How to use leftover paint | A lesson in shabby chic

This is my favourite place in the world. Today, for the first time – I’m showing a place other than my home…. I’m showing you the cottage. Well, a small corner of the cottage – but the cottage nonetheless. This is a place for summer hangouts, late night bonfires, big family BBQs, lazy days swimming, boating and fishing…decor isn’t really top of mind. But when my Sister-in-Law gave our cabin bunkie a fresh coat of paint – I figured it couldn’t hurt to use the leftovers!

Here’s How to Use Leftover Paint and Make your OWN Chalky Finish Paint

About 1/4 gallon of white latex paint
Good angle brush
Plaster of Paris
Measuring Cups
Foil Plates (for mixing that can be tossed)
Rags
Sandpaper
New drawer pulls (optional obviously)
Finishing Wax

Since we live far away from the cottage and rarely spend time there, I decided it would be my contribution to ‘cottage life’ to get the ball rolling on a much needed dining room refresh. I tackled only what I knew I could achieve in one afternoon.

Armed with the leftover latex wall paint I’d found in the wood shed, I set to work on this old corner cabinet.

As I was emptying it out, I was also creating little ‘purge’ piles and discovering some long forgotten family mementos too! (Also, I found mouse poop. LOTS of mouse poop! Ewww!)

Long story short, I only had about 1/4 of a gallon of paint. And I had to make that last enough to cover this cabinet and have it look ‘cottage chic’ – or romantically weathered or whatever euphemism for ‘on purpose distressed’ you want to use.

Here’s what to do if you’ve got leftover paint:

Mix 1 level cup of Plaster of Paris with 1/2 cup of cool tap water.
Mix it until there are no lumps.
Pour about 3/4 cup of your leftover latex paint into a large tin and then slowly add your wet plaster mixture to that.
Stir it until it’s smooth.
Use this mix as your first coat on your piece.

If you have lots left, then add another 1/8 cup of water to your paint and use it as your second coat. In my case, I needed to do a second mix, so I just boosted to water content a bit. The wonderful thing about this method is how quickly it dries to the touch. I started the piece at about 11am and by 2pm, it looked like this:

Then, just use 150 grit sand paper and go to town. I wanted this piece to look like it had been part of our cottage for the last 50 years. Technically, it probably has… just not painted like this!

I also upgraded the hardware with these little copper pulls. They reminded me of shamrocks and sort of speak to my family’s Irish heritage. Also, they match the old hinges better than the previous wooden knobs.

There it is! All finished up! And the beauty thing is that I had PAINT LEFTOVER! I didn’t even use 1/5 of a can of paint to covert this entire piece. I put it back with some of the jugs and trays that we use often when we are at the lake…. and no, none of it matches… and no, none of it is curated 🙂 This is a true collection!

For some reason, when you’re at the lake, it’s okay to have a bunch of fish themed pieces… haha I have a particular love for the fish jug. My Poppa used to pour me water from it when I was little and we’d giggle because it made a ‘Glug Glug Glug’ sound.

I really like how this piece ended up. It is the start of the ‘great dining room brighten’ as it’s being called in our family. This month, my uncle has committed to painting that panelling a bright white (like JoJo Whitewash by PARA Paints.) I think that will make this cabinet pop even more!

So there you have it… my recipe for using up leftover paint and achieving the shabby chic look 🙂