How I Chalk Painted My Kitchen Table Without Sanding

Like I promised, I wanted to show you the project that made me OBSESSED with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I went in full force with this project not knowing what to expect or how I even painted with it ( like it was that hard). It took me a quart of a quart to do this whole table and chairs! Ever since finishing this kitchen table, everything, and I mean everything, I paint is with chalk paint. And yes, I’m partial to the Annie Sloan brand as well. Other paints can achieve the same look but none go on quite as smoothly and other paint brands tend to use more than her line.

Here is the before of the table!

And a close up of the chalk paint I used and a better look at the color of the table.

My parents gave me this table that they used to have in their own kitchen. It was in decent shape besides the ugly green chair seats and some scratches and nail polish remover on the table top. The color just wasn’t working for me. The first thing we did was start by recovering the seats. Of course I didn’t take before pictures because this was as soon as we moved into our new house and I never thought anyone would care about how I did my projects. Clearly that’s biting me in the butt now. Recovering dining chairs is SO easy that a ten year old could do it. Well, as long as you allow them to use a staple gun. All you do is remove the screws underneath the seat to remove the seat. Remove the staples holding the fabric on the seat in place. Put your new fabric center over the seat and staple it in place. Screw the seat back onto the chair and you’re all done..SO SO easy!

Also, before I forget to mention, take the seat off to paint the chair too! It makes that way easier as well! Here’s a little progress shot. One chair down, four to go. The hardest part is getting between all those slats. A paint sprayer would do a phenomenal job at cutting this job in half! It took three coats to completely cover the darker wood color.

Since I had never chalk painted, I ended up going with a very heavy distress on this project. Since then I have found the level of distressing I like and probably would have distressed this table a little less. But the good thing about chalk paint is you can always paint over it and redo it without priming first or sanding. Maybe one day I’ll tackle this project again.

An up close of the distressing of the table

When distressing, you want to try to sand in places that would receive normal wear and tear. Corners are a great place, as well as grooves, anywhere with detailing, and edging. I also sanded the top so that some of the original table color would show through to perceive the look that the paint had chipped off. I finished this table with Annie Sloan Clear Wax. Keeping in mind that we barely ever eat at this table, clear wax was a good choice for me. If you are refinishing a table that would get a lot of love, maybe think about using a shellac or poly of some sort. Just as easy to use as the wax quite honestly.

Ahh, doesn’t she look great? Styled for each season!

You can also check out how this table looks in our full kitchen makeover here for under $600!

Thanks for stopping by! xx