• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Meet Mary
    • Contact
    • Disclosure
  • Clean
    • Clean
    • cleaning routine
    • laundry
    • kid chores
  • Organize
    • Declutter
    • Planners
  • Food
  • Challenges
    • Declutter Challenge
    • Spring Cleaning Challenge
    • Summer Organizing Boot Camp
    • Love Home Challenge
  • Free Printables
  • Store

creatingmaryshome.com

Create a life you love.

April 2, 2015

My Cabinet Makeover in CORAL!! {How to do Homemade Chalk Paint}

Disclosure: Any post may contain links to my shop or affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission from any purchase you make. All opinions about products I use are my own. Read the full disclosure and Privacy Policy HERE.


Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint

This Spring I decided to add coral to my homes color palette, so when I wanted to update my little dish cabinet in my dining area, coral seemed like the fun choice. Though definitely fun, it was a little scary to add such a bold color, but now that I’ve gone bold, I would never go back!

I bought this cabinet over three years ago. It was a very inexpensive, put-together-yourself cabinet and I viewed it as a place holder for a beautiful $1200 dish cabinet that I wanted. Finally I decided to make my temporary cabinet into something I loved even more than the expensive one.

My friend had just refinished a few pieces in her house with homemade chalk paint, so she gave me the courage to try homemade chalk paint. Well, she actually took me to the store and told me what supplies to buy – so she did more than give me courage! My box of plaster of paris is so big, I better think of some more projects after this!

Homemade Chalk Paint “Recipe”

The ratio of paint (regular flat paint) to water to plaster of paris is 3:2:1, or in other words –

  • 1 cup paint
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup plaster of paris powder

Mix the water and powder together first. I mixed in a disposable container with a lid so that I could save it in between coats and then throw it away at the end of the project. Once the water and powder are mixed well together, mix in the paint.

The consistency is awesome!!

This was the cabinet before I did anything.

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint BEFORE

I put down plastic right in the dining room so I didn’t have to move the cabinet very far.

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint - ready to paint

I wiped down the cabinet, mixed the paint, and then just started painting. I gave everything a few coats. The consistency is like butter!

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint - 2 and 3 coats painted

I let it dry overnight and then I gave it a light sanding. The sanding was for a shabby chic effect. I focused on scuffing the corners and places the cabinet would wear naturally over years.

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint - sanded

Next I wanted to add wrapping paper to the back of the cabinet. I found a pretty white/silver damask wrapping paper. I used the same polyurethane I used to seal the cabinet, to attach the wrapping paper. I “painted” the pack of the cabinet with the lowest sheen of polyurethane that I could find, then smoothed on the wrapping paper that was cut to fit. Then I painted more polyurethane on top of the wrapping paper.

After that, I painted polyurethane on the entire cabinet – anywhere I had painted with chalk paint. I chose polyurethane instead of wax so that I could just do it once.

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint - polyurethane coat

When the poly coat had dried, I added some fun new knobs/ pulls (you call those different things depending where you live!).

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint - new cabinet pulls

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint - pulls 2

I just love love love how the cabinet turned out. It changed the entire feel of the room!

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint 2

Cabinet Makeover with Homemade Chalk Paint 1
Come back tomorrow because I’m going to show you the dining room all put together, with special new-to-me family heirloom dishes in the cabinet!!

From my home to yours,
Mary

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: DIY Mary 30 Comments

Reader Interactions

The Pantry {Home Tour}
The Dining Room {Home Tour}

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    April 2, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    Love it!

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 7:05 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Jessica says

    April 2, 2015 at 11:01 pm

    Love this! I have a chair I want to rehab. Thanks for giving me the courage to try homemade chalk paint – and coral! Question: Do you need to do anything to prep the piece you’re painting? Sanding? Stripping?

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 7:06 pm

      That is the beauty of chalk paint – no prep!! I just wiped down the furniture to get dust off, though I’m not positive that was even necessary. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Diane says

    April 2, 2015 at 11:34 pm

    Great idea for garage sale finds that are not the right color (old, sturdy furniture)…love that no pre-sanding is required…thanks for the “recipe”…

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 7:07 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  4. kathie says

    April 3, 2015 at 12:00 am

    Beautiful, Mary!!

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 7:07 pm

      Thank you!!

