Pretty Side Tables get a Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Makeover!

I call these my splurge tables! I've never paid so much for side tables before, but I fell in love with the harp base and rose detail. My husband would never want anything this feminine in our home, so it was especially fun to be able to work on a style of furniture I love but wouldn't ever have in my home. 

These tables were meant to be painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I went with Paris Grey and was really impressed with the coverage! I've been working on some MCM dressers in white and even though I primed and primed and primed, I still had a hard time getting them white, so I was nervous this color wouldn't cover that well. (Save that for another post) thankfully two coats gave me solid coverage. I wanted more texture, so I mixed up some pure white with Paris Grey and water and did a quick wash over the entire piece. I just brushed on then wiped off with a rag. 

They were lovely before, but I think having them painted is a beautiful update. 

Here's after just one coat of paint!

I mixed Antibes Green with Duck Egg Blue till I got a green shade I liked. I used a small brush to paint the leaves, it only took one coat. Then I mixed Henrietta with pure white for the rose. Again, one coat and it was good to go. I used my "wash" mixture over the flowers and leaves. 

Next step was to distress the entire piece. I used a wet rag to distress along with a sanding block. After wiping it down, I used Minwax in clear to seal the entire piece. I'm always a little nervous using dark wax, so I made sure the parts that I would use the dark wax on were really well coated in clear 

wax first. I kept my rag for clear wax on hand in case I needed to pull off the dark wax in a hurry. I used Maison Blanche dark wax because that's what I had on hand. 

Looks a little scary at this point, but thankfully it wiped off nice and just settled into the cracks giving it a beautiful aged look. I used a brush to apply it to the details, waited a minute and then gently wiped it off. 

I did the same in all the recessed detail to add that aged look. Buffed it all out with an old rag to get a nice sheen, put the gorgeous marble tops back on and now they await a new home! Would love to see where these beauties end up. 

Thanks for visiting!

 ~Aurora