Aubusson Blue in the foyer

Hey there!! Hope you had a great weekend! We got a lot done which always feels good. We got so much done that I was laying down yesterday afternoon, contemplating a nap…but this project kept nagging at me. I’ve been wanting to get this done FOREVER.

And now it is. Done. ;)

I’ve shown you our foyer a million times, most recently right around Thanksgiving: 

I’ve mentioned once or a hundred times that I wanted to paint that buffet. I am tired of all the black dressers in our house! Thing is, many of them have come from the same source. I bought this one and at least one other from a Craigslist seller. She finds some great pieces and paints them all black.

The one in my office will stay black, just because I love it so very much as is. This one in the foyer  just needed something, especially right by that black front door.

So something it got…in the form of Aubusson Blue chalk paint:

I have loved this color from the first time I saw it last year and knew I wanted to use it in my house somewhere. I’m pretty much obsessed with deep, rich blues right now. Which is funny because five years ago you couldn’t find blue anywhere around here.

The great thing about chalk paint is the no sanding/no priming part. I did sand this down a bit though, because the paint was really rough in some spots --  it’s always bothered me:

  

I hate sanding but I did it super fast – like two minutes for the whole piece – just the spots that felt rough on the doors and drawer fronts.

After a wipe down, I was ready to go and was super excited to see how well the paint went on:

I realized pretty quick I was going to get away with just one coat and I was stoked! Whoo!! Thing is, I wasn’t perfect about it – I didn’t mind seeing a hint of the black coming through. That was my goal really. I did a good coat, and if I was a perfectionist I would have gone back for another, but I’m not. So I didn’t. :)

I decided to rough up the top with sandpaper too, because I keep a lot of my tools in this dresser and I am not gentle to the top of it:

I figured a quick sanding never hurts. I did just one coat of the blue on the top too. I was thinking of some fun way to do the dresser – maybe two tone, maybe sanding down the top and staining it…but I just wanted this done and really? I’m just a simple girl at heart. Paint it and done.

Well, paint it and then wax it that is. I have tried both the Annie Sloan and CeCe Caldwell wax and I like the latter just a bit more –- it’s just a tad lighter and easier to work with in my opinion:

I wiped it on (like I showed you here) and then buffed it off well – but I think too well. The top is still chalky when stuff hits it so I need at least one more good coat. I’m always afraid to leave any kind of film for fear it won’t dry well, so I take a lot off.

Here’s the deal. This chalk paint stuff is expensive. But get this…it lasts forEVER. And I can promise you there is NO way I would have been able to cover something like this with one coat in regular latex. Just no way.

Here’s proof that it lasts forever – this is all I used:

You can compare that to the pic of the new paint can above. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Crazy eh? So in my mind, the ease of use (no primer) and the great coverage makes it worth it to me to splurge every once and a while. Now I just need to decide what else I’m painting this color! :)

I absolutely ADORE how it came out:

It’s fun and pretty and I love it in the foyer – it makes me happy that visitors will see this first thing when the walk in!

I did quite a bit of distressing, just so it didn’t look perfect – cause things don’t stay perfect around here anyway so I just helped it along. I just did the edges and raised parts with some sand paper – the areas that normally get wear over time.

I pulled from all over the house to accessorize:

    

I want to redo that whole gallery above the dresser, but it’s funny how well that blue ties in to the art above. I did a super fast coat of the blue on the bottom frame to ground that a little bit too.

And I love that it ties in to our DIY art in the reflection:

So pretty!! I just love how it turned out!

Now…onto the tile in the foyer! I’m more determined to replace that now more than ever.

Doesn’t it look like spring to you? It does me:

Mother Nature is determined to remind us it’s a long way off though – it is absolutely freezing here today!

Again, here are the details on this project:

Color/paint: Aubusson Blue, Annie Sloan Chalk Paint
Protective wax: CeCe Caldwell clear wax
Painted with a wide angled brush.

You can see my other chalk paint adventures here and here!

So are you a chalk paint fan? Have you made your own? I’m still wanting to try that out too.