How to Makeover a Pottery Barn Table and Chairs
This tutorial will take you through the steps on how to makeover a Pottery Barn table and chairs with chalk paint.
I’ve had this table and chairs for years. They’ve seen a lot of wear and tear. So, it was time for a makeover.
The Pottery Barn table was found on Craigslist for $100. What a find!
Later, after some searching, I found these matching Pottery Barn chairs from Craigslist, too, for $20 for both.
These Pottery Barn pieces of furniture are sturdy and well-made.
I didn’t want to buy new when I had the perfect set already, it just needed a little paint.
The tutorial I’m sharing today is from my own experience of how to paint a table and chair with paint.
I’ll be sharing in my next post what not to do! I think we all can say we’ve learned lessons in life.
I certainly have.
Especially when painting this Pottery Barn table and chairs.
Here is the Pottery Barn table before getting a makeover.
Here is the Pottery Barn table after the makeover.
What a difference!
It brightens up my breakfast nook beautifully!
What you will need for this project:
- Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White.
- Annie Sloan clear wax.
- Medium chalk paint brush. Preferably Annie Sloan. (Will work for applying paint and wax.)
- Annie Sloan small chalk paint brush. (Optional for the legs)
- Annie Sloan wax brush
Steps to painting a table with Annie Sloan chalk paint.
STEP ONE
Wipe down the table and chairs with a cleaner first to ensure it’s free from dust.
It is unnecessary to sand down anything when using Annie Sloan chalk paint. I love that part.
STEP TWO
Open the Annie Sloan chalk paint and stir thoroughly, making sure to go all the way down to the bottom to pull up all the paint to get it mixed up really well.
STEP THREE
Dip your brush in the paint—no need for a paint bucket or tray.
STEP FOUR
Apply a small amount at a time.
Making quick side-to-side and up-and-down motions to get it on quickly.
STEP FIVE
Repeat this for the entire top of your table.
I had to pull my table apart since the paint was building up in the center.
You can do this, too, if needed.
From my experience, do not apply a lot of paint to the middle, as it will be hard to close when you are finished and the table is fully dried.
Ask me how I know.
STEP SIX:
Apply paint to the sides of the tabletop.
Go side to side, getting more paint as you need it.
Go all the way around.
Now, let that first layer dry. It doesn’t take long.
You can see it getting a matte-chalky look within 20 minutes or so.
But wait for it to be dry.
I didn’t wait and caused a big debacle I will tell you about in the next post.
STEP SEVEN
Now, to paint the base, you will need to start with the legs.
Put a small amount of paint on your brush.
Make an up-and-down motion, not worrying about brush strokes.
It doesn’t take away from the finished look. The brush strokes are not as noticeable when dry.
You can use a stool if it’s easier on your knees. I certainly appreciated a stool. It made the project so much easier.
STEP EIGHT:
Now, apply paint to the middle area.
Make a side-to-side motion. This requires a little patience since you need to get all the areas that will be seen.
Don’t worry about wasting your paint on the underside.
I started to do it, then I realized no one looks under there!
STEP NINE
Let this layer dry until you see the matte chalk look on the base.
STEP TEN
By this time, you should be able to see if you need a second coat.
If so, repeat steps 3-9.
I had to apply it four times.
STEP ELEVEN
Turn your table sideways to get the underside areas that are hard to reach.
Also, get the edges on the feet that were missed when painting upright.
You can see in this photo how I started to paint the underside realizing it was unnecessary.
Steps to waxing your table with Annie Sloan clear wax.
STEP ONE
Get your wax and wax brush. Open up the can of wax.
STEP TWO:
Put your wax brush into the can and swirl around, getting a good amount of wax onto your brush.
STEP THREE
Like the paint, do a side-to-side and up-and-down motion when applying.
Keep dipping your brush into the wax, swirling around to get a good amount.
STEP FOUR
Start with the tabletop, then the sides.
For the sides, do a side-to-side motion.
Looking to keep globs of wax from building up.
If this happens, take your brush, doing a side-to-side motion over the top of the glob.
It will simply flatten out as you brush over it.
STEP FIVE
For the base, do an up-and-down motion on the legs first.
Keep dipping your brush into the wax as you need it.
STEP SIX
Do a side-by-side motion for the middle area of your base under your table.
STEP SEVEN
Let the wax dry.
How to paint chairs with Annie Sloan chalk paint.
Here are the Pottery Barn chairs before the makeover.
Here is one of the Pottery Barn chairs after the makeover.
For the full reveal of our breakfast nook, follow this link.
I’m letting you see a quick peek at what’s coming up.
Look at that rug! It’s so dreamy.
Here’s a link if you want this gorgeous beauty!
Here are the steps.
STEP ONE
Wipe down the chairs with a cleaner and dry them with a cloth.
STEP TWO
As with the table, apply a small amount of paint to your brush. You can use the small brush on the legs if you have one.
STEP THREE
Do a side-to-side motion for the footrests, seat, and all horizontal areas.
Make an up-and-down motion for the legs and all vertical areas.
STEP FOUR
Lay the chair on its side and rotate it around to reveal unseen areas.
Turn it upside down, like in the photo below.
This is an example of the importance of looking at all the angles of a chair.
Very tedious but worth it in the end.
STEP FIVE
Let the paint dry.
Then apply another coat using steps 1-3.
The photo below is one coat.
It needed three coats to get full coverage for these chairs.
STEP FIVE
Apply the wax in the same way as the paint. Let dry.
Dry Time for Wax.
You will need to wait a good 24 to 48 hours before your table, and chairs are ready to use.
It took 2 full days for the wax to dry for my table and chairs.
I like to give it a good wipe-down before using it.
Sometimes there can be globs of wax built up in areas.
I hope this tutorial was helpful.
Please stay tuned as I show you my table and chairs in my breakfast nook makeover.
Here is the link to see the final reveal of the table and chairs in my breakfast nook here.
For other DIY projects, you can follow this link.
