My black entertainment center has bothered me since day 1! It made my family room feel claustrophobic,
like a big black hole on the wall 🙁
So for Christmas my sweet hubby bought me Annie Sloan Duck Egg chalk paint and we set about
how to chalk paint our entertainment center!
This Annie Sloan Chalk Painted Entertainment Center turned out better than what I hoped for!
I absolutely love it!
How to start chalk painting entertainment center
The best thing about using Annie Sloan chalk paint is that there was NO PREP!
No sanding, no removing any of the finish…nothing!
Just open the can of paint and start painting! Dip you brush in, and apply paint straight onto your piece of furniture. Paint in every direction and all over the piece. You should wait for the first coat to be touch dry. Depending on where you live, this could take 1-3 hours. Ours dried super fast! Once it is dry, apply the second coat in the same way.
There is so much to paint in this entertainment center- underneath each shelf, inside and outside every square inch of needed to be painted.
We took all the shelves out and painted them one by one. Luckily this paint dries super fast. We also removed the cabinet doors and taped off the glass area and then painted them too.
Waxing after chalk painting
There were so many pieces to this Entertainment center…Inside, outside, top and bottom of every shelf and every outside surface. Once the paint was on and dry (every square inch of it) it was time to wax it all.
Next, apply the Annie Sloan wax in the same manner as the paint. Use can use a brush or lint-free cloth to apply in all directions. Work in sections so you know where you’ve been! It kind of gives the piece a patina as well as protect the paint finish.
Once applied, use a lint-free cloth to remove any excess wax. Do not rub too hard, as you could remove the wax all together.
We waxed ALL OF this piece using 1 can of Annie Sloan wax and some rags.
A little goes a long way. You can use the piece of furniture as soon as the wax is touch dry, but note it will take up to 2 weeks to reach its full hardness (known as the ‘curing period’). During this time be careful with the piece.
UPDATE- We do not have any chips or issues and it is has now been 6 1/2 years since we painted this entertainment center.
It takes time to do all of this, about 15 hours. I would say it was totally worth every ounce of effort and time.
Chalk painted coffee table
I actually painted it Paris grey first but I did not like how it looked against the duck egg blue…
It looked purple 🙁
So I painted it with Annie Sloan Pure White and roughed it up a little with some sand paper and then waxed it.
The great thing about this paint is that even after you paint and wax, you can re-paint it immediately if you don’t like the color.
Paint right over the wax! Seriously this paint is magical! I really hope this how to chalk paint tutorial will inspire you to try this out!
What a huge difference some paint makes! I love love love how this room looks now 🙂
I just love using chalk paint because it is so easy and you can’t make a mistake.
Our other chalk painted projects
Here is a dresser that we painted with Annie Sloan Chalk paint here
and a bedframe and another bedroom piece of furniture.
Then my hubby and I tackled our master bathroom vanity and it turned out amazing as well!
Below is how our family room looks today! The chalk painted Entertainment center just continues to make me happy every time I look at it. I think this year we will be painting the walls white 🙂
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Thanks for sharing this! It looks great!
I’ve been thinking about painting my dining room china cabinet and table/chairs and might go for it now! They’re a muted green sort of Tuscan style that I don’t hate, but it’s dated.
After searching for about 2 years for new furniture for a spare bedroom and not finding what I liked, I decided to silk paint my existing furniture because it fits so well in the room. What a lovely makeover! I used oyster white silk paint and got new drawer pulls in little white flowers! Not only did I save lots of money, I got a whole new look!
WOW. I have this exact entertainment center and have had the exact feelings about it.
I'm not brave enough for blue but this is really inspiring to refinish mine.
Kellie,
Thank you 😊You can do it! I still love how mine turned out! Go for it!
I have a unit exactly like yours that I am wanting to paint…. Did you have to use a primer? sand the surface? Or just the paint… Seems that Annie Sloan paint is a miracle worker!
Can you share what you used for wax? I am not really sure how to do that part of it (the wax). Also, just to have a better understanding-what is the wax for? Thanks I really like your results! I am thinking about a tv stand and end table and coffee table. Is the wax to sort of seal it all? Like a polyurethane finish on wood? Does it keep out the water marks from glasses?
The wax is kind of like a protective coat and it also creates a soft touch a feel to the finish as well as an aged patina. I would think it would protect it from water marks… since this is a TV entertainment I haven’t put glasses on it to find out. Hope that helps:)
I love this! I have the same entertainment center and I'm looking for a change, too! What color did you use on it? Thanks
Annie Sloan Duck egg blue
This is exactly how I'm wanting to do my living room. What brand and color is on your walls?
It called SW 6686
Lemon Chiffon by Sherwin Williams
Thanks! The house we just bought came with a desk unit that the previous owners left. It fits the space perfectly but I'm not liking the color. Thought I might try this.
Go for it… it was totally worth it both in time and money. Annie Sloan pain it really just plain amazing to work with… we love how it turned out!
The entertainment center turned out wonderful. Did it only take one coat of paint?
Marisa,
It took 2 coats to completely finish it. 🙂
Would you mind sharing where you found your rug? I love it!
I bought it at Pier 1 imports a few years ago.. But you might be able to find it at Rugsusa.com
Hi Karin thank you for sharing, I love chalk paint. We have a huge gorgeous entertainment center that had the same stain finish as yours and we want it to be a lighter color . I'm inspired to go ahead and paint it!
Hi Karin, I have a large gorgeous entertainment center. My husband and I wanted it to be a lighter color but not available, so we bought it anyway. I started chalk painting a few months ago and I wanted to see if anyone transformed their large entertainment center and there you were! You did a fantastic job and now I'm inspired to just go ahead and paint!
Thanks!
Abigail
Oh, goodness! The entertainment center looks amazing! Thanks for sharing. You are one of the features at The Round-Up from the Before & After Wednesday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link to The Round-Up. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2015/02/the-round-up-from-before-after-wednesday.html Hope to see you tomorrow for Before & After Wednesday party. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Oh my goodness! The transformation is just amazing! Your entertainment cabinet looks gorgeous all painted and waxed! Your coffee table is beautiful too. I know that was a lot of work but boy everything turned out wonderful.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia 😉
Absolutely wonderful transformation! You're right. The lighter color makes it look smaller and not stand out so much. Well done! laurie
What a transformation and tackling such a huge piece too. how many coats did it take and how much paint did you use? I have a huge unit that I love but dying to paint but scared it wouldn't look good but after seeing yours it looks tremendous.Susie
Hi Susie I used 2 1/2 quarts of Annie Sloan chalk paint and not even one can of her clear wax. Where can you buy a new piece of furniture for that amount? I really felt it was worth it 🙂 After I waxed it… It brought out a nice patina in the paint… Almost mottled looking. Let me know if you do it… I would love to see before and after pics!!
looks fabulous!! my daughter and I painted an old dresser this weekend with chalk paint and it turned out great so Im going to paint a secretary in our family room! Thanks for the courage!
Jenna
It is seriously addicting isn't it? There is so much satisfaction in making over a piece of furniture especially when it is so easy to do don't you think? Take a before and after picture of your next project… I would love to see it!!
Hugs,
Karin
What a transformation! I'm slightly obsessed with painted furniture 😉 Have a lovely week,Cecilia
Cecilia, thank you 🙂 I feel the same way! Totally obsessed 🙂