Grey Washed Chair and Country Chic Paint Giveaway

* I was provided the product for this post by Country Chic Paint free of charge. All opinions are my own and not influenced. I'm just happy to spread the word about good products.

I have been in the garage covered with sawdust, but I finally finish one of my favorite projects yet! I can't share it with you yet, but if you follow me in Instagram, you can see a couple sneak peeks. 

Anyways, said project required a donor table to complete. After hours of searching, I came across a perfect candidate via Craiglist. I picked up a solid pine, dining table with 2 crappy Ikea chairs thrown in to sweeten the deal. I had no need for the chairs, but you don't look a furniture horse in the mouth, so I took them home with me. I starred and starred at these thing trying to decide what to do with them. That's when I got an email from my new friends at Country Chic Paint. 

They asked if I would be interested in checking out some of their products. I have friends who have used their paint before and love it, so I quickly responded. I knew exactly what I was going to paint.

I got to try a few of their gorgeous colors, but the one I was really excited for is Dark Roast. 

Have you seen these pendant lights from Ikea? A friend from church has the same ones in her awesomely styled kitchen and I fell in love. In person, the color is a dark brownish-grey

That's exactly what Dark Roast is. Cool, dark, brownish-grey. 

For this little project, I also got to play around with white wax. I've used white wax once or twice in the past and have been itching to experiment some more. I even bought some white, oil based paint to mix up a DIY batch. I'm SO glad I didn't have to. The white wax from Country Chic is a dream to work with. I was shocked when I opened the can that it actually smelled good. Not like cancer in a jar.

Same goes for their clear wax, which they call Natural Wax.

I decided I wanted some of the original wood grain to show through, so the first thing I did was to pour some Dark Roast in a cup with some water and mix up a paint wash. This stuff has some pigment! Some other paints I've used seem to just use thick texture to get good coverage. This stuff has a nice, smooth consistency, but major pigment and coverage. Be careful, it will stain anything it touches. 

Since my chair was basically bare wood, the wash worked almost like a stain. I brushed on a couple coats, wiping any drips in between. Like any good furniture paint, you don't have to sand or prime with Country Chic Paint (most of the time). 

After the paint wash dried, it was time to bust out the white wax. Once again, pigment city! This stuff is great! A bit firmer than I'm used to. I had no problem loading it on a chip brush, but I would say those of you not living in a place with 100+ degree temperatures may have to work the wax to load your brush. 

I brushed on an even coat and immediately wiped away the excess with a rag, simultaneously working the wax into the wood. To finish, I wiped the whole piece down with a coat of Natural Wax.

The end effect reminds me of sun bleached wood. 

 

The way the white wax gathers in the creased reminds me of the chalky white patina that iron gets from being outside. I definitely need to try this stuff on metal. 

Pardon the ridiculously girly pillow. I went through a shabby chic phase a few years ago. Totally not my style these days, but I liked the look of the white against the grey wood. What do you think? Not bad for a free chair eh?

For future reference, here is my formula for grey washed wood. Feel free to "pin" away.

Now for the great new. Country Chic Paint has generously agreed to give away some fabulous product to one of you lucky readers. Follow the Rafflecopter below for chances to win: 3 pints of Country Chic Paint in your choice of colors, 1 pint of Image Transfer Medium, 1- 8oz Natural wax, and 1- 4oz Antiquing wax. 

That's a whole box full of goodies people! Make sure to check out their website and good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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