10 retro kitchen reveal - {how chalk paint saved me}

no worries,

it just took me almost 4 months to get my kitchen to look

almost done, but here it is none-the-less. 

all retro-y red and teal,

and per my mom's idea, a hint of chevron.

cause why the heck not?

the after:

the nasty before.

i painted that wall the first color that came to mind,

just to have color on it before i even moved in.

big mistake.

this is obviously before i painted the hutch.

or these chairs.

the table and 2 large floral chairs i snagged from craigslist for $30.
and the four folding chairs that I found for $40...
that we later saw online for $140 each!

this is the part where i wish i could say i was smart 

and whipped up a batch of chalk paint and got the job done so super quick....

i didn't.

i didn't know about it until after the 3rd coat of nasty, non-covering red.

and that was also after the best primer there is.
{in fact, if you are ever worried about needing to sand, just don't.
this zinsser stuff is genius. you will never have to sand again... when in doubt, get the red stuff.}

but, after a few coats, {and my ACE guy assured me it would take all 3 to coat well,
i was frustrated and dissapointed with how it looked,
and i wasn't even sure how i wanted to distress this one...

so after much online searching, i found a handful of ways to make my own chalk paint.
here is a rough recipe, though you don't need one.

if you cook, it's like using a thickening agent.
that's really all you are doing,
thickening your paint.
with plaster.

how to make chalk paint:

mix up your plaster of paris with a little bit of water at a time until it's the consistency of thick pudding.

then start mixing your plaster in with your paint until it is more like melted chocolate.
or pancake batter... really, it won't really matter at all as long as it isn't too thick.



 

the paint covers like a dream. nice and thick.
you wouldn't need to prime OR sand with this stuff for most projects.

i used 2 different techniques this time to age these.
the flaky paint look and the shabby glaze look...

the flaky vintage look:
~ paint the edges and wherever you want the paint to "age" and after it dries,
rub a thin coat of vaseline everywhere there is paint. {i used black for the chairs, and gray for the teal table so they would show up nicely and cover well.}

~ paint over it with 2 coats of your nice thick chalk paint. {it'll take 2 to cover your "under color" cause it will be reluctant to stick on the first go}

~ then you will take a fine-grain sand paper {i used 220} and gently wipe the edges.
the paint will chip off like butta. {so go easy!}

 the top of the table was a bit different...

i first had to fill in the grooves and sand the top cause it was a bit to groovy for me,
if you know what i mean...

nothing a little wood filler couldn't take care of...

 

then after painting the top white,

realized it was way to bright next to my vintage white hutch.

and my new cute hutch looked dirty.

solution: make the table look "dirty" too!

the vintage shabby wash:

i got me some glaze, and a paint sample.

one that is a handful of shades darker. 

{i have seen this done in a light blue or gray and it looks fabulous!}

it brushes on thin and dries slow,
so you have time to move it around a bit, wipe it off here, add more there...

it adds the look of a farm table which i love
instead of the hard flat white.

it's subtle, but makes a HUGE difference!

then i sealed the bottom with a clear satin polycrylic finish,
and dropped a few coats of the semi-gloss finish over the top.
they won't peel any more than what i did to em,
and now i can handle food on it without a problem!

{i sealed the chairs with finishing wax, so they won't peel a whole lot more either.}

i am so happy with it!!

and glad to be done...

but let's be real,

a woman's work is never really done...

PS: try the chalk paint ASAP, and let me know how it works for you!

my plaster of paris was $8 and i barely used any to thicken up 3 different colors 

and types of paint that i already had! 

my next projects are going to be a breeze!

linking up here:

chef-in-training
not just a housewife
vintage wannabee
homemaker on a dime