Pinterest is filled with thousands of chalk-type painting ideas, tips and tricks. The beauty of working in this medium is that very little prep work is needed before one can begin the refurbishment process.
Say goodbye to sanding, stripping off the old stain, and removing built up wax, and say hello to chalk-style paint! Developed in the late 1990s and perfected ever the past 30 years, chalk-style paint will adhere to almost any surface.
It may be used thickly to give a chair or dresser a feeling of texture or it can be used thinly for a smooth finish.
These paints can also be diluted further to stain untreated wood or a piece of fabric. Chalk paints don’t turn walls into chalkboards. There are over 25 different brands of chalk-style paints, known either as chalk- style or chalk-type paints. The original Chalk Paint ® was first developed and trademarked by Annie Sloan. Over the years other inventors have brought chalk-type paints to market.
Angela Roether
Sylvania
Angela Roether works full-time in a “man’s world” as a construction buyer for Toledo-based world known architecture firm, SSOE. “Painting is my way of getting my ‘pretty’ on!” the Sylvania residents said.
“I’ve always been artistic and I had my own store a long time ago. After I lost my husband, I had to go back to work full time. Yet I still longed to be creative. Poking around the internet I saw what people were doing with the chalk-type paint and I eventually tried it and fell in love with the medium. I’ve experimented with almost every brand of this type of paint, but my heart truly wasn’t captured until I discovered the Dixie Belle brand.
Roether was so impressed with this brand that she called the company to ask if she could buy it wholesale. “They invited me down to Florida for a weekend-long workshop where I learned everything there was to know about the Dixie Belle brand! I was able to study with 10 of the 14 artists who make up the ‘who’s who’ of chalk-style painting.”
The Sylvania resident sells upcycled furniture, accessories and Dixie Belle paints in her booth at Consign-It Home Interiors.
Laurie Chagin
Ottawa Lake, Michigan
“I started upcycling furniture when my three boys, now ages 20-25, went to college and wanted to try apartment living, versus dormitory living,” said Laurie Chagin, local mom and full-time trauma team member at Toledo Hospital. “I needed to outfit three entire apartments as inexpensively as I could and as quickly as I could.”
Chagin heard about chalk paint and thought she would try it.
“I did a small project first and it turned out OK. So, I was curious to see how it would work on larger projects. Before I knew it, I had outfitted all three apartments with a sense of style and panache! Wouldn’t you know that the painting bug bit me?”
The Ottawa Lake resident hasn’t been able to put her brush down. “I have purchased and salvaged so much unwanted and discarded furniture throughout the years that I’ve been able to redecorate my whole home. Each room in the house has a different ‘theme’. That shows you how diverse the paint is to work with.”
Chagin said her family thinks she should be doing upcyclying full-time…”But I’m far from ready to retire. Until then, I’ll paint when I’m not making trauma runs with my team at Toledo Hospital.”
Janette Warren
Monclova
“I had to start refurbishing furniture because I had become addicted to thrifting and my new and funky finds were pouring out of the basement, garage and my storage unit,” said Janette Warren, art teacher at Jefferson Junior High and Whitmer High School.
Warren has been turning trash into treasure all her life. “When I was just a kid I remember finding objects and turning them into outrageous art sculptures.” The same holds true today. “I usually have multiple projects going at the same time. Perhaps that’s why I was running out of space to hold everything!”
Art has always been important to Warren, but it wasn’t until she took an art therapy course at BGSU that she knew becoming an art teacher was her calling.
“I’m excited every day to teach junior high and high school students about living a creative life. I teach them to think outside the box. Art doesn’t necessarily have to be painting or drawing or ceramics…it can simply be creative ideas. I fuel passion in my students by example. I will bring in something I’ve upcycled or repurposed and say, ‘See? You can actually make money selling stuff like this while having a blast creating it!’”
“My goal with any project is to teach students that you can be creative and innovative all the while finding peace and personal satisfaction in your work. It’s not always the end result, but the process that should be cherished,” she added.
The Monclova resident isn’t afraid to experiment with paint or to try new things. “When I first came upon chalk paint I had no idea how it would revolutionize the way I create, think and work. Instead of spending hours and hours scraping off old varnish and paint and sanding a piece clean, I could take the chalk paint and apply it to a clean and dry surface.
“Most of my friends are young moms or moms of teens/college kids. Consequently, they don’t have a ton of money to spend on high end new furniture. It’s not unusual for them to commission me to take one of their old dressers or chairs and reimagine them into new-to-you pieces. Soon, they have a new living room or bedroom filled with my funky style!
Warren started Funky Junk by Janette two years ago as an exhibit booth at Consign It Interiors. She’s the owner of three (and sometimes four) separate booths, each with a different vibe representative of furniture she’s selling.
Consign-It Home pride
Consign-It Home Interiors, 6935 Central Ave., has been in business for 22 years. Tony Rasczyk has been the store’s general manager from the very beginning. Tony is the “face of the store and chief consigner.”
“We sell all kinds of furniture styles – retro, shabby chic, unique, mid-century, farmhouse, rustic and antique,” Rasczyk said. “We are an upscale resale shop that sells pre-owned furniture and accessories. And twenty percent of our products are brand new items.
“We have new items coming in every day. So, our inventory is constantly changing. One of our points of pride is our ‘mall for the home’ section of the store. We have 38 vendors who present new, used, refurbished and upcycled furniture and accessories for the home. Again, there is a range in style and taste level among our vendors, each of whom have been carefully handpicked for inclusion into the store.
“Every day Consign-It is open, these small vendor shops are open too. That’s the beauty of being tied into our mall for the home! These small business owners don’t have to be here to sell something. We do the selling for them for a small rental fee. This works out great for the person who still works full-time but wants to test the waters on what having a retail business is like.
For more information on renting a space or shopping at Consign-It
Home Interiors call Tony at 419-841-4663. See their latest inventory on Facebook and Instagram.
Chalk painting classes
It’s easy to get creative
Funky Junk by Janette
Classes offered once a month in private home
Contact: Janette Warren
Call: (419) 351-2444 for details
Painted Clovers
102 West Poe Road
Bowling Green, Ohio
Contact: (419) 494-8388
Lily’s Urban Home Interiors
Demonstrations offered first or second Saturday of the month from 11-3 pm. Classes start in July.
Lily’s Urban Home Interiors is located in Consign It: Booth #5767, 6925 W Central Ave., Toledo
Contact: Angela Roether
Text: (419) 215-3270
