Creating Custom Color with Americana® Decor™Chalky Finish Paint

Sometimes it's hard to find just the right shade for your project. Today, I will be talking about mixing a custom color as well as showing you a new paint, Americana® Decor™ Chalky Finish. This paint requires no stripping or prepping just like other furniture paints I have used before on Pretty Distressed. You can paint right over your existing finish. The most exciting thing about this paint is that it is really easy to find. It is sold on Amazon.com as well as in your local Hobby Lobby and other craft and hardware stores.

Right now, I am in the thick of finishing up my gender neutral nursery before baby arrives in the upcoming month. I am reusing and repurposing most of the items I had for my daughter's nursery to save some money. This little nightstand is the perfect companion to sit next to my oversized plush rocker. I will be spending lots of time in this thing day and night, so it is a must to have a nightstand to hold my water and Amazon Kindle Fire for late night binge watching while I feed baby. Downton Abbey got me through my last baby.

A couple of years back, my mother refinished this sweet little nightstand we found at Target with some spray paint and acrylic paint when I had my daughter. With the pink highlights, I knew this needed a makeover for my little foxes nursery. It is hard to paint something that has nothing wrong with it, but it is also nice to save the cash by repurposing it and not having to buy brand new. This little project only cost me about $20 in paint, and I have a lot left over for future projects.

To achieve this navy color I was looking for I had to custom mix a couple of colors. Like I mentioned above, I used Americana® Decor™ Chalky Finish paint in Carbon and Legacy. I am not an expert in color theory, so if you are like me just simply do a internet search on the color you are wanting to achieve and mix away. I recommend doing a color card like you see below and playing with your paint ratio before you mix a whole batch for your piece. Using a heavy card stock works best for creating a color card like this, and you can store it for future use. I use a teaspoon to mix my proportions evenly. For this project, I wanted a deep navy, so I ended up going with the 1:1 ratio on the card.

Here is what the paint looks like. As I mentioned, you can buy it on Amazon.com, HomeDepot.com, at Hobby Lobby and some other craft stores. If you click on the images below, you can buy them directly from Amazon.com. (I will receive a small percentage from Amazon of this sale if you use these links. See my full disclosure page.) You can also buy Americana® Decor™ waxes and other finishing products as well as brushes. I have my own brushes and used my Annie Sloan Soft Wax that I had on hand, so I can't offer my opinion on those products.

Legacy

Carbon

I was really happy with the paint though. I ended up doing around three coats to achieve the coverage I wanted. And while this paint is perfect for creating a shabby, distressed look, I decided to keep it sleek and modern. It is going to look perfect in the nursery which I hope to take you on a tour of soon.

That is my take on Americana® Decor™ Chalky Finish paint. Are you interested in checking it out? Any questions about mixing a custom color? Let me know what you think.