Decorate

How to upcycle a chest of drawers

Painting furniture is a great way to upgrade an old piece and give it a new lease of life

This is a great DIY project that can be easily tackled over a weekend. This basic wooden chest of drawers offers good storage space but needed a little facelift to freshen it up.

What you’ll need:

Annie Sloan Mini Project Pack, RRP $149, which includes everything you need to transform a small piece of furniture:

  • Small Bristle Brush
  • Two pots of 100ml Chalk Paint™ (colours optional)
  • One 120ml tin of Clear Wax
  • One tin of 120ml White, Dark or Black Wax (colours optional).
  • For this project we chose: Antoinette, Old White, Clear Wax and White Wax.
Annie Sloan
(Credit: Annie Sloan)

On this chest of drawers we’ve used the two colours that we’d selected from the Mini Project Pack to create a simple geometric pattern on the front of this chest of drawers. Painted triangles and color-blocking have been on trend for quite some time now, and this is a look that is so easy to achieve.

1 Begin by painting the whole piece in Antoinette – focusing on covering the area that will be outside the triangle on the drawer fronts. The Bristle Brush is brilliant for creating the texture needed to make White Wax stand out. Apply the paint thickly, moving your brush in every direction to create beautiful brush marks and to create a surface that Coloured Chalk Paint Waxes thrive on.

Annie Sloan
(Credit: Annie Sloan)

3 Once the paint is completely dry use masking tape to outline the triangle shape on the front of the chest of drawers. Using Old White paint inside the masking tape line, again using the Annie Sloan Bristle Brush to create lots of texture.

Annie Sloan
(Credit: Annie Sloan)
Annie Sloan
(Credit: Annie Sloan)

4 Once the paint is dry, use an Annie Sloan Wax Brush to apply Clear Wax to the surface painted in Old White. Wax Brushes are a great investment and make waxing so simple. A lint-free cloth is a brilliant alternative.

5 Work the Clear Wax into the surface and wipe away any excess. Next, apply White Wax directly onto the area painted in Antoinette – pushing it into the crevices in the paint and surface, and then wiping away any excess. The longer the White Wax is left after being applied, the stronger the colour. 

Annie Sloan
(Credit: Annie Sloan)

6 Experiment to find out what works best for you and if you feel like you’ve applied too much White Wax, don’t worry, the Clear Wax acts like an eraser and can remove the White Wax.

Annie Sloan
(Credit: Annie Sloan)

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