Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - 2nd project

If you have been reading this blog for a while you might remember this post. That was my first try using chalk paint.

This time Daughter was revamping her office and turning it into a nursery. She had this black Ikea shelving unit in the office.

The plan was to flip the unit horizontally, paint it white and add doors to half of the openings. Ikea has naturally thought of everything and it is possible to purchase doors, hinges and handles to fit this unit. I didn't want to mess with sanding, priming and painting so chalk paint fit the bill.

The chalk paint did a good job on the shelving unit, although it took 3 coats to completely cover the black finish.

While it was possible to order white inserts and white doors for the shelving unit, I was afraid that the white would be different than the chalk paint and that the finish would be glossier than the finish with the chalk paint and the wax. So Daughter ordered the doors and inserts in the black finish and I painted all of the black finish with the white chalk paint.

The inserts for the cubbies were masonite and the chalk paint wasn't adhering very well. The inserts have to be folded to form 2 sides and a back and every time I bent them some of the chalk paint flaked off. ACK!! I thought that maybe a primer would help so I tried some Kilz... Daughter had some on hand and it didn't make sense to buy something else. That helped although some chipping did occur when I was installing the inserts. Some of them were a very tight fit and a bugger to get into the cubby.

The doors painted up nicely just using the chalk paint. Assembling the hinges was straight forward and the instructions were easy to follow.

Here is a picture of the insert. You can see how it slides into the cubby. I highly recommend using a drill to make a guide hole into the side of the shelving unit cubby for the screw. Just make sure not to drill too far or you will end up popping through the other side. (And how do I know this?!?)

The little doorknobs attach easily. It would have been nice if they were a little bigger though.

Tada! Even though I wondered if it would turn out, I am pretty pleased with it. The cubbies can be left open or filled with baskets....perfect for a little nursery.