On the renovation front, this weekend I tried my hand at applying the skills I learned in a chalk painting workshop to an actual project.
I'm waging a long term war to rid the cottage of all its black trim. During our last trip to the house, we re-did the mouldings around the guest room doors, but this left us with black sconces on the outside wall of the room which no longer fit the look. At some point I'll replace them completely, but right now the budget is focused elsewhere.
So I decided to paint them. The paint used is Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint, which is a lovely product because it requires almost no prep of the surface you're going to work on, beyond ensuring it's clean. If you make a mistake, you can just wash it off before the paint cures. The base coast is colour Versailles, while the top coat is Old White. I distressed the sconces to emphasize the details that were formerly lost in the black. The final step is the addition of the soft wax, which gives the finished project a lovely warm glow.
I probably wouldn't have bought the original sconces in a store, but with the new paint job I can certainly put up with them a little longer. That wall has gone from black trim, black doors, and black sconces to the result below. Now all it needs is a new light switch.
