Painted Furniture, Makeovers and Upcycle Projects, DIY Home Decor and Crafts, and Recipes

10 Fabulous Furniture Makeovers Using Chalk Paint {Before and After}

by

Today, I want share with you a few of the chalk painted furniture pieces I’ve been working on for my new shop at Miles of Art. I hope you’ll be inspired. I’ve tried so many different chalk paints- from my favorite DIY recipe to Annie Sloan, and several others in between. I’ve used polyacrylic sealer, Minwax sealer, and Daddy Vans wax. The only thing I haven’t tried yet is the Annie Sloan brand wax.

Mid Century Modern table

I love the look of classic mid century pieces. Unfortunately, this little guy had seen better days. It was given to me by a friend. It already had what looked like a semi-paint job, and some peeling veneer on the top. I repaired the veneer with a bit of wood filler and a good sanding.

Then, I painted this great little table with aqua DIY chalk paint, silver spray paint for the legs, and Mod Podged the top with wrapping paper. Sealed with polyacrylic.

In fact, you’ll notice that this table coordinates with my rocking horse makeover as well as the Mod Podge wrapping paper toy box.

Roll Top Desk

I found this little beauty at a yard sale for just a few dollars. This roll top desk was originally $10 but I talked her down a bit (although $10 was a good deal itself) It was missing a foot, and a knob, and just needed some general TLC.

 

I painted this lovely lady with Annie Sloan old white chalk paint, and sealed it with Minwax. I hand distressed it, and added new hardware.

w

 


3. Corner Cabinet

So, this piece has an interesting story. I was dropping my oldest two boys off at a friends house for a swimming party, and noticed it was by the curb at one of the neighbors homes. I immediately called my friend to see if the neighbors were indeed throwing it out and she said yes! She sent all the boys over to pick it up and carry it back to her house so I could get it when I picked up the kids. 

This sucker is heavy, and laminate, and someone had already tried to give it a paint job with little success. Of course, chalk paint will cover just about anything, so I knew my brand new can of Annie Sloan duck egg blue would be a great solution.

I needed a display cabinet for my shop, so I removed all the doors, painted it blue. Then, I attached a cute little bunting I made out of scrapbook paper. I actually decided not to seal it with anything for now, because I don’t mind if it gets a bit distressed. 
It’s perfect now as a display in my shop. 

 




4. French Table
This table was another garage sale find. I’ll be honest, nothing about it appealed to me other than the fact that it was solid wood. I didn’t even want to pay the couple of dollars that they were asking for it, but when she said she’d go half price on it, I thought, what the heck. 
I brought it home, and there it sat for quite a while. It wasn’t until I found some inspiration over at The Graphics Fairy that I felt like I knew what to do with it. I painted it with my DIY chalk paint, gave it quite a bit of distressing, and added an amazing graphic using a Mod Podge transfer technique. I then sealed it with a polycrylic.
I’ll have to post another time a how-to Mod Podge transfer an image. 
I love the results! It actually sold within the first 48 hours I had it in my shop. 
 

 

5. Oval Book Table

I found this book table in one of those thrift shops that look scary from the outside. You know the kind, you don‘t want to go in unless you’re with a friend. I’ve found that often those will have undiscovered treasures for that reason. My mom and I were thrifting one afternoon, and decided to brave it. I’m glad we did because I snagged this oval book table for a great deal.
 
I know these aren’t too hard to find, which doesn’t often make them very unique. But, with a fresh makeover using Annie Sloan duck egg blue and some polycrylic sealer, I made it very unique. I also used my white paint pen and added a few swirls on the top for an extra special touch. Slight distressing gave it the perfect finish.
 
 
6. Coffee Table 

I’m going mark this makeover as one of the most unusual I‘ve ever done. It is actually my moms idea, so I went with it. We mixed some DIY chalk paint in pink and also black. Then, we flipped it upside down, and gave this spindle leg coffee table a brand new life as a pet bed fit for a princess!
 
Again, I added a few extra touches, and now it’s ready for the most pampered pooch!
 
Here are a few more that I regretfully didn’t snap before photos of, but you can still see the final results.
7. Toybox
8. Hipster Cabinet

 

9. Oriental End Table

 


10. Book Caddy


 

I’ve had an absolute blast finding pieces to makeover. I honestly don’t know how I ever painted furniture before I knew about chalk paint. I’ll say that the results I’ve had with the DIY paint and the Annie Sloan paint have been nearly the same. 


I hope that this has inspired you to give new life to an old piece as well!

Pin It

 

Like what you’ve seen? Follow along

SaveSave

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Just Short says

    Sigh, I had a long comment typed up but it didn't save. Oh well, the basic comment was "I love this!!!" Great job making over furniture with paint 🙂

  3. Abby / Linda says

    Awesome makeovers! Wish I had room to do that! but then, it quite an undertaking and I probably wouldn't finish it. I'll just enjoy yours!

  4. Deborah@Green Willow Pond says

    Wow you've been busy. These are great makeovers. I can't believe how pretty that $1.00 chunky table turned out!

    I'd love it if you would share this at "What We Accomplished Wednesday," at Green Willow Pond. It is live Tuesdays at about 6:00 EST. Have a great week!

    Hugs,
    Deborah

  7. Navy Wifey Peters @ USS Crafty says

    Wow! I love all of these pieces, but I really like that toy box! I have a magazine table like the one you have here. I painted it with chalkboard paint. Thanks for sharing @ Submarine Sunday!

  8. Becky says

    Good morning Molly. Great work and so inspirational! I am going to attempt to upcycle an old roll top desk for my daughter with chalk paint. I would love to put her distressed monogram in a distressed french frame (http://thegraphicsfairy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/French-Vintage-Images-Frame-GraphicsFairy21.jpg) on the writing area of the desk using possibly a modge podge transfer technique (like you did with your French table above. I have never done this before and could use some guidance and would love to hear from you. Your advice on your techniques would be genuinely appreciated!
    Thanks!
    Rebecca

  9. michele hendricks says

    You might check out a new brand of chalked paint, called "Shabby Paints", they have a new topping which is, I think very superior to wax. It is called Vax, a wax varnish combo, that dries quickly to a very hard durable finish. It comes in a sheer, pear ❤️❤️,black and hazelnut colors. Anyway, google "Shabby Paints" to learn more …

  13. Belle says

    Thanks for this, I bought a really nice roll top desk last night for $20, hoping I could find someone somewhere to tell me I could paint it. It’s that fake oak finish and I’m thinking a nice dark grey to go with my decor.