Blue Chalk Paint & Dark Wax Vanity Makeover

Stephanie Abbott
by Stephanie Abbott
5 Materials
$60
3 Days
Easy

Hi! I've just given my Master Bathroom a full remodel, but I decided to rescue and refinish the built in vanities. This house was built about 25 years ago. And, I'm pretty sure the vanities hadn't been painted since then. They were pretty badly chipped and dinged all over the doors and drawers. But since they were 3/4" thick built in wood vanities with a pretty moulding design, I decided I'd save them. And, I'm so glad I did. I love them with this new look!


I actually did 4 easy and low cost updates to these vanities: 1) the new paint 2) built the garbage can into the door 3) switched the knobs 4) added stained plywood liners to the cabinets. You can get a good look and explanation of what I did in the video. icon

The vanities were pretty badly chipped and damaged before the makeover. I started by washing every surface down with Dawn dish soap and water. This will remove all the oils, dirt, and hair products built up on the surface.

Then I used painters tape to make clean, crisp paint lines. Then applied the first coat of chalk paint. Chalk paint is great because you can generally skip primer and go straight for paint. And, it dries really fast. So, you can get those coats of paint on faster too.

After 3 coats of the dark blue chalk paint (Annie Sloans Napoleonic Blue) I applied 1 coat of clear wax (Minwax), waited an hour, then a coat of dark wax (Annie Sloan), then waited another hour before applying a final coat of clear wax. Follow the directions on the wax to get the nicest result.

You can see the paint with and without (right side) the dark wax above. Both are pretty but the dark wax adds a nice vintage look with a lot more depth to the finish.

I also cut and sanded some $6 Luan plywood to make new cabinet liners. The old cabinet bottoms were pretty banged up and I thought a pop of stained wood would be a pretty addition.

I stained the plywood with Medium Walnut Dutch Oil. If you look at the left cabinet door, you'll also see the built in garbage cans I added to both vanities. I love not having to look at our garbage and it keeps it away from babies and dogs. :) You can find the garbage can tutorial here.

That's it. This was done in a few days and I couldn't love it more. The wax makes the vanities so smooth and soft to touch but super durable too. Perfect for our busy house. You can see close up photos and more of our vanity pictures here.

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Stephanie Abbott
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