How to Shabby Chic your dark furniture

Turning this standard kind of new bedroom 

furniture with a dark mahogany finish

into a shabby chic set is what this post is about today~

I start with Old White Chalk Paint®.

Well actually, I scuffed it up first with a sanding block

 as this finish was super shiny. 

Then I wiped it down and started painting. 

I always paint around the hardware first if I am going to

 paint the hardware~if you are removing the hardware 

to keep the original finish you will find it easier~

but in this case I will be wiping away some of the paint from 

the hardware when I am finished...so I used a small 

brush to get in the nooks and crannies first.

Then I use a nice flat brush to cover the rest

 of the drawers and nightstand/bureaus.

Then I go back with a second coat and hit inside the 

nooks and crannies again. I use a small foam roller for

 my second coat and then finish with a 

quick top coat using the flat brush again.

 Here is the chest with one coat~it looks like amateur hour,

 but remember,  thin coats are better than  thick coats all day long...

Here is the second coat~nice and perfect looking. 

Beautiful Old White! But not shabby chic enough~

so lets get to the distressing~I like a light distress personally.

(See my new alarm system on the wall!!! 

I feel much better having this system in place~!)

 Here is the distressed finish~I take a damp cloth and rub 

off the areas I want removed. This is the beauty of using 

Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan™! 

You can take as much or as little off as you like.
EDIT NOTE: many asked if I wipe off the paint while still damp. In
this case I did it after it was just dried. You can do it while it is still moist,
just take care to not remove too much as it is easier to remove while
moist than dry. Either way it beats sandpaper in my book.

 Then I rub off the hardware until I am happy with the look~

 And now it is ready for its 

coating of soft clear wax. I will do one coat

 on the entire piece with two coats on the top, 

and a light sanding in between~

I am still working on the bigger pieces.

 Here is the daddy chest....that's gonna be a lot of painting!!

 Now it is done with its two coats and I am working on the mommy chest~
all of these pieces will not even use up one can of paint!
So if  you are hesitating because of the cost, remember that 
Chalk Paint® goes a lot further than latex does!!

 Colin is one of our painters at Maison Decor,
and might be even better at it than his mother!

So that is the latest from Maison Decor! 
Hope these tips help you with your projects.