Monday, August 27, 2012

A Little Chalk Paint Test

Today is the first day of school in our area. And if you follow along, you know that my daughter Megan is a high school English teacher. She's back in the classroom and that means I've lost my painting buddy. And that's just no fun at all! ... But we had a really productive summer and a whole lot of fun too. So in honor of back-to-school week, I thought I'd share a few of Megan's projects that I never got around to posting along the way. First up, a little chalk paint test that happened purely by accident! ... Several months ago, I dug this little chair out of the back of my garage. I really can't even remember where it originally came from.


 
I painted it with the last bit of chalk paint I had on hand. The color is Louis Blue and I played around with a just a bit of dark wax. It was all set to go to a tag sale when Megan spotted it and thought it would look cute in her dining room. But she really needed two chairs, one for each side of her hutch.
 
 
So for several months we were keeping an eye out for another chair. No need to actually match, just something cute. And we finally found one at a barn sale over the summer. Turns out that it matched even more than we expected.
 
  
By this time, I was out of the original chalk paint. So I took the color chart to Home Depot and had it color matched to a quart of the Behr paint and primer in one. I am a big fan of this paint!
 
 
 And Megan mixed up a batch of homemade chalk paint.
 
 
And here is the result. Can you tell the difference?
 

Here's the original.


And here's the homemade chalk paint version.
It looks and feels exactly the same!
We didn't really set out to do a side-by-side comparison, but it turned out to be fun and reaffirmed for us that making your own chalk paint is a great option to have.

  
Megan loves the little blue chairs on either side of her hutch.
They are a fun pop of color and provide extra seating for guests.
 
 
Isn't this a cute dining room? It's so bright and happy!
Megan's style is encouaging me to go lighter and brighter in my home. ... And there are a few more summer projects in this room that I'll share later this week.
 
 
Happy back-to-school to everyone.
Hope you have a great first day Megan!
 
I'm linking to...
Catch a Glimpse Button Fridays Unfolded


Photobucket Beyond The Picket Fence A Delightsome Life 
http://www.thethriftyhome.com Primitive and Proper A Diamond in the Stuff
  
 

34 comments:

Anne said...

I LOVE that color.I want to try it soon! Yes those chairs look great!Perfect match in style and color! Her room looks beautiful.Love that flag bunting.
xx
Anne

Anonymous said...

They did a great job matching the color, I cannot tell the difference! Can't believe the 2nd chair you found was so similar... Sorry you lost your paint buddy.. I know how you feel! - Susan

Fiona, Lilyfield Life said...

Just lovely!we still can't get Annie Sloan chalk paint in Australia so I always resort to making known.
Her dining room is lovely
Fiona xx

Fiona, Lilyfield Life said...

That was meant to say resort to making my own, damn autocorrect

Cathy said...

Nope, I can't tell the difference. I love the dining room, so charming!

Korrie@RedHenHome said...

I love that you were able to do a comparison for the rest of us! The chairs look great.

Cassie Bustamante said...

they are so darn close and both so stinkin cute! i love how happy her dining room feels.

{northern cottage} said...

ahhhh a completely darling chair...I just brought a similar vintage (a little bit more aqua colored) home to our cottage and I'm in love...now I'll have to hunt for a partner for it & try your paint! off to buy some pop!! xo

Emily @ The Diligent One said...

Love!! Great job, Sharon & Megan.

Ali Richardson said...

PRETTY! Love those spindly chairs and that's the perfect shade of blue. Her dining room is really pretty :)

Liz @ Quirky Vistas said...

I'm glad to hear the homemade version is good. I need some and don't want to bother with online or phone orders. I just need to find which recipe is best and get on it.

Liz

Danielle said...

The chairs look fantastic and the colors match perfectly. Love them!

Sarah AKA The Thriftress said...

I, too, am a huge fan of Behr paint plus primer. Never thought about color matching at HD - pure genius!

Jessica | Petal + Ply said...

what a cute room! the paint colors look identical to me!

Cyndi ✪ Blue Star said...

Love those chairs! And Sharon, you and I must be soul mates! My daughter, Megan taught HS English last year and is returning to middle school this year since it's got a better schedule for her and the baby. How many chalk painting junk divas are there with English teaching daughters named Megan??

Our Pinteresting Family said...

Those chairs look fantastic! They look perfect in her dining room. Hope her first week back goes well. Megan

Unknown said...

Wow, what a perfect match! I love the color. Thank you so much for hosting. :)

Julie @ followyourheartwoodworking said...

Those blue chairs are great. And to think so many people are throwing chairs like that away!

The Bold Abode said...

They look great!

brockey said...

Love the chair ....perfect match. I scored today ,. went to Home Depot to get a sample of there duck egg blue and old old white and they were out of the sample because they hadn't come in so she gave me the old white in the quart for the sample price. THey must of had one sample left for my duck egg blue. I did the happy dance !!!!!!

brockey said...

FYI : Great site
http://altard.com/altard/annie-sloan-chalk-paint-color-comparisons/

Hetty said...

Very nice chairs and they look so cute next to the hutch! Great match in color!

Kimberly said...

That is great! They look exactly alike, I have been interested in chalk paint for a while, thank you for posting about the homemade version, I will be trying that out!

Adorned From Above said...

I love these. This is a great tutorial. I have a link party on Wednesdays, and I would love it if you would link this post. It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party.
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/08/free-bee-sweet-hat-pattern-crocheted.html
I hope to see you there. Have a great Day.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
www.adornedfromabove.com

I Play Outside The Box said...

Amazing how close the chairs match...most people wouldn't catch the slight differences. Y'all did great with matching up the paint too.

Crystelle Boutique said...

You and Megan are a great team, and NO! I can't tell the chairs apart...
They look great in the dining area by the way...

:-)
http://www.crystelleboutique.com/

Unknown said...

can't tell much of a difference at all! I love the colour choice and they look great:)

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

BRILLIANT~ You are so smart! I can not tell a color difference at all. I am heading over to see if I can make the chalk paint myself!
Thanks for bringing the blue brilliance to TUTORIAL TIPS AND TIDBITS!

Athena at Minervas Garden said...

Beautiful chairs--I love the blue color, Sharon. I want to try making my own chalk paint--I like that you don't have to prime the object first. That is a time-saver that appeals to me!

F said...

This is exactly what I need to do for a pair of chairs for the tiny front porch on our Victorian Cottage. I've been scouting garage sales, but I have yet to find a pair of chairs I like.

We'd love to have you participate in our new Eat Make Grow blog hop:

http://foyupdate.blogspot.com/search?q=eat+make+grow&max-results=20&by-date=true

We are always looking for bloggers with great content!

Foy

Laurel Stephens said...

I would love to see more of Megan's dining room, especially a close up of her hutch, which is styled to perfection. I also love the chalk board and flags. It's all so cheerful and bright!

Stacey said...

Very cute! I love chairs...I have a chair obsession really and these are just super adorable!
Thanks for linking up!
Stacey of Embracing Change

Kathy said...

The chairs match perfectly in color and shape - fantastic find! Love doing projects with my daughters! My daughter just started teaching last month her first year as an 8th grade English teacher.
I hope you're daughter has a wonderful year! I appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy

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