The other day I posted a blog about a French Country Farmhouse table I sanded back and used White Chalk Wax to finish the top. I paired it up with two benches, which I also used White Chalk Wax on the top of the benches to give a pearlised look. I had these French Country chairs in my stock room (formerly were in my own dining room) and decided to do two in case whomever the lucky person is who buys the French Farmhouse Table and benches may wish to add these chairs to the set. This is the first one done. Look below for the transformation and how the wax was used to give a special effect whilst also protecting the finished product.

This is the chair before, yes many would wonder why I painted it. In all actuality I'd painted these chairs some years ago and they needed touching up. They'd been painted in Laura Ashley paint (before I discovered the joys of chalk paint and became a convert) and when that chips, it's a big job to touch up so might as well start all over. Suffice to say, after a good cleaning and a light sand to smooth out the chipped oil based paint - I painted all over with Autentico Chalk Paint in Clear Clouds.

This is really the part I wanted to share with you. I used the Autentico Chalk Paint to paint over the rush seat pads. It does take a while as the rush is a bit thirsty.

In this, photo you can see how the top seat pad has been painted and waxed with the White Chalk Wax, the bottom was just completed with chalk paint. I like to apply wax with a J cloth - works well for me.

Photo of the finished product - hints of the Clear Clouds Chalk Paint showing through the White Chalk Wax. The seat pad is now fully protected and once dried has a lovely smooth feel - and will not come off when you sit on it. Wax really is much more than something to simply protect your paint finish but can be used as a method for achieving different looks. Autentico Wax is natural, so easy to smooth on and most importantly, available in many colours.

I purchased this French country style table and chairs. Chairs are destined for my own dining room but wanted to pair up the table with lovely country benches I have had in my work shop for a while. Just started on the table. The plan is to keep the wood showing somewhat but colour with using Autentico White Chalk Wax teamed up with a gorgeous Autentico Chalk Paint colour called Clear Clouds on the table legs and benches - such a fresh clean colour that I thought would look stunning in a country or French themed kitchen.

This is the leaf on top of the table, once sanded back. What a huge difference in colour! I've only gotten as far as sanding and the start of waxing the leaf. My best tip for doing something like this is to use a mouse sander, sanding this much by hand would just take far too long. Just make sure you have enough sheets before you start, you will need both coarse and fine sandpaper.

My plan was to have the benches, table legs and bottom portion of the table in Clear Clouds, top sanded back and waxed in Autentico White Chalk Wax - you can see how easy it is to apply and really changes the look of the wood. This is the start of just the first coat of White Chalk Wax, I applied three coats of wax over two days to build up the colour.

This is the table top, fully sanded. This took me ages. Why? Could not find the right grade sand paper for my mouse sander. Top tip - buy all your materials in advance and ensure you have extra of everything.

So here is the final product. Don't you just love the curvy legs of the table, it's what really caught my eye. I love it teamed up with the benches for a rustic French farmhouse feel. This is shown with the leaf in the table. Remember, Autentico has a whole range of coloured waxes, you can do so much on plain wood or experiment with different looks over the 100+ colours of paint in the Autentico Chalk Paint Range. Pop into the work shop if you would like to find out more or sign up for any of our classes.