxing brush to finish the project.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

     

    I thought it would be fun to make the 3 cubbies on the bench “pop” by painting them in different colors.

    If you’d like to try a project like this here’s how I did it:

    First before you start, make sure you stir your Chalky Finish paint VERY WELL!!

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    I began by painting the entire bench (except the cubby interiors) with Everlasting Chalky Finish Paint. I just used a standard paint brush.  It took 3 coats to cover the dark wood color, if you’re doing this with a darker paint it might take less coats, but plan on at least two. It took 1 ½ bottles to cover the entire piece.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    I knew that I wanted the paint colors to be lighter, so I mixed some of the white paint with some of the colored paint in a few mason jars. I just mixed until I got a color I liked. I took one more jar of white paint to get enough to lighten all 3 colors of paint.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    Since I mixed the paint in mason jars I could easily store the extra paint for later use.

    After the white was dry I taped off the boundaries of the cubbies, then painted each cubby a different color.

    It also took 2-3 coats. Make sure you let each coat dry before you start another coat.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    After the paint was completely dry I used my electric sander to distress the bench and smooth out all of the paint. I used a 120 grit sandpaper. Anything heavier than that won’t give you a smooth finish.

    I then wiped down the bench to remove the paint dust and applied one coat of Creme Wax.  I let that coat dry then I buffed the surface with a clean white cloth. Which gave a nice sheen to the wax.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

    The project took a few days just because I only worked on it a few minutes at a time, and I love how it turned out! you’d never recognize the dinged up bench I started with!

    Visit the DecoArt Chalky Finish website for more chalk paint ideas and inspiration.

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

     

    If you have a piece of furniture that you think can use a second chance, DecoArt is running a contest right now with some pretty SWEET prizes!!

    DecoArt Second Chances Contest

    For more information visit the DecoArt website!

     

    How to paint furniture using Chalky Finish paint. A colorful DIY makeover for an entryway bench!

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    About Author

    Melissa Mortenson

    Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs.  Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. louise Ambrosi says

      May 25, 2015 at 4:18 am

      A really lovely result! Love the different colours inside. Great idea!

      Reply
      • Sharon says

        May 26, 2015 at 2:46 pm

        After having painting adventures using Milk Paint is product looks more user friendly.
        What fun mixing your own colors!

        Love the Hello Phone pillow is there a source to make one for my bench project ?

        Reply
    2. Molly says

      May 29, 2015 at 7:01 pm

      If you ever use chalk paint again, flip the can or bottle upside down 10-15 minutes before you use it. All the sediment will fall and mix in a little, making mixing easier and giving you a better finish!

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        May 29, 2015 at 10:39 pm

        Oh that’s a great tip! Thank you. I just made sure to stir it well, but that would be much easier!

        Reply

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