The Simple Things

Taking time to live well
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • SHOP
  • Newsletter
  • About
  • Work with us
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • SHOP
  • Newsletter
  • About
  • Work with us

Blog

Taking Time to Live Well

  • All
  • Chalkboard
  • Christmas
  • Competition
  • could do
  • Eating
  • Escape
  • Escaping
  • Fresh
  • Fun
  • gardening
  • Gathered
  • Gathering
  • Growing
  • Haikus
  • Interview
  • Living
  • Looking back
  • Magazine
  • magical creatures
  • Making
  • Miscellany
  • My Neighbourhood
  • Nature
  • Nest
  • Nesting
  • outing
  • playlist
  • Reader event
  • Reader offer
  • Shop
  • Sponsored post
  • Sunday Best
  • Think
  • Uncategorized
  • Wellbeing
  • Wisdom
SIM68.TRYITOUT_Annie Sloan her very self.png

Life Skills | Furniture painting

Lottie Storey February 7, 2018

Spend a day learning a new skill. Mindful and mind full (in a good way). Clare Gogerty joins an Annie Sloan workshop in Oxford

If you've ever attempted to paint a piece of furniture only to be disheartened by the laborious process of sanding, painting and waxing, the day you discover Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is a day of wonder. Developed nearly 30 years ago, it brushes onto surfaces including wood, leather, concrete and leather, with no need to sand or prime. Suddenly that tired old bedside table can be revitalised with just a coat of paint and a layer of wax.

You can develop your skills at an Annie Sloan workshop. I attended one run by Annie at her Oxford HQ, but her stockists in independent shops nationwide are all trained in her techniques and run their own. The morning was spent painting a wooden box with a neutral colour (Old White, in my case), letting it dry, then painting a thin coat of another colour on top (Paloma, a soft grey) and scrunching it off with newspaper. This process, known as frottage,
creates a two-tone marbled effect similar to rag rolling, and can be used on any surface, not just wood.

Colour theory was tackled in the afternoon, with Annie encouraging us to think of colours “like ingredients used in cooking”. She urged us to be brave with colour in our homes and, using her palette of 37 Chalk Paints, fabric swatches and an outline sketch of a room set, we created schemes for a living room and a kitchen/dining area. By the time I got home, no piece of furniture was safe from my brush.

To find your nearest Annie Sloan stockist and your nearest workshop, which also includes gilding and waxing, visit anniesloan.com.

 

  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

 

More home ideas:

Featured
@homeinthehemlocks front door.jpg
Oct 1, 2024
Rituals | Closing the Front Door
Oct 1, 2024
Oct 1, 2024
My Neighbourhood Island.jpg
Sep 17, 2024
10 Reasons | To Live on an Island
Sep 17, 2024
Sep 17, 2024
All purpose cleaner and wipes.jpg
Feb 18, 2023
Make | Homemade Cleaning Wonders
Feb 18, 2023
Feb 18, 2023

More from the February issue:

Featured
SIM68.JOURNAL_113_WordJar_JournalSparks.png
Feb 27, 2018
Journal sparks | Word Jar
Feb 27, 2018
Feb 27, 2018
SIM68.EVENTS_Unknown-1.jpeg.png
Feb 26, 2018
The faces of Fairtrade
Feb 26, 2018
Feb 26, 2018
SIM68.png
Feb 25, 2018
Nest | Cacti
Feb 25, 2018
Feb 25, 2018
InNest Tagsfebruary, issue 68, painting, paint, furniture, vintage furniture, life skills
  • Blog
  • Older
  • Newer
Featured
  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
Join our Newsletter
Name
Email *

We respect your privacy and won't share your data.

email marketing by activecampaign
facebook-unauth twitter pinterest spotify instagram
  • Subscriber Login
  • Stockists
  • Advertise
  • Contact

The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

facebook-unauth twitter pinterest spotify instagram