OUR FRENCH FARMHOUSE DINING ROOM MAKEOVER ON A BUDGET

So let me start off by saying that this project was one of the most nerve-racking to date.

Why? Well, the furniture pieces were my grandmother’s old dining set and I didn’t want to “ruin” it.

That being said, I just went for it and, boy, am I glad I did!!!

Let’s take a look at what I was starting with.

When I inherited the set a couple years back I changed out the hardware to something more modern and was super happy with it at the time.

Years later and the used dings and brown wood got old real fast. This lead me to one of my crazy ideas to give it more of a modern farmhouse look.

So how the heck did I do it?

First, I started with cleaning it down with Murphy’s Wood Soap and Pine Sol. (Yep, Pine Sol. My house smelled great afterwards!)

Afterwards, I removed all the doors and drawers and sanded it down with a mouse sander on the “mainly used” spots. I did this to make sure the chalk paint adhered well.

Once I felt like the piece was sanded down well enough I used a tack cloth to remove excess sawdust. You can also use a wet towel or paper towel, but tack cloths remove the dust easier!

Then I started to paint it… I did a lot of research before moving forward with this step and made sure I bought chalk paint-specific brushes. This made the paint go on so smooth without showing brush lines.

Warning: chalk paint is a very heavy paint so you have to be careful with your strokes when using it!

After two coats of the chalk paint and letting it thoroughly dry, I took my handy mouse sander and lightly sanded down the corners, popped out areas and other areas that I felt would easily show wear and tear.

Warning: Don’t go overboard on sanding, because chalk paint can easily chip with the electric sander. If you over do it you’ll have an unfinished look. Stick to smoother sandpaper so it’s not as harsh on your piece of furniture!

Once I finished sanding I had sawdust everywhere so I took an old towel and wiped it down with water only!

Warning: DON’T use a tack cloth this time around because the tack cloth can ruin the paint!

Once I let it dry again, I added two coats of a matte chalk top clear coat to protect the chalk paint since it can easily chip without a finished coat. With the matte top coat, both pieces have held up very well so far!

Overall, I was super happy with how everything turned out and was glad that I dived right in AND that it only took ONE DAY to complete.

For a link to the dining chairs that I bought in place of the old ones that were falling apart, you can check them out here: Solid Wood Dining Chairs.

(These were my Christmas gift from Tyler ☺️)

What do you all think of the final product!?