How to Paint Furniture with Chalk Paint

How to Paint Cabinets

The transformation of our veranda continues. The more the work progresses, the happier I am. Built in 1995, I have been impatiently waiting for this room to be finished perfectly!

The renovations of our century-old house took place over several years. We therefore had to wait several years before completing the veranda, given that it served as a storage place for materials.

We wanted this room to not only be visually pleasing but also very useful since it serves as the main entrance to the back of the house. So, still looking for additional storage for this one, my husband thought about upcycling the cabinets, which had previously served as linen closet in the newly renovated bathroom.

I thought his idea was brilliant and we decided to stack them to save as much space as possible. What we would see when entering the room is a nice bench seat and two stacked cabinets at the end of it. I was somewhat disappointed however, given that first of all, I had wanted one large cabinet for this space, and not two cabinets stacked on top of each other. Being picky on the finish, because I like things well done aesthetically, I didn’t see how these two cabinets could give the look that I so desired.

The Mermaid Colour

My husband, always with his head full of ideas to find solutions, suggested adding mouldings on the side to give the appearance of pedestals and he would also add one on the moulding to create a seamless look.

I gladly accepted his idea and I was now able to visualize it and was convinced that everything would be magnificent!

The colour, however, had already been chosen for quite a while. As soon as Colorantic released its new Mermaid colour, my choice was immediately made for the veranda.

Mermaid is a magnificent blue-green which brings us into a state of peace and serenity, both by its name and by its hue.

This new shade goes wonderfully with the new colour, Nature, which I recently used to transform two chairs in this room.

Mermaid and Nature, two words that inspire relaxation. What more could you ask for in this room which opens onto a magnificent mountainous and majestic landscape of the Laurentians.

List of Products Used

• Colorantic Cleaner and Varnish Remover
• Colorantic Oil-Based Primer
• Colorantic Chalk-Based Paint: Mermaid
• Colorantic Foam Roller
• Colorantic Oval Purple Synthetic Paintbrush #10
• Colorantic Snow White Small Brush
• Colorantic Matte Top Coat Varnish
• Colorantic Sanding Block
• Colorantic Granular Hand and Brush Soap
• Blue paper towel for multiple uses

Cleaning and Transformation of the Cabinets

• Remove the doors and hardware.
• Spray the Cleaner and Varnish Remover on all surfaces, spread with a paper towel and leave it to act for 10 minutes.
• After the rest time, it is important to rinse very well twice to remove all residue and allow the paint to adhere well.
• Make MDF mouldings (¼ in. thick x 2½ in. wide).
• Apply a coat of oil primer to the mouldings using the roller. It is very important to apply oil-based primer to prevent the new material from absorbing water from the chalk-based paint causing them to swell.
• Once the primer is dry, sand lightly using the sanding block and dust well.
• You are now ready to attach the mouldings to form boxes. Secure the mouldings using a pneumatic nailer and needle nails.

Painting

And now it is time to apply the colour.

Using the foam roller and the #6 oval brush, apply the colour, Mermaid, to all surfaces.

About 30 minutes later you can apply the second coat.

Finishing

When the paint is completely dry, it is time to apply the varnish using the foam roller and the small Snow White brush.

Once dry and for better protection, apply a second coat.

We now have a very beautiful cabinet that will be very useful for our storage needs.

Becoming more excited by the changes, we are ready to continue our project.

The wait was long for the transformation of this room, but I have no regrets. Over the years, we have discovered our needs, which would not have been the case if the work had been done when this veranda was built in 1995.

You can find the evolution of our veranda through various blogs on the Colorantic website!