If you love indulging in DIY painting arts or like to do experiments with your home renovations and paints, you have probably heard about the term ‘chalk paint’ being thrown around. But what is chalk paint exactly, and when should you use it?
We have the answers. Let us walk you through a comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about chalk paint.
Table of Contents
What is Chalk Paint?
Chalk paint is a decorative paint known for its matte, chalky appearance. It is a popular choice to give your home decor and furniture a rustic, chic, or vintage look and style. You can use chalk paint for a distressed look because it is ideal for those who want to add character and vintage charm to their furniture.
Ready to give your chairs, bathroom vanity, or dressers the chalk paint treatment? Let’s get into it.
How to Use Chalk Paint?
Chalk paint is more commonly used to give furniture pieces a matte look. However, you can also use chalk paint to paint an entire wall, if you love the chalky effect.
Chalk paint can turn a bedroom dresser into an outstanding piece and give your dining room an old-school look. The best part is you don’t have to worry about constantly stripping previous paint layers during painting.
Moreover, if you want a smooth appearance, you can use sandpaper to sand it lightly and wipe it down with a damp cloth before brushing on the chalk paint. Chalk paint is relatively thick and opaque.
Depending upon what color you choose for the dresser or chair, you can get away with a single coat of paint. If not, you can apply two coats to do the trick.
9 Ways to Use Chalk Paint in Your Home Decor Projects
The chalk paint finish is a matte, velvety look, and it can be a perfect choice for its ability to adhere well to various surfaces. You don’t need to do much preparation or priming before using chalk paint
Here are some common ways to use chalk paint for your paint projects:
1. Beautify a Bookshelf
Do you want to frame your favorite reads with a chalky finish bookshelf? Chalk paint can help.
Chalk paint gives a soft and subtle glow that is perfect for attributing a farmhouse or vintage look to your house.
For painting a bookshelf, you may choose neutral colors as they are a wonderful choice. However, periwinkle and ochre are some more invigorating hues that will surely give your bookshelves the spice they need.
If you want to have an old library look, you can use sandpaper to give your bookshelf an antiquated appearance.
2. Paint the Dining Room Chairs
Plain wooden or metal chairs are a good look for your dining room. However, you can instantly elevate their appearance with a few coats of chalk-finish paint.
Want to add even more fun to this project? Use multiple shades to create an eclectic collection of chairs for your dining table and enhance the aura.
3. Create a Statement Console
Do you want a pop of color in your front entryway? Chalk paint can do the job for you. It’s good to have a classic look of a wooden console, buffet table, or shoe rack in the entryway. But you can add a splash of paint to create some unexpected contrast of colors in your home.
If you are doing a small project, you can add a coat tree to infuse a hint of chalk paint.
4. Paint a Dresser
No matter if it’s a basic dresser from IKEA or an antique shop find, your dresser may need a little extra attention to shine rather than blend into the background.
Chalk paint is an ideal candidate for this job. Modern homes or those with a retro feel will benefit from a pop of a primary color.
On the other hand, if your house has a farmhouse or vintage appearance, you can use muted tones and a little additional distressing and sanding. This way your furniture will fit right into the scenario.
5. Do Up a Side Table
If you want to transform your side tables into statement pieces or want to fit them better into your room’s theme, paint them with chalky paint.
You can choose to add a distressed look to the side tables or create unique patterns with them, Chalk paint can give your side tables an unexpected look to spice up the dull room.
If you want to try chalk paint, side tables are a great starting project. They don’t have much surface area and give a great base to enter the realm of chalk paint.
6. Spruce Up a Set of Cabinets
If your wood cabinets are outdated or your cupboards look boring, you can add a coat of chalk paint to freshen them up.
It doesn’t matter if you are going to paint a kitchen set or a dining room hutch, chalk paint will create an unexpected finish and texture. Your house will definitely feel invigorating and fun.
7. Transform Accent Objects
Jars, figurines, vases, candlesticks, you name an accent object, and chalk paint can give it a new look.
The best thing about painting accent objects is that you won’t need to spend much time on painting than tackling an entire cabinet set or large pieces of furniture. However, you can still add an interesting bit of texture and color in very little time.
You can create centerpieces for tables or decor items for styling your shelves. These smaller projects can introduce you to the world of chalky paint DIYs.
8. Coat Your Decorative Pillows
Chalk paint can easily stay on all surfaces and it’s one of its many unexpected perks.
While decorative pillows might not be the first item you would consider painting, they are a suitable candidate for chalk paint. You can give these pillows a chic upgrade with chalk paint, adding bright colors and special patterns.
You can even paint other soft goods like chair cushions as well.
9. Spruce Up Your Gallery Wall
Do you want to give your picture frames a playful matte finish? Paint with chalk paint over them.
With chalk paint, you can create a fresh look for your otherwise metallic and shiny frames that hang on the walls or sit on the side tables.
You can select a few different colors for a unique color palette or even go monochrome for more color uniformity. If you want more impact, you can paint the whole wall with chalk paint for extra oomph. The result will be a bold backdrop for hanging your art and photo picks.
Ready to Experiment with Chalk Paint?
Chalk paint is a hit with DIY paint enthusiasts and people who love to refurbish and refinish old furniture. Not sure if your dresser has an oil or latex-based finish? Have no idea if it’s stain. Lacquer, shellac, or polyurethane? It doesn’t matter. Chalk paint can cover it all.
