Dresser refinish-loving it!

Our master bedroom has been a work in progress for about 2 years now. I've definitely got it going in the right direction. It's all about calm, soothing colors, fibers and vibes. I have a hard enough time sleeping at night so I sleep when I can. I'm a SAHM and people think all I do is sleep all day. Not! I have farm animals to take care of, a large property to mow, projects going on inside. You know the drill. Our work is never done. And now for some ungodly reason I can't explain-I'm refinishing furniture. In my home. This post will be about my antique dresser. This piece was generously given to me by my parents 9 years ago when we moved into our new home. I LOVE all things antique. I see possibility in them. I appreciate their charm and their character. I wonder about their past. Who's room they were in. What they were used for. Even more, I love pieces that have sentimental value to me. Any piece my husband builds. Any piece that's been handed down in the family. Those pieces mean the most. My daughter has inherited my love for antiques and especially sentimental pieces. I'm so thrilled. I know she will cherish these pieces as I have.

Somewhere I have pics of this dresser in its original finish which was very dark mahogany (i think). It was gorgeous, but I'm doing away with dark and dreary and it just didn't flow in our bedroom any longer.

I have been researching chalk paint. Not chalkboard paint. My plan was to take a drive to Baton Rouge, pick up some Annie Sloan paint and wax, see my cool-as-can-be nephew for lunch and head home to get busy. Then I happened upon CeCe Caldwell's chalk paint. And I found some in Breaux Bridge. Score. Closer to home AND i get to browse antiques. Double score.
I chose the color Seattle Mist and opted to only purchase the clear wax. I already had a dark glaze on hand which I had mixed at Lowe's when I redid my kitchen cabinets last summer.
Now let me tell you-the only thing I can find to complain about in using chalk paint so far is the price. Ouch. You have to really want to avoid some steps-stripping, sanding, etc. to pay $35 for a quart of paint. Yes, you read correctly. Not cheap.  I've compared the two methods and believe me, they come within $5 of each other and I'm taking the easier way out. I didn't buy the dark wax because of the glaze I had at home. I may purchase some with my next project. Still got pieces to paint. Sigh....
So here's a peek at my finished dresser. My hubby actually told me it came out good. That spoke volumes to me. :)

The beauty in chalk paint is that there is no prep needed. That's right! No stripping or sanding and best of all-NO PRIMING!!! That alone is worth the price!

I painted the first coat. It dries quickly, lightening to a chalky finish. 4 hours later I applied the second coat. I kinda freaked because it looked like it was messing up the first coat, but trust the process.

Coat #2 dried quickly, returning to an even better covered chalky finish. I waited until the next morning to begin waxing. I used a 2" Purdy paintbrush and brushed the wax on,wiping off excess as I went. Let me tell you again-I began to panic because it looked like the wax was messing up my chalky finish and the streaks began to show through. Not the case. The wax quickly dries also. Then my chalky paint finish came back. Whew!

Glazing came next. I brushed on my glaze and then wiped off with remnants of old t-shirts I had cut up. I worked in areas a foot or two wide or tall. In other words, don't glaze the entire piece then wipe off. The glaze will become sticky by then and start to dry.

I took my sanding block (purchased at Lowes) and gave the whole piece a good sanding. Removing paint along edges and letting some of the original wood show through. Note: If I thought too much wood showed through, I applied paint, let it dry, applied wax and was done with that.

Finally I brushed another coat of wax over the whole piece and wiped off excess. Buffing with the dry, lint-free cloth as I went. It's been 4 days and the instructions say I can buff the piece again but I kinda like it as is. It has a somewhat satin-y finish but it's not glossy. *The more you buff it with rags, the shinier it becomes.

Hope you like.  Post to follow soon on the next piece. See you then!

J.