Foyer Reveal with Chalk Painted Furniture + Video
Hi there! I hope you enjoyed your weekend 🙂 I reclaimed some of my life back after launching my ebook last Wednesday, finalizing projects for a magazine on Tuesday, and setting up for my big craft fair the previous Tuesday.
It was a crazy October, I’ll tell you that. I still managed to complete a few projects, including painting a vintage mirror, which means I can post my foyer reveal with chalk painted furniture today.
Other posts about chalk painted furniture that you might like include the side table that’s also part of today’s reveal and my French-style chair makeover from a couple of years ago.
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In my five years of blogging, I’ve not taken many pictures of my foyer because it’s never been a favorite part of my home.
The Heavy Old Oak Dresser
When we moved in over ten years ago, this old oak dresser sort of landed there by default. [This is the last photo I ever took of it, back in 2015.]
In it’s day it was a nice piece, but it belongs in a bedroom, more than a foyer. I gifted it to friends who couldn’t be happier with it.
The Made Over Foyer Side Table
Last month I took the first step toward redecorating and gave an old side table a face-lift with some homemade chalk paint. Here’s the handsome result. For that post I made a video on how to make your own chalk paint:
Homemade Chalk Paint
1 tablespoon of unsanded grout
1 1/2 tablespoons of water
1 cup of latex paint
The Drab Vintage Mirror
I found the mirror languishing in my garage, right where I left it after paying $5 for it at a garage sale–who knows how many years ago, LOL. The finish reveals that it likely dates to about the 1930’s-40’s when this maple finish was popular.
What I anticipated to be a SUPER SIMPLE project turned into a merely SIMPLE project. I discovered that once I started distressing the coat of “greig” homemade chalk paint I’d applied, the finish was not dark enough to show through.
My solution? To paint over the first coat of “grieg” with medium brown chalk paint.
Over the brown went a top coat of the greig, which when lightly distressed with a sanding block, revealed the brown underneath nicely. This distressing then matched the distressing on the side table, so the two pieces look like they were meant for each other.
I finished it off with a coat of clear paste wax that I allowed to dry for 10-15 minutes and then buffed out with some cheese cloth.
Adding a coat of brown chalk paint (or any brown paint) to a piece that has a light wood finish will allow your distressing to have a more dramatic effect.
You can do this with completely unfinished wood, like I did a while back with a craft project involving raw wood bread boards.
Even with the precaution of frog tape, some the paint snuck onto the mirror and had to be scraped off with my handy widget.
The Made Over Foyer Mirror
It fits the space nicely and matches the table beneath it perfectly.
The new look confirmed what I had been thinking, that the space desparately needed something lighter and more modern looking. Don’t you think? Almost everything on the table top came from a garage or estate sale, except for the beautious faux hydrangea.
The Foyer Reveal
I couldn’t be happier with the results, and it pleases me to no end that to give my foyer a makeover, I simply had to shop my garage.
Then it was just a matter of applying a little elbow grease: some paint, some sand paper, and some wax were all I needed.
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Diana, I agree, that looks fresh and more modern. Your video is great, too.
This is so lovely, Diana! The paint marries the pieces so well! Beautiful and welcoming!
Great makeover and beautiful work on the table and mirror.
thank you for sharing such a simple chalk paint recipe…easy, and fabulous. You are wonderful! HUGS!!
The table and mirror turned out so pretty. Lightens up your foyer and they look great together. Your video is great and will be very helpful to lots of people looking to create home made chalk paint! You did a great job, so glad your November will be a little less crazy than your October!
I love this look! You did a great job!
I love your lighter foyer furnishings. BUT, I would miss those two drawers in the old dresser for gloves, keys, and my genral clutter! I have a curbside radio/stereo unit in my front hall; it holds CDs where the record player used to be and a dollhouse scene (unfinished, of course) in the cubby where the radio was! I will do crazy November for you! Church bazaar is Sat. This morning I made some farm/Western decorations doing a variation of your jute strapping/little wreathe ornaments. Burlap ribbon with a blue-denimy strip down the middle with a wreathe with a cowboy hat/sheriff star/boot ribbon bow or a red gingham bow. Some with little cowbells! So cute! Love your originals! Got some great treasures at this season’s first bazaar Sat.; my daughter wants the Corning Ware casseroles I bot to turn around! And who’s the fool who offered them to her! Al found pumpkin cookies, I found white elephants!
Quite a lovely makeover. I have one of those dressers, and they are pretty handy. The marriage of the mirror and the curved leg table works well together, perfect for your foyer.
What a great transformation of both pieces! The table is super similar to one of my favorite thrifted tables that I used to have in my foyer and now sits in the dining room.Unfortunately mine had too much veneer on it for me — I tried to tackle it and get it off but gave up. Good thing I love the chippy shabby look lol. I agree that using the brown paint as an in between layer is the way to go. Makes a huge difference. And your video is fabulous! I actually (finally) made a video but am too much of a scaredy cat to post it, go figure! You inspire me, though! xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home
Everything turn out so clean, fresh and inviting. Ready for Thanksgiving family time….Blessings for a relaxing November. Love the video…
Diana, excellent work! The two pieces do, indeed, look like they were meant for each other. I need to do something to enliven my own front entryway, but haven’t figured out what yet. It is an awkward space. There’s a small rectangular space right inside the door that becomes a narrow hallway into the living room, I’d say about 40″ to 45″ wide and probably 8′-10′ long. Dark and un-inviting in my opinion. Light coming in from window in the top of the door and an arch-shaped opening in the righthand wall looking into the house’s side entryway. Still dark. So, you see the situation I have to deal with! I’m thinking paint, probably to lighten the space. It’s a project, that’s for sure.
Thanks for the eye candy!
It is absolutely gorgeous! I have used the same trick of painting a piece dark brown and then painting back over to get a distressed wood effect on pieces that weren’t real wood.
Your foyer makeover is so nice and will beautiful for the holidays.
I hope you are recovering and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I loved this project so much that I’ve chosen it for our November Feature of the Month at tomorrow’s Vintage Charm Party. Congrats!! xo Kathleen