Confetti Confetti

A few weeks ago, we acquired a cute antique bureau from an auntie who has had it in her family for more than 50 years. Dusty and old but full of character, with hidden compartments and little drawers. We were so excited! Our makeover plan started with a neutral concept - Graphite paired with Duck Egg Blue and a chalkboard table top to keep it interesting. Something that would appeal to everyone and fit into most homes. Maybe even slightly boring, but safe. Well...

It just so happens that all of us at Big Blue Trunk love everything that's happy and bright - neons, unicorns and sunshine. And so our finished piece turned out to be quite different from where we started. Instead of the neutrals, we went with fresh pastels and pops of bright colour. We thought why not give it a fun transformation, something that surprises and delights. And what better way to do that than with neon confetti and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®? So we went for it >>>

Here is how we transformed this bureau:

Since it was a very old piece, we took some precautionary steps and filled all the holes with wood filler, and treated it with anti-termite oil. We gave it a quick rub down with Annie Sloan Sanding Pads, cleaned it with warm soapy water and then started painting.

We chose a combination of fresh pastels - Lem Lem mixed with a bit of Pure White and Antoinette for the outside, and Pure White for the inside. The Lem Lem and Antoinette took two coats of paint while the Pure White took three coats as the wood was very dark. Since we wanted a textured look and had a lot of corners/carvings to paint, we used the Pure Bristle Brush. Once the paint was dry we sealed it using the Chalk Paint Clear Wax applied with the Wax Brush. 

Then came the fun part....I had leftover Meri Meri confetti from my daughter's first birthday and it was gorgeous - gold, pink, neon yellow and green. We used Annie Sloan's Image Medium to decoupage the confetti all over the inside of the bureau. Pure White was the perfect background for the confetti circles to really pop. A couple of hours, 5 coats of image medium later and there it was - yes, we did go a little crazy with the confetti!

For the last few touches - did you know that any of the colours in the Chalk Paint® range can be used to make a chalkboard surface on furniture or walls? With the right technique, its very easy to do! We applied 4 very thin watered down coats of Antoinette on the door of the bureau with half an hour drying time between each coat. Once dry, we conditioned the surface by rolling a piece of chalk across it and then wiped it clean with a damp rag. And just like that - the chalkboard was ready! Hello there :)

It still felt like something was missing... a touch of gold, perhaps? The carvings and metal knobs looked very flat against the pastels and bright confetti. Annie Sloan Bright Gold Gilding Wax to the rescue! We applied the gilding wax using our fingers and a fine brush as a border for the chalkboard, to cover the metal knobs on the doors and to highlight the wood carvings. 

Finally... we were done. From an old dark bureau to a fresh and fun piece of furniture!

If you would like to learn the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® method and upcycle your furniture, register for one of our creative Workshops.