Annie Sloan Chalk Paint...

After

h, I know you are familiar with this sensation, but I 'll bet you haven't seen a makeover like this one. Forgive me, Annie, but I did not apply your fabulous paint to some gorgeous, vintage piece of furniture. No, I decided to try it on my much hated black slate tile, foyer floor!

before 

Imagine if you will, a chalkboard floor after twenty-two years of wear. Yes, that's right it looked the same after two days of wear. It never looked clean showed every little lint and crumb and had to be mopped constantly. I hate to tell you "I told you so", Mr. B. This floor pick of yours has been the bane of my existence since we built our house. Did I mention that the foyer is ten by fifteen feet? It is a slightly angled space also, the biggest rug that will fit in the center is six by nine. Okay, enough venting (I have only been b------- about it for twenty years). The plan was to replace it, but I could not decide what I wanted and I was changing my mind about it all the time. We were not eager to make another costly mistake and I really didn't mind the dark color.
So, after reading about Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint on so many blogs, I decided to give the floor a second chance. The graphite was beautiful and after thoroughly cleaning the floor, I started carefully cutting in. I was floored, pardon the pun, it went on smoothly with the suggested nylon brush, and covered perfectly. It dried in one half hour and I was able to second coat the trim and roll out two full coats in one longish evening. The matte finish was amazing and after keeping all pets and people off it until the morning, it was ready for a finish.
Annie Sloan recommends a low sheen varnish for floor applications, although I am sure they are thinking "wood" floor. I was unable to purchase her Matte Varnish in the USA, so I used a reliable water based, satin polyurethane. The drying time between coats is two hours. In the next two days, I put down four coats. Furniture was not moved in for several more days, to allow the whole floor to cure.

We could not be happier with the result and saved the cost of a new floor, probably about twenty-five hundred dollars. A very big thank you to my new friend at Classic Paint Finishes, Patty, for her help and generosity, (she included a couple of sample jars in my order, so I did not have to order a second quart)! By the way, the floor used just a little over one quart of paint! The best part is that there is no odor at all, and even the poly was low odor. I would use it on a floor again, in a heartbeat, but I am now so anxious to try it on a fabulous old piece of furniture, with some of the Annie Sloan Wax.
What do you think?




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