Annie Sloan: Don’t Miss The Gold Rush

Today we bring you all things Chalk Paint® from the expert herself, Annie Sloan. So whether you’re looking for inspiration, or to be the first to sign up to the Annie Sloan Virtual Tour of Charleston Farmhouse on 1 October, or to learn more about how (and why!) to use Metallic Leaf, we’ve certainly got something for everyone.

A majestic nature-inspired chinoiserie

Isn’t it stunning? Just a touch of Imitation Gold Leaf on this chinoiserie inspired table by Just Restore elevates the transformation to a whole new level. It gives dimension, it gives luxury, and it gives glamour – particularly contrasted against the base of Chalk Paint® in Oxford Navy. Even to a trained eye this looks like an incredibly well preserved antique heirloom which wouldn’t be out of place in one of the palaces of the Ming dynasty – but would you believe this was very much a bog-standard side table the like of which so many have with us at home.

To see something so dull transformed so beautifully really does inspire! For a similar design decoupage a chinoiserie paper to your furniture, then add hints of Imitation Gold Transfer Leaf over the top. Each Booklet of Metallic Leaf contains 25 pages of leaf – enough to add a sun like this 25 times – and still have some left over! If that’s not a savvy way to bring high-end Midas-approved motifs into your home then we can’t tell you what is! Clear Chalk Paint® Wax protects.

A double wardrobe makeover

At the opposite end of the “Less is More” spectrum is this stunning double wardrobe makeover by Welsh furniture painter Myfanwy Shorey. Silver rather than gold, this pair sit beautifully with the softness of Chalk Paint® in Paris Grey (used throughout the rest of the room and as the base for the wardrobe on the right).

Myfanwy takes a lot of her inspiration from Charleston Farmhouse – that repeat circle design in Old White on the wardrobe is a knowing nod to Vanessa’ Bell’s iconic painted wardrobe – but to do the entire wardrobe on the left in Imitation Silver Leaf? That’s all Myfanwy, and I couldn’t love it more. An absolutely bonkers, 100% commitment-required gamble to the upcycling gods which has paid off. Clear Chalk Paint® Wax over the Metallic Leaf protects it from the risk of tarnishing – and from the wear and tear of daily life. And if you want to make like Myf and channel Charleston style in your home, well, read on…

Something even more exciting than wardrobes which look carved from solid silver, and delicate Chalk Paint® illustrations worthy of palaces, is this event on the 1 October 2020.

A Charleston Farmhouse Tour

As you know, Annie Sloan is passionate about Charleston Farmhouse. The cultural value it has as a living museum of and shrine to the Decorative Arts simply cannot be overstated.

The Charleston Trust are a registered charity who usually raise the necessary funds for things like roof repairs, maintenance and the costly upkeep of a 600-year-old farmhouse through visitors.

The pandemic has caused them huge financial losses and they urgently need funds to stay afloat. That’s where you come in. This is your opportunity to simultaneously support this magnificent heirloom, and take a once-in-a-lifetime tour around the country bolthole of Duncan Grant, Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Lyton Strachey and their boundary-pushing Bloomsbury group contemporaries. All from the comfort of your own home!

Dr Darren Clarke (Head of Exhibitions, Collections and Research at Charleston) and Annie Sloan will lead a tour which will be packed with information, inspiration and sneak peeks of the property. Following the Tour there will be a Q&A broadcast live from Charleston where you can ask either of them all the questions you might have – be they regarding bringing some Charleston design elements into your own home, the history of the home, or to do with the fascinating past inhabitants themselves.

All you need to join, from anywhere in the world, is to click this link right here, go on, click it and make a donation to Charleston’s Emergency Appeal. There are three donation points to make sure as many people as possible can afford to join the tour.

The money raised will protect this incredible unique, irreplaceable, part of our history.

The event will take place on 1st October at 7pm BST / 2pm EST online. A WiFi connection is required.