Chest Makeover + Layered Paint Technique

Layered paint colors can give a plain piece of furniture so much more character, and this technique is even easy for beginners because there’s no right or wrong way to do it.

This yard sale chest isn’t even real wood, but it almost doesn’t even matter since it turned out so pretty!  I think the After looks like an antique French chest.

First I lightly sanded away all the dark painted areas until there was only cream/light brown left.

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How to achieve the layered paint technique

After sanding, I painted a layer of white (Pure White Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan) covering most of the entire chest, then gray (Fusion Mineral Paint in Pebble) mostly covering the white, then more white to cover some of the gray.

I painted black (rather sloppily) over all the raised areas and most of the edges.

Then I cleaned up the black by painting white next to the raised edges, and then dry brushed white paint over all the black repeatedly until it was just faintly visible.

I wanted to accentuate all the interesting details but not have too much of a contrast.

The final step in the layered paint technique is to sand, sand, sand till your heart’s content.

Gently sand to let each of the paint layers be visible – a little more around the raised parts and the edges for a naturally distressed look.  (I use 220 grit sandpaper for this part.)

Finally, I added an image transfer (available Here) – read here for how to do an easy image transfer like this – and then protected it with a clear wax topcoat.

And here’s how the chest makeover turned out…

This layering paint technique can turn a plain, outdated piece into one with lots of character and depth.

The original crackled, textured finish ended up working well with the paint layers.

The inside is covered in plum velour-like fabric, which is in good condition and only needed wiped down.

You can Pin this photo to easily find this tutorial later:

Let me know if you’ve tried this layered paint technique before. Then please share this post so that others can be inspired too. 

This chest sold at the Hunt and Gather vintage market.