How to Blend Chalk Paint Like a Pro | Dresser Makeover

blend chalk paint on a dresser

A old wooden French Provincial dresser gets a makeover using Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk Paint and Minwax Stain. Learn how to blend chalk paint on a dresser and how to refinish a dresser top.

After painting its sister dresser white, I was ready for some color. I decided to pick a blend of two blue chalk paints. If you’ve been too intimidated to blend chalk paint on a dresser I want to change that. Seriously peeps, It’s SO easy. Blending is a great way to add dimension and let you highlight details on the furniture!

Supplies for Blending Chalk Paint Makeover –

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Here’s the dresser before. It was in great condition, but the orange finish just had to go. I wanted to preserve the beauty of the wood on the top so I decided to re-stain it.

Staining the Top

To save time on sanding, I decided to strip the top of the dresser. Wearing proper protection I applied the stripper with a old paint brush and let it work its magic for 15 minutes.

Warning – this gets a lil messy.

Using a plastic putty knife I scraped off the stripper and the old finish.

Using 150 grit sandpaper I sanded the top to smooth out and get any remaining finish off.

Next I applied a coat of weathered oak and dark walnut stain mixed 50/50.

I let it soak for 5 minutes and then wiped it off in the direction of the grain.

I added another coat of dark walnut stain to make the top darker.

Time to Paint!

Then I moved onto the body of the dresser.

I did the standard prep like cleaning and sanding. For a more in depth prep guide, you can find that here.


Here’s a video so you can see the blended chalk paint –

Now its time for the fun stuff! I chose two blue colors to blend together. Vintage Duck Egg, and Stormy Seas. They are Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk paints and they blend like a dream!

If you’ve never blended chalk paint before don’t worry. It’s much easier than it seems and very hard to mess up! Work in small sections so you can blend while the paint is wet. If you want a less blended and more rustic look you can do some dry blending.

I use 2 brushes, one designated for the light color one for the dark. I applied the darker color around the edges.

Then I applied the lighter color in the middle.

Blend the Chalk Paint on the Dresser

Water is very important in helping the colors blend. Mist your flat head chalk paint brush with water.

Start blending where the two colors meet. Blend in long light strokes moving up into the darker color and then down to the lighter color. Mist the paint with water if it gets too dry to blend.

Then I did the same thing to the sides of the dresser.

Here is the dresser after the first coat all blended! I waited for it to dry then sanded very lightly with 220 grit to prepare for the final coat.

Final Blending

Now is when you get the blend exactly how you want it. The beauty of blending is you can achieve whatever look you want. I wanted a smooth blended look where you’re not able to tell where one color starts and the other ends.

I highlighted areas that I wanted to pop with the lighter blue, and blended them in.

Sealing the dresser

When everything was dry I applied a coat of Minwax Polycrylic to seal and protect the dresser.

Hardware

I cleaned the hardware with Krud Kutter then let dry.

Then, I sprayed painted 3 coats of black spray paint letting the paint dry in between coats.

To wrap it up I screwed the hardware back on and staged the dresser!

Here’s the completed dresser all completed –

I hope this encourages you to give blending chalk paint a try. What do you think of the blue?

I’d love if you pin this project for later! Here’s a handy graphic for you.