Vintage French Provincial Dresser Makeover & DIY Chalk Paint Recipe

I purchased a beautiful french provincial dresser from a man on the side of the road back in 2012 for $60. It had great bones and was in great condition for being an antique.
I have been pondering what to do with it ever since I purchased it. At one point I thought… I will paint it a high gloss electric blue with metallic gold pulls! That’s will look chic! That’s the plan. But I never acted on it.
I am not sure if it is because I was not 100% on board with it (mentally), or if I was on a super tight budget for a couple years (to the point of not having the extra money to buy the paint.) Regardless, I never acted on my first impulse. I am glad I didn’t.
In my process of transforming a piece of furniture, I always do a ton of research to have a plan of attack. This is one of the reasons why I love Pinterest so much! The creatives on this site constantly inspire me.
Now in 2015, there is another source of inspiration for me and that is a show on HGTV called Flea Market Flip. There was one particular episode where 2 girls transformed a smaller version similar to my dresser and they made it look beautiful. This episode really helped me hone in on my vision for this dresser.
I know I know… there are people out there that HATE painted furniture, but the way I see it is that you can always sand a painted piece down and re-stain if I ever change my mind. I realize that at one time having natural wood furniture was super trendy and the height of sophistication. (BRING IT ON HATERS- DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK) :)
However, this dresser in it’s original state was not working with my room decor.
Plus, there are beautiful hand carved details in this dresser that were lost in the original state. My goal was to breathe new vintage glam life into this beauty for my vintage bedroom.
Another reason why I wanted to paint this piece was to try a new DIY Chalk Paint recipe I found on Pinterest.
Last year I had the glorious opportunity to work with the company Annie Sloan Unfolded. They sent me their clear and dark waxes and a paint color of my choice. I love this product! I was amazed at how long their quart of paint lasted me, but at the price of $35-45 per quart is not in my budget.
The point of my January challenge bedroom makeover is to prove that I don’t have to spend that much to achieve the look I want.
I hope to inspire my readers to get creative an work with what they have!