This however is not for everyone and is probably not ideal for areas of high wear or where water might splash. So now to fill that gap, Annie Sloan has developed a specific wall paint and this week I got to try it out.
My studio has wooden 'tongue & groove' panel walls, so in actuality I was painting over a standard emulsion on wood. This made the roller slip a bit so there is some slight patching, this would only take a few minutes to rectify and was down to the roller and not the paint.
I'm so familiar with the original chalk paint I find normal major brand paints very weird. Firstly, emulsion wall paint is so thin and splattery, needing several coats very often and the cheaper the paint the worse it is. Secondly with wood paint Im allergic to the fumes and this was the major reason I changed to chalk paint in the first place.
The colour I've used here is Versailles, but please don't take these photos as a good representation of it, I was shooting in quite strange light and depending on your computer screen settings, the colour will not be precise. For a truer colour look at the Annie Sloan site and get tester pots, paint large areas of the walls you want and see how it looks in situ. I have seen Versailles look quite yellow in some light but in my studio it is a pale coffee beige. I wanted a neutral that seemed quite seasonal, matching the tones of changing leaves in nature.
So how is this paint in comparison? Well, firstly I was really surprised with how thick it is, it must be the thickest wall paint on the market. This I think would be particularly useful if you are painting a light colour over a dark colour, on the last photo I painted over a very dark blue chalk paint on the chimney breast and it covered it just fine. Also as I was painting onto a wall there was no slipping with the roller so its incredibly flat there.
I used a very cheap and very rubbish roller to apply the paint, just to put it through its paces. It went on the wall a treat and while it didn't look 'even' when wet, it dried all one colour.
The paint has a very slight silk finish so is suitable for wiping down or splashes of water but still matt enough not to be shiny.
You can see the range here. The coverage was good for a thick paint too and so if you are using the furniture paint you can find a wall colour that will work with it as Annie's paints sit very well together and she gives excellent tips about which ones sit alongside each other.
While I'm here I would like to say a thank you also to stockist Dawn at Halcyon Days in Rye who very kindly gave me a tester of the wall paint in Duck Egg Blue, which I've used in a few photos now. I wandered into her shop when on holiday this year and we spent lots of time there chatting and laughing, she has some great vintage items too.
The wreath on the chimney breast is now on its third or fourth incarnation. It was the one that I was given when we went to the 'Styling Spring At Mine" workshop. It is now resplendent with dry hydrangea heads and I expect will get a bit of ivy and maybe even some holly nearer to Christmas.
This wall paint has given me the bug again, I'm thinking about some other lighter colours now the natural daylight is disappearing. Also time soon to dig out the furry rugs and woolen throws. I've already started to light fires as there is a distinct nip in the air, and yet there are still roses on the bushes outside so it's an odd time to be sure.
Janice.
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