Chippy Painted Bar Stools

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I posted on Facebook a couple of weeks ago that I had bought Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the very first time. Yeah, I was an ASCP virgin… probably the last one out there!

I bought it to paint my chewed up dresser I bought off of Craigslist. But then I got to thinking that it would be perfect for my bar stools at the kitchen counter. I had been trying to figure out what I wanted to do with them. In their original state, they were the exact same color as the floors. I knew I wanted to change them, but how?

You may wonder why I would buy bar stools that are the same color as my floors. Well, I didn’t buy them … a friend gave them to me! I had been searching for some simple, cheap, used bar stools to go in our kitchen. {And my Goodwill sells the basic Target brand for the same price at they are NEW at Target. I’ve been looking for a DEAL.} So when my friends and I were cleaning out our closets as a part of our Project Simplify, one of my friends was getting rid of some bar stools. And they ended up at my house! Yay for free!! {Thanks Emily!}

I really want three bar stools, so I’m waiting for another one to fall in my lap. 🙂 Good news is that when I find it, I’ll just paint it like the others and it’ll look like they belong together. 🙂

If you search for bar stools on Pinterest, there are so many cute ideas. You can see what I’ve pinned to my kitchen board. These were a couple of my favorites:

Gold-Dipped Barstools at honeybearlane
Gold-Dipped Bar Stools at Honey Bear Lane
Vintage Industrial Barstools by DIY Village
Vintage Industrial Bar Stools by DIY Village

Well the stools proved to be the perfect little project to test out my new chalk painting skills. I’m so glad that I started with these before I painted my dresser, because I learned a few things.

I painted the stools with two fairly thick coats. I didn’t think the first coat covered enough and the second coat covered a little too much. And then I read somewhere that there’s less chalky mess if you wax it first and then distress it. So I did that, but I used so much sandpaper just sanding through the wax and then the paint. So I didn’t get to distress it as much as I had planned to. I waxed them again after I distressed them and then buffed them.

Whew, that’s a lot of painting and waxing and buffing. I know one of the big complaints about chalk paint is that although they say there’s little to no prep, so no need for primer, there is the need for wax. So really there is still a two-step process. But I found that I like waxing much better than priming. There’s just something artsy about applying wax, where applying primer is just a pain.

I’m sure happy with how they turned out even though I plan to change a few things with the dresser. I’m glad they finally don’t look like an extension of the floor. And I’m really loving the color!

By the way, the color is Annie Sloan’s Chateau Gray. It looks like an olive green to me, which is what I wanted. I’ll tell more about why I chose this color when I post about my dresser.

What have you painted with chalk paint?
Do you have any tips for me?
What’s your favorite chalk paint color?

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27 Comments

  1. Love this look. Can you give me some details on the waxing a buffing? What type of wax? What did you use do the buffing?

    1. Hi Justyna, I used the Annie Sloan clear wax. It’s easy to use. Just get a little on a lint-free cloth {I used an old t-shirt} and rub it into the painted surface in a circular motion. I think the biggest tip I can give it don’t use too much! It’s easy to add more, but not easy to take it away. Once it’s dry, buff with a clean cloth. Super simple!!

  2. great job on the barstools! love their chippiness. I hate waxing! I hate buffing! too hard on this old gal’s shoulder.

    catching you!
    gail

  3. Your bar stools turned out really nice! Nice color too! I picked up a bar stool at goodwill, thought about doing it in turquoise, but that grey/olive green color is really nice. Hmm, now you got me thinking again. What color to use. Thanks for sharing.

  4. You did a great job on these bar stools! I have the same industrial ones from your inspiration pinned:)

  5. Hi Laura,

    Your stools turned out great. I too was a ASCP virgin until just a few weeks ago. I always made my own, but I now love Annie’s Sloane paint. I’m also looking for some new (well old) bar stools and will paint them too. Thanks for this post and It was great finding your blog!

    Crystal

  6. you did a great job. your Pinterest ones are really great. I especially like the industrial painted ones you featured.

  7. These are great–beautiful color! I’m also an ASCP virgin. I’d love to try it but can’t justify the price! But I might just have to take the plunge after seeing your stools…I have stools of my own that could use some paint 🙂

  8. I’m still a ASCP virgin too! Mostly because I am super cheap and haven’t bought any ( I make my own!) But I love how they turned out!

    Amber @ Dimples & Pig Tales

  9. Love your barstools! And I, too, am still an ASCP virgin!! I just can’t bring myself to pay that much for paint! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof

  10. Great job!!!! Isn’t it amazing what a coat of paint can do. These are just perfect for your kitchen.
    I know what you mean about the work it is to sand after you wax… I always sand first. It’s much easier to clean up the chalk dust!!!!
    I forgot just how striking Chateau Grey is!!!!

  11. These turned out beautifully! I was a chalk paint virgin until last week myself! I’ve done two projects and still learning the best way to use it… of course my pieces were pretty scratched so I still had to do some sanding. So far I like the wax a lot better than poly though. I came over from Nifty Thrifty Sunday. 😉

    1. Thanks so much Jen! I’m so glad I’m not the only one left who hadn’t tried it before … ha! So glad you stopped by!

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