      Reply
  5. Melissa says

    April 3, 2015 at 7:43 am

    SO pretty! I love it! What kind of paint did you use? Like, regular wall paint or acrylic craft paint? Thanks for your inspiration!

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 7:08 pm

      It was regular wall paint. And thank you!

      Reply
      • Cynthia says

        June 25, 2019 at 7:03 am

        Was the wall paint water based or oil based?

        Reply
        • Mary says

          June 25, 2019 at 9:50 am

          water, definitely water

          Reply
  6. Shaura Meservy says

    April 3, 2015 at 8:36 am

    Thank you! I want to try it very soon on a cabinet I need to update! Your instructions make it seem very easy!

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 8:31 pm

      It is very easy!! Go for it!

      Reply
  7. anna says

    April 3, 2015 at 9:41 am

    Wow, you make it look so easy. Thanks for sharing and inspiring!

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 8:32 pm

      You’re welcome! It took me a while, but it wasn’t difficult.

      Reply
  8. Cheryl Sylvia says

    April 3, 2015 at 10:32 am

    Why chalkboard paint instead of regular paint?

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 8:35 pm

      Chalk Paint is different than chalkboard paint. The reason I chose chalk paint is that it doesn’t require any prep work to the surface like sanding or stripping. It also has a unique feel, doesn’t show every brush stroke and distresses really well.

      Reply
  9. Heidi says

    April 3, 2015 at 9:01 pm

    I’m so glad you clarified in the above question that chalk paint and chalkboard paint are different. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why you would want to make the cabinet a surface to draw on with chalk!! Lol. It’s beautiful!

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 3, 2015 at 9:08 pm

      Ha!! I’m glad the clarification helped. 🙂

      Reply
    • MARLENE FANNON says

      October 3, 2016 at 12:03 am

      Heidi, that was my exact thought, too. I didn’t know there was a difference. I did a horrible job of painting my cabinets when I got them, so this seems like it might be a great idea for repainting them. When I get the decluttering, cleaning, and organizing done, I might just take on that project. Thanks, Mary!

      Reply
      • Mary says

        October 5, 2016 at 3:36 am

        You’re welcome! And you might be surprised what you’re in the mood for after you finish decluttering and organizing!!

        Reply
  10. Amanda says

    April 19, 2015 at 9:57 pm

    Quick questions…what kind of brush did you use? what paint finish and what kind of poly? sorry to be nosey, but I’m making a walmart run soon and want to add supplies to my list. ☺

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 20, 2015 at 12:58 pm

      Amanda – I bought the Purdy brushes at Home Depot. I got the store brand (cheapest) in the flat finish. The poly is just the standard satin finish Minwax polyurethane. I think you can see it in one of the pictures. It is the golden colored container. Excited for you!!!

      Reply
  11. Judaliss says

    July 19, 2015 at 12:04 pm

    What color did u use?

    Reply
    • Mary says

      July 27, 2015 at 2:25 pm

      I’m pretty sure it was Sherwin Williams coral, which is their color of the year. You can have any brand of paint color-match to it.

      Reply
  12. Renee says

    July 17, 2016 at 10:41 am

    Hi Mary,
    So sorry if this is a silly question: so, I am new to refinishing furniture, and I wanted to ask how you got the worn look on the edges. Is that from a light sanding in those areas? If so, which grit do you recommend? Thank you for your time and for the inspiration:)

    Reply
    • Mary says

      July 26, 2016 at 10:38 am

      It is from sanding in the lightest grit available. 🙂

      Reply
  13. Candy Carter says

    October 13, 2019 at 3:04 pm

    Mary-I made my chalk paint and it is so thin and watery! I measured everything. Anything I can do to fix it or do I just toss it and start over?

    Reply
    • Mary says

      October 15, 2019 at 2:12 pm

      Hmmm … you followed the directions exactly, not substituting anything?? If so, I’d try to use a bit on something like a box and see how it dries. Maybe it will thicken a little as you go?

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

About Mary

Welcome! You are in the right place if you want to get organized! I love helping my clients and readers create functionally beautiful homes. Our homes should be sanctuaries – a place to Read More…

Newsletter

Thank you! Look for a confirmation email from us immediately. If you don't see it soon, check your Spam Folder!

Subscribe to get my emails and receive a FREE Printable Calendar.

Connect

Shop

Featured Posts

Favorite Things

© 2017 Creating Mary's Home · Powered By: MaryORGANIZES.com

 

Loading Comments...