I’ve been slowly redoing the furniture in my house, since much of it shows wear and tear from being moved from house to house. I purchase almost all of my furniture used, so I don’t mind experimenting with paint and texture. After using Annie Sloan paint for years I decided to give Valspar Chalk Paint a try.

Valspar Chalk Paint

Price Comparison

I love Annie Sloan chalk paint but it’s very expensive. A quart at my local store is about $51. When I learned that Valspar made a chalky finish paint I was excited to try it. Especially since Valspar Chalk Paint costs $29.99 at Lowes.

Available Colors

Valspar chalk paint has expanded their colors since I first started painting with their chalky finish. I’ve tried Beaded Reticule, Dress Gloves, Woolen Stockings, Sunday Bustle, Dress Gloves and white.

One thing I noticed about Valspar chalk paint is that the colors don’t exactly match the paint chips in the store. I recently purchased a can of Dress Gloves thinking it would be similar to navy blue. It was more like Saturday college football blue. (See picture of bookcase below)

Since I typically mix chalk paint colors to create my own, it wasn’t a huge deal. However, if you are looking for a color that is a match to the paint chip, you will be disappointed.

The nice thing about the Valspar paint (other than its price) is that you can buy it at Lowes. Annie Sloan chalk paint is sold in smaller shops, which might not always be close to where you live.

Furniture Makeover with Valspar Chalk Paint

I tried Valspar on several pieces of furniture. One was this small side table that we picked up for free several years ago. We purchased a sofa set off Craig’s List and when my husband went to get it, they guy asked if we wanted the table since he was getting rid of it anyway.

The table’s always been a little plain but I wasn’t motivated enough to change it. After finishing my hutch, I was inspired to change this little table.

Choosing Colors

I chose Sunday Bustle because I loved the color on the back of my hutch and I *thought* it was similar.

I created the hutch chalk paint color in my hutch by mixing Annie Sloan Florence and Aubussen Blue. Let’s just say I was WAY off, when I thought Sunday Bustle was similar. I should have gone with Sapphire Bracelet!

Sunday Bustle turned out to be more of a caribbean blue, which is pretty, but not what I was going for with the table. (see blue bookcase)

I had an idea for how to fix it once I was finished so I kept painting.

Coverage

The Valspar chalk paint went on smoothly and had good coverage. I didn’t sand the table, only wiped it down and cleaned off whatever sticky residue the kids left. Sanding is a deal breaker for my chalk paint projects, so I’m happy Valspar went on easily and covered the wood.

Since I was painting a darker color on a darker piece of furniture it is hard to tell how one of the lighter colors would cover on a dark piece of furniture with no prep.

I ended up doing two coats on the base of the table and three coats on the top. There were a few spots where the paint didn’t stick as well, but I’m not sure why.

The knob was originally wood, but I didn’t want it to the be the same color as the rest of the table. I removed the knob and sprayed it with Rust-Oleum Hammered Bronze.

Have you ever spray painted knobs and pulls? Replacing knobs is so expensive. One can of spray paint at the hardware store is usually under $6 and you can update the fixtures on several pieces of furniture and get an entirely new look!

Since I discovered this cheap trick, I haven’t purchase knobs in years! Lowes, Home Depot, and Amazon have a huge assortment of “metal look” spray paint options. I’ve spray painted almost every metal item in my house, but I digress.

Time between coats

Something to consider when using the Valspar Chalk paint is that they recommend 4-6 hours between coats. If you are an impatient painter like me, that is too long! Another thing I love about Annie Sloan is you can paint a second coat almost immediately which means you can finish a small project like this table in a few hours.

The Valspar Chalky Finish dried much quicker than I expected and I actually gave it a second coat about an hour after I painted the first coat.

Since the color was too bright I used the dark wax to tone it down a bit. When using the dark wax, you can either put it directly on the paint, or do a coat of clear wax first. If you put dark wax directly on the paint it absorbs very quickly and really changes the color.

To apply the wax you can either use a clean rag (like a microfiber cloth) or a wax brush. Don’t skimp on the wax brush. It’s worth it to invest in a better quality wax brush so you don’t loose the bristles as you are working.

I’ve had this brush for several years and it is still like new.

On the side table I applied a coat of clear wax, then a coat of dark wax. I ended up buying a buffer brush that attaches to your drill because I have so many painting projects on my list this summer.

I’ve only done this small project with it, but so far I love it.

The dark wax definitely toned down the bright blue and I’m so happy with how this little table turned out. I feel like it went from blah to pop and it only took an afternoon to update it.

These chairs were a thrift store find and I snatched them up for $40 each earlier this year. I planned on recovering them, but they look great with the new table color.

Other chalk paint projects

After I loved the results of my side table, I tackled my daughter’s bedroom furniture. I used Valspar Woolen Gray and leftover coral color I had from a previous project.

The chalk paint gave excellent coverage even on the formica top of the desk. Instead of using wax on the bedroom furniture to seal the paint I used a polyurethane clear coat.

I’ve started using clear coat on any furniture that gets a lot of wear and tear on the surface, it seems to last longer than wax.

After using the Valspar Chalk  paint on several pieces of furniture I definitely recommend it. If you are familiar with Annie Sloan you will find a slight difference.

Annie Sloan goes on easier, however Valspar definitely does the job and is much less expensive. It’s worth giving a try.