Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Bookshelf: Paris Grey and Old White

Several months ago I began to get tired of this bookshelf in my living room.  I felt like it was cluttering up the corner, dark and overbearing whereas the other painted furniture in my apartment (my chairs, table, dry bar and side table) was trending towards light and airy.

So...what's a girl to do?  CHALK PAINT to the rescue!

Here's where I started: 

One reason the shelves were so cluttered is because there were three people's stuff on them!  I took everything off the shelves, divided the books into piles and then found new storage places for the overflowing books.

Lee helped me on this project!  

I was really wanting to try out a new color of paint I had recently purchased: Paris Grey.

Annie describes the color like this: "This is a soft and slightly bluish grey, and is the colour most associated with painted furniture in an elegant French chateau and of an old Swedish manor house."

I did two coats of Paris Grey over the whole book case.

I went back over the trim with some Old White that I had left over from another project.

I used sand paper to distress the molding so a little bit of Paris Grey would show through.  I used a combination of clear and dark wax on the trim.

Curious about waxing?  I have a video here.

Then I did a light coat of clear wax over the whole book case.

A breath of fresh air!  

Come back tomorrow for a close up of the shelves and the story behind my new light at the top!