Redo with CeCe Caldwell paint

Well first off, I have to say a big thanks to all of your lovely comments on the library built ins! I’m going to start calling it a library now I guess, since there’s no dining happening in there. Library sounds so posh though. “Would you like a cup of tea…in my library?” Ha!

Anyhoo, I’ll go into more detail about the accessories soon, but one of them gets it’s own post. ;) Last week I got a chance to try out a new-to-me paint and was able to work a little redo on one of the items I used on the bookcases.

I’ve had this little drawer thingy for years – got it as a present probably eight years ago? I think? Anyway, it’s from Pier 1 and I love that it’s a bigger piece, but it’s been a long time since it’s been displayed:

I’m pretty sure it started out green and then got a redo years ago during my let’s-paint-everything-black phase. I mean…everything. It was a little crazy. :)

Because it was a perfect fit for the shelves, it needed a redo. It was a great project for the CeCe Caldwell chalk and clay paint:

The lovely ladies from Bungalow 47 near Lansing Michigan drove down to central Indiana to show a few of us bloggers how to use the paint. You may have heard about chalk paint recently – it’s booming! I told you about the Annie Sloan version here and the CeCe Caldwell paint is very similar…but has some differences.

One of the things I love about chalk paint is that you don’t have to sand before you start painting. You’ll want to clean the item well (just with regular cleaning supplies or wipes), but sanding is not necessary. Here’s the thing though – to get a great, hard finish, you’ll want to use a wax over the piece when you’re done. That’s what protects it. Otherwise I don’t know if the paint would hold up to wear and tear without it.

I wanted to give this one some dimension, so I started with one of the brighter colors the ladies brought us to try out – this one was called Blue Montana Sky:

I love painting with chalk paint, especially the first coat, because it doesn’t need to be perfect. This coat is just to peek through the second, so it took no time at all to get it on there. It goes on SO fast.

I did notice in comparison that the CeCe paint dries slightly slower than the Annie Sloan paint does – which I found to be a good thing. I could touch up parts without the paint dragging.

OK, so here’s a cool thing about this paint – the CeCe Caldwell brand has clay in it – which makes it so you can see where the paint is drying. You can see in the pic above the dry and wet spots – I thought that was cool! Since I had to get home to get the Bub off the bus, I hurried my drying time along with a hair dryer – super fast!

Then it was time to add the second coat. For this one I used Pittsburgh Gray. After it dried I pulled out some of the blue behind it by giving it a quick sanding:

The drawer on the top had been sanded, the one below had not. You can see how a tinge of the blue is coming through – love it!

If you aren’t doing two colors, you don’t have to sand. And if you are just wanting a slightly distressed look, you’ll just want to pick and choose your spots. I hate sanding with a passion, but this wasn’t bad.

Sanding gives it a great, smooth as silk finish. Next up was the wax – this was the other difference I noticed from the Annie Sloan wax. The CeCe wax is non-petroleum based so it has ZERO odor (and that means it can be shipped!) and it was very, very light when spreading it on.

It was slightly easier to apply because it’s so light, but as far as the result afterwards, the finish was similar as the Annie Sloan version. You just brush it on, then wipe it off and kind of “buff” with the rag as you do.

Many of you have asked about the wax I’ve used lately, and this is why I love it, at least with the chalk paint products:

You can see how it makes the paint color rich and deep and brings out the undertones. This also makes it easy to see where you’ve put it. :)

I’ve used wax on top of regular latex paint as well and love the result there too, it just doesn’t change the color of the paint quite as much.

When it was dry (I waited till the next day), I put the hardware back on:

And the little redo was complete!:

At first I was worried the gray was going to be too dark, but I actually really love how it turned out. It’s got a Restoration Hardware vibe that is perfect for the bookshelves:

What’s funny is I didn’t think I’d like the chalk paint products before I tried them, but I like these paints more and more each time I use them. They are perfect if you love a distressed finish, but you can see by my piece that it also works for more streamlined stuff too.

I love that with the wax, the finish is SO smooth, like something from the furniture store. It’s crazy!

The downside to the chalk paints is the price – they are more expensive than regular latex paint. (The CC brand is slightly less than AS.) But what they say is true – I find they last MUCH longer than a regular quart of paint. It goes a really long way. (The wax goes an even longer way.) When you factor in the price/time of primer, it may come out as a wash, depending on what you are painting.

The older I get, the more I paint stuff, the more I realize the value of a good paint. This stuff is good and I’ll keep using it for sure. I’m already eyeing some frames that need a makeover. :)

So there you go, my take on another paint product – and if you have any questions about CeCe Caldwell paint, the ladies (Jill and Chantelle) from Bungalow 47 will answer them in in the comments over the next couple of days! (You can also visit the CCC site here.) They will know better than I what works and what doesn’t. Ask away!

**I was not compensated to write this post – I just like sharing my thoughts on new DIY products with you!