Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Makeover

Since becoming retailers for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint nearly a year ago, most of you know that we just opened our store front last fall. After being a shop at home window covering business for 11 years, this has been quite an adjustment. The first order of business was to redo and update the shared lobby in our building. The building is amazing, it is from the late 1800's and has so much character; we absolutely love the charm. The lobby on the other hand, really needed a facelift. I think the last time it was updated was in the 1980's.

Here is the before...

It almost had the feel of a waiting area for a Mexican restaurant. Especially the row of tiles beneath the benches. Don't get us wrong, we absolutely love Mexican food, but we were looking for a softer, more european feel.

Being on a very tight budget, we had to get creative.

Now, the after...

We reupholstered the bench cushions using a large drop cloth and made pillows out of burlap and the leftover drop cloth material.

To add interest and to help break up the monochromatic theme, we Chalk Painted the pillows using various stencil designs. We used French Linen, CoCo, and Graphite on the pillows. Yes, you can use Chalk Paint on fabric! Because the paint is so highly pigmented, it just fades ever so slightly each time you wash it. This fading only adds to the beauty of the look.

For an even softer tone on tone look, we used Old White on this pillow below.

And of course, the tile had to go. It was so easy, we did lightly scuff the tiles with 150 grit sand paper, just to scratch the surface. It only took a few seconds. Then painted with Country Grey. We painted two quick coats of paint, stenciled a few, and then sealed with wax. It is durable and has held up great even with people sitting and kicking their feet up against it.

What a simple, easy fix for changing the look of the room.

We found these gorgeous lanterns and could not pass up the opportunity to use them. Added a mirror, a lamp, and a few accessories and mission accomplished.

Here's a quick peek again at where we started...

Goodbye Mexican restaurant, hello european elegance....

Stay tuned as we share more ASCP makeovers of our store