That's What Shell Said

Hello and welcome to another exciting edition of “Make It Monday” on my blog! Actually I guess it’s the first edition but it’s fine and we are all fine and we are just rolling with it today.

Anyway, I want to talk to you today about Plaster Paint. First off, listen, I know that some people have some very firm opinions about plaster paint. I see plenty of bitching on the internet from people that are deeply offended when someone paints furniture with chalk or plaster paint. “How dare anyone cover that gorgeous Cherry finish?”

To that I say… calm the hell down, Brenda. I’m sorry that this finish doesn’t even kind of fit in with my house. I’m sorry that I have offended you by painting a piece of furniture that is going in MY dining room… that I will look at every freaking day. When I die please feel free to sand it down to it’s shiny, fancy, cherry wood glory.

Also, while we are on the subject I am super sorry for painting that old outdated table, and selling it in my flea market booth. I mean, the person that bought it must have only done so out of spite. They probably will sand it down to its original color, right? Sounds pretty stupid, huh? I get that it irritates people, especially with antiques, but sheesh. Go find something else to be mad about. There are literally thousands of things out there. It’s 2020, everyone is offended.

Anyway, carrying on. I love me some plaster paint. You don’t have to do a ton of prep work (priming, extreme sanding, etc.) It covers well without multiple coats and it has a nice muted finish.

When we were working on decorating our dining room we decided to get a china cabinet to hold glasses that we collect on our travels. I searched high and low and finally found one, but it didn’t fit in with our farmhouse theme at all. It was cherry wood and rather regal looking. BUT it was exactly what my husband had in mind for this liquor cabinet, so we got it. With the understanding (and dismay from both my hubby and the seller) that I was going to paint it.

I had a can of indigo colored paint left over from another project, so I decided to turn it into chalk paint and use it!

It’s super easy to make! Just mix together 1 1/2 cups of latex paint, 1/2 cup of warm water and 1/2 cup of plaster of paris. Paint and enjoy!

I will say that a lot of plaster paint projects would probably use wax (kitchen cabinets, this china hutch, etc). Plaster paint wax can be purchased at Lowes or anywhere plaster paint is sold. (here’s some from amazon!) I did not use wax on my hutch, but I think it would protect the finish more and I probably will do it eventually. I’ve never used it on tables, dressers, etc and have never had problems.

Anyway, hope this is helpful to someone for their next DIY paint project!

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