Game Cabinet Project

We were given this cabinet years ago and it has served us well by storing all of the kids games inside. Our dining room has all wood items in there (the cabinet, dining table and chairs, and also highchair). The room needed some sprucing up.

I decided to try chalk paint for this project and I was so pleased with the end result. Some chalk paint can be pretty pricey, but I found that Menards offered DutchBoy which was $10 cheaper than Valspar at Lowe's. Plus Menards was offering 15% off so it made it even cheaper.

The chalk paint went on so easily and covered a lot. I only used half a can (1 pint) for two coats. There was no need to sand or prime ahead of time.

The chalk finish does give it a funny feel, but after sanding and distressing it was already feeling smooth. I also put a coat of wax finish on to seal and protect it.

The only issue I had was getting the paint color right. We selected a color from the chalk paint list and it went on really light. So AJ took it back in and they added more color to make it much darker. The sample drop they put on the lid both times looked great but it still ended up going on lighter than expected. Even though this wasn't the color I was planning for, I still really liked it. These pictures show more of a darker tint because I couldn't get the lighting right, but the top picture is more accurate since this color has an aqua base.

I'm still debating on whether or not to change the hardware. The bronze knobs go well with the distressed look but there are so many fun knobs these days that I might end up with something else. For now these will do. This project has made a world of difference in our dining room.