Special Paint Finishes, Chalk Emulsion Paint on Furniture
How to transform timber furniture into beautiful, light, and elegant pieces with chalk emulsion paint.
Our lounge room was quite bare for some time, and, having the urge to start a labour of love, I decided to bid on two large cabinets at Raffan and Kelaher Thomas furniture auction that would fit perfectly in this room.
These two reproduction elevated bookcases in mahogany, nicely varnished, were the exact size and style I was looking for!
The Concept sketch
Drawing the idea up
The concept was drawn 3 years ago as a motivational “tool” to get it out of my head and find these bookcases!
When dark timber won’t complement a room
Not only did I know what this part of the living space needed, but I also knew where to source it, and commissioning it would be out of budget.
I added this furniture to my list of sourcing pieces, noting the approximate size required for this space, and set out to the weekly furniture auction.
Selecting the right paint finish
I love the soft texture of a chalk paint emulsion. While the paint has a very flat look, it’s the wax you apply over it that brings the furniture to life. The soft patina has an everlasting feel that makes a piece of furniture feel like it has been here forever.
The prep work
I began the arduous task of sanding back the thick varnish, optimistic that this job would be finished within a week… a month had gone by, and I was still sanding.
Selecting the right colour and tone
I looked at different tones of off-white from the Porter’s Paint range.
The colour RUBBLE was the definite winner; it has enough brown warmth to blend with the existing pieces of furniture in the room while still keeping its neutral tone to complement the existing wallpaper.
The colour chalk emulsion paint: RUBBLE by Porter’s Paints
Applying Chalk Emulsion Paint on Furniture
This labour of love was becoming more of a labour than a love.
Once the shiny varnish had vanished, the rich red of the mahogany showed through, and the love began to grow.
Add the chalk emulsion paint (two coats), a good massage of wax over the paint, and the finish I desired came through.
This is the stage where you think it’s too white and start doubting your choices, but it’s exactly the stage where you have to trust yourself in your colour selection. Remembering this is just the initial stage of applying the new colour.
Enhancing the existing furniture with wallpaper and lighting
I added wallpaper panels to the back of the top section and two recessed LED lights on top of the bookcases.
The timber shelves were replaced with glass, which lets light diffuse through them.
The perfect set of elevated bookcases for this living room
And voila, we now have extra storage and an incentive to collect more items… which could prove dangerous.
The Roman blind was custom-made; so was the cushion on the window seat, and the chairs were upholstered by Anne Resplendino Interiors.
We specialise in custom-made soft furnishing, curtains and blinds, and custom-made lighting.
Wallpaper: LYREBIRD by Catherine Martin from Porter’s Paints (2011)
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Contact: info@arinteriors.com.au
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Anne Resplendino Interiors
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