January 12, 2012

Pinterest Challenge: Week Two*

Welcome to the Pinterest Challenge: Week Two! If you are new to this challenge [as I'm sure most people are since we're only in week two!] then feel free to go here to check out the rules & all pertinent information.

When we started talking about the nursery plans, I was pretty set with the fact that I didn't want a traditional changing table. The room we are using is a decent size, but there were a few key things that I wanted & didn't want to give up. Space was one of them, which means minimal furniture. In an attempt to not only save space but utilize it as best as we could, we decided to find a used dresser and re-purpose it, using the top as our changing table portion.

We got this baby for $100 from a used furniture store near our house. I fell in love with the detail as well as the size & space. It's a heavy piece & very sturdy, but obviously needed some love:


With this project in mind [even before we found the dresser] I had been keeping my eyes open on Pinterest for ways to re-purpose furniture, as well as ideas in general on what color to paint it. Because we had painted the walls such a dark grey, we wanted to stick with really light & bright colors for the rest of the furniture & I wanted the dresser to really pop. I was willing to do the work necessary for a re-purpose job ... until I got this one. I loved the detail, but sanding this bad boy down was going to be a bitch. What was I thinking??

And then I came across Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on pinterest. A product that claimed to be so simple & fabulous, that no prep work was necessary. A paint that doesn't need any sanding? That fills in gaps & holes, & doesn't leave paint streaks? What?? How is this possible? They also claim that you can use this paint on almost anything: furniture, walls, indoors, outdoors ... anything! After searching many, many blogs to see if the claim was true [do a search ... people swear by this paint product!] & searched for a US retailer that shipped, I ordered the paint & got to painting. Because we wanted something bright, I went with the color Provence:


A nice, bright teal! As soon as I opened the can, I knew I was in love. I should also probably mention that I have no idea why they call it "Chalk Paint." This is not chalkboard paint, so please don't get the wrong idea. I haven't quite figured that out yet. But the paint definitely went on as smooth as people said it would. The paint is a little thicker, so I did have to use two coats. However, if you wanted a more rustic look, one coat would have been fine. A lot of people sand down their projects a little, to give it that little bit of "extra rustic" look but I wanted a good solid color, so I applied two coats and left it as is.

After painting & letting dry, I applied a coat of the clear wax, which keeps the paint from scratching & overall just protects the product. I definitely recommend it. I was hesitant at first, but was glad I spent the extra money. The wax can be reapplied overtime, keeping it in good condition.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the final product. I think it's the pop of color that we need in the nursery while also being functional. And, I think it looks good :)


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Alright people! Show me the goods! What did you do this week??

9 comments:

Jenny D. said...

I can't wait to see the rest of the nursery when you get done! I had so much doing Campbell's and had so many ideas for it but was very limited in terms of shopping, etc because of where I was.

Brittany said...

I'm REALLY excited about the direction it's taking. I still have some work to do in the next few weeks, but mostly detail stuff! I will definitely post pictures when it's complete!

Megan said...

I LOVE it! I am hoping to so the same thing in my nursery so thank you for the paint suggestion. It looks gorgeous.

Julie Danielle said...

That looks awesome! We have used a dresser like that for a changing table before. It works great!

Julie Danielle said...

And I LOVE that color!

Anonymous said...

I ADORE that dresser! And I'll be looking into that paint! Thank you so much for sharing this. Unfortunately, I've never done anything off pinterest, so I have nothing cool to contribute (only get to gawk at everyone else's! In a good way!).

Brittany said...

Thanks, ladies!

Tsoniki Crazy Bull said...

That looks so good! I am going to remember that a paint product like that exists. I haven't repainted furniture in years, but that would have worked wonders!!

And it looks like Stacy and I did the same recipe. LOL

Lauren said...

I love this dresser and the color. Before I even saw what color you picked, I had the exact same idea! LOOKS GREAT!! Can't wait to see it all put together.