My Grandest Second Hand Furniture Makeover

I have not one, but two very special second hand furniture makeovers to show you using Country Chic All In One Paint.

I have very exciting news to share with you today.  News that I have been waiting many years to be able to announce.  I am excited to be able to add another name to my titles of Diane, Sister, Aunt, Author, Friend, Mom, Wife, Blogger... and in few weeks… Grandmother! 

My oldest daughter who got married last year and her husband are expecting a baby girl in late March. :-) XO

To prepare for her arrival, when Ed and I were in Virginia spending the holidays with both our daughters, I helped Kelly start decorating the baby’s nursery by painting a second hand changing table.

Second Hand Furniture Makeover

They had purchased this Eddie Bauer changing table at their local ReStore. It was it great shape, but Kelly wasn’t fond of the color.

She is decorating the nursery in a white and lavender color scheme. She was going to paint it lavender, but when she asked my opinion, my “experienced mom brain” kicked in and I told her to paint it white. This way if she has a second child, (which they want) and it’s a boy, she won’t have to repaint it to fit a boy’s room color scheme.

I told her we could use lavender paint other pieces that would stay in the baby’s room as she grows. When I got home, I did just that… keep reading till the end of the post to see what I painted lavender.

Kelly decided white would be great for the changing table and to use lavender and white decorative paper or fabric inside the fronts of the drawers to hide the contents.

Back in the fall, Country Chic Paint sent me a few samples from their line of paint line to try out along with their oval paint brush. I am new to using oval brushes to paint furniture, but they have become my go-to since I painted the sideboard in my foyer. Game changing in how much easier they make it to paint a piece of furniture and achieve a smooth finish.

I like to try different brands of chalk and furniture paints to see if one is better than the other. I have tried and posted about many and have even made my own DIY chalk paint. I have been happy with all the paints I have used.  They are all good. I think what you choose comes down to liking the paint colors the line offers and how much you can afford to spend.

Country Chic Paint is an All-In-One paint where minimal or no sanding is needed. It is a clay based paint that is similar to the finish of chalk paint with superior adhesion.

On their website, you can see the selection of paint colors all of which contain little-to-no VOCs along with the other products that will assist in all your furniture painting projects. I like that they offer 4 ounce size jars. These make it very affordable paint when you are painting a small item or want to sample a few colors before making a color choice.

Since I knew the colors Kelly wanted to use, I ordered the colors Simplicity for the changing table and Mermaid’s Tail and Tribe to mix to create a color of lavender for another piece. To seal the paint, I went with their Natural Wax which is clear.

I prefer the look and feel of a waxed finish, but the paint can also be sealed with poly or their Tough-Coat product.

Second Hand Furniture Makeover Using Country Chic All In One Paint

I set up the table for painting, cleaned and gave it a light sanding.  You don’t have to sand when using Country Chic Paint, but I always go over every piece of furniture I make over with 100 grit sandpaper on a sanding block. A quick 5-minute going over can’t hurt and will only help with adhesion.

Both coats went on super smooth. I let the first one dry, ran sandpaper over it, and cleaned the sanding grit off and then applied a second coat. As you can see that second coat is still wet. That is how I left it since I ran out of time.  Our holiday visit was over and Ed and I had to head home.

I wanted to do more, but living 6 hours away kept me from finishing it.

Once the paint was dry, Kelly finished it with some distressing and added a layer of clear wax that she buffed to a subtle sheen.

The next time Ed and I visit, this changing table will be in use. :-)

I will get an “AFTER”  photo of it then and will add it to this post, perhaps even with a cute little granddaughter in the photo.

How to Mix Furniture Paint to Get a Custom Paint Color

Back at home in January, when I was Marie Kondo”ing”  as I cleaned out the attic, I came across a doll size high-chair that both my daughter’s played with. I kept it all these years for one reason… for grandchildren to play with.

Did it bring me joy? YES!

Now was the time to give it a colorful makeover so it can be used to hold a doll or stuffed animal in the nursery. It also brought me joy in the fact that I could be helping Kelly get the nursery decorated even from afar. This high chair can be easily transported to Virginia in my car.

I decided that I wasn’t going to buy anything new to make it over, but only the Country Chic paint and supplies I had on hand.

The chair is made of particle board and very porous, but with a mix of the paint, a teeny bit of craft paint, ribbon and nailhead trim I am very happy with how it came out.

Can You Mix Paint Colors to Make a Custom Color to Paint Furniture?

Most furniture paint brand’s paint colors can be mixed together to create custom colors. This is also the case for Country Chic paint. It is fun to mix colors to come up with a color that is right just for the piece of furniture and your personal color preference.

To make the lavender color Kelly wanted, I mixed together a half cup each of the colors, Tribe and Mermaid’s Tail.  It came out as a very elegant and subtle lavender which was very pretty, but I knew it wasn’t the color Kelly was using.

To give the color more “pop” I added  one teaspoon of purple craft paint to the mix and stirred it well… voila!…. the perfect lavender color paint for the nursery’s color scheme.

Note:  When adding craft paint to a chalk or clay based paint, you can only add a little. If you add too much you can change the qualities of the paint. I am not afraid to experiment and knew by added a teaspoon to one cup of the Country Chic paint mix I made would not change much, only the color.

I cleaned, sanded, painted and waxed to seal the chair. The paint covered the textured particle board beautifully, but the chair still needed something to give it some character. I went to my craft supply armoire in my studioffice to find something to use and found ribbon, silver furniture nails and white thumb tacks.

How to Use Furniture Nails and Thumb Tacks to Create Nailhead Trim

Adding nailhead trim is pretty easy to do when you have a kit that helps you attach all the nailheads in a nice even line. I didn’t have a kit and made my own nailhead trim using furniture nails and thumb tacks.

supplies needed:

• Ruler or measuring tape
• Pencil
• Furniture Nails
• Thumb Tacks
• Hammer
• Ribbon
• Scissors

1. Wrap ribbon around the edge where you want the nailhead trim. Use tape to hold it on while you add the nails.
2. Place a ruler along the edge and using a pencil or pen, mark increments all along the ribbon. Center the marks on the ribbon. I placed the silver furniture nails – 1″ apart.
3. Place a nail at each mark and use a hammer to drive it into the ribbon and wood.
4. Once all the silver nails were in place, I hammered white thumb tacks in between each.

I really wanted to use this lavender and white striped ribbon under the nails, but it was too wide for the edge of the seat. I used it instead to hide the wood section right under the seat where it fit perfectly. I used a staple gun to attach it.

Furniture nails, tacks and striped ribbon added just enough to give the little high chair a new life in the room of my first grandchild.

The particle board surface still has a few rough areas. Normally I wouldn’t paint something made where particle board is exposed, but the paint did a great job of covering it.

Now the chair is just waiting for a car ride to Virginia when Ed and I go meet our first granddaughter. I can’t wait!  XO

Want to win a Furniture Painting Package from Country Chic Paint?

This giveaway is over. Congratulations to the winner: Beth Sharick

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