Dress it Up — Using Amy Howard Chalk Paint

This is the before photo of a nice looking dresser I purchased a few years ago from Pier 1.  It had a minty green paint with red stripes and brass, ordinary knobs. Over the years, I have transitioned from my love of red to calmer hues of blue, grey and cream with pops of orange and turquoise.  I decided the dresser needed a makeover.

I love painting with chalk paint. Two brands I have worked with are Annie Sloan and Amy Howard.  I have more experience with Annie Sloan and have painted several pieces of furniture, my pantry door and even a fireplace mantel for my designer friend’s client.  I wanted to try Amy Howard’s line she sells through Ace Hardware.

She carries a wide variety of colors and even has a line of lacquer spray paint. The fun and unique aspect of Amy Howard’s paint (like Annie Sloan) is the product is a water-based paint that adheres to any surface with no need to sand or prime.  The results net a flea-market piece that looks fresh and updated.

Chalk paint is very forgiving and is super easy to use.  It rubs off in the places you don’t want it and stays where you do. My local Ace offers classes for application techniques, so be sure to follow them on social media for updates.

I selected Amy Howard One-Step paint in black.  The pigment is very rich so a little goes a long way. I have enough black paint left for another project.

I taped off everything I didn’t want painted black and removed the knobs.  I only painted the minty green and left the cream that was already on the dresser.  I had plans for the stripes using a different line of paint.Using a paint brush, I applied two coats of black paint, making sure to give ample time between coats to adequately dry.

After I was finished painting, I waited 24 hours then applied two thin coats of Amy Howard light antique wax.

The wax helps to protect your paint and also gives a nice, satin finish.

I replaced the hardware with some sparkly knobs from Hobby Lobby and decided to go with mis-matched whimsy using two different knobs from the rest.

The stripes are now gold.  I used a Sherwin-Williams paint and applied it with a steady hand and a small watercolor brush.

Here’s the after…

I am really happy with how it turned out.  It’s not perfect and looks like a vintage piece which is what I was going for. The dresser is in our dining area and houses all our place mats and linen napkins.Can you imagine it would also make a cute coffee station with your Keurig on top and mugs tucked in an open drawer?

So, for about $50 and a weekend, I gave an already great piece of furniture a new life.  I’m sure you have a piece of furniture you’re not feeling the love for.  After a weekend with Amy Howard, you might just change your mind.