chalk that paint

I've had a crush on this Hemnes linen cabinet from IKEA for ages.  AGES.  Every time I venture to IKEA, I seek out this cabinet and pet it like a puppy.  And of course, it happens to be the one thing I want from IKEA that costs $300.  On principle I just can't spend that much money on furniture I have to assemble.  So when I went to Jessica's house before Cammy's retirement party, she had an old bookcase of mine that she was looking to rid herself of.  Folks, I bought this bookcase my sophomore year of college, from the Martha Stewart line at K-Mart.  Seriously.  And it's held up that long!  Ok, not THAT long ago, if you don't do the math.  

Anywho, I hauled it home and the hubs eyed me suspiciously when I asked him to help unpack the car.  Because this bookcase was stuffed in the back.  I finally got around this weekend to painting it and covering the inside with contact paper.  I used the Americana Decor chalk paint from Michaels, in "Romance," because I've finally jumped on the Pinterest chalk paint bandwagon, and I have no idea why I waited so long.  This stuff is amazing!  No priming, no sanding, and the coverage is ridiculous.

I used some old glass knobs, and did my faux mercury glass treatment to them (mirror spray paint and some dark grey sponging).  

This contact paper was left over from my kitchen cabinet lining project, and I liked how the aqua and red went together. 

And once the chalk paint got its claws into me, well, there wasn't any stopping it.  I have legitimate fears that every piece of furniture in my house might end up looking like a French antique flea market find, and that's a slippery slope!  I promised the hubs I had one, just one, more project in mind - Britton's little table and chairs.

The honey-colored wood was fine, but once Memaw and I got to talking about how good it would look painted with a chalkboard top, well, it had to be done!  This color is "Vintage," and while you can't tell it from these photos, it is a beautiful grey blue, very close to my bathroom paint color of "Rainwashed" by Sherwin-Williams.

Instead of using wax to finish the pieces, I used the soft-touch varnish.  Wax has to be reapplied every six months to a year, and I didn't want the maintenance.  The soft-touch varnish keeps the furniture matte and protected.

I covered the top of the table with chalkboard (not chalk!) paint.  It took three coats, and still has 24 hours to go until it's completely cured.  So, no one gets to use the table just yet.

Since Martha Stewart is my girl and all, I not only buy her defunct K-Mart furniture line, but also her chalkboard labels!  These come from Staples and are removable, in case I want to switch them up.  I need to find a chalk marker to better write Britton and Barrett's names, so this chicken scratch will have to suffice until I get to JoAnns, which is about two times a week!  Even when I'm between quilting projects I guess I still find a reason to go there.

Did I mention that the paint is only $9 a jar (and I used a 50% off coupon), and that each project took less than one jar?   Those statistics have me pining for more chalk painting projects!  But since I've run out of furniture, maybe it's time to move on to photo frames....Here we go!