Annie painted this bed in her Normandy farmhouse, France, with a faded elegant Chalk Paint finish using a traditional wax-resist technique.

Annie wanted this bed to be sympathetically country rustic in her Normandy farmhouse; so countered the elegance of the headboard with a “faded” Chalk Paint finish.

First, Annie mixed Chalk Paint in Aubusson Blue with Greek Blue and applied a generous layer as a base coat to the whole of this bed. She then rubbed a wax candle along the edges and details of the bed; wherever she wanted this dark shade to be visible at the end of the process. Wherever there is wax, the next layer of paint will not adhere. She removed excess wax with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth.

Next she applied a coat of Duck Egg Blue. Again she rubbed the candle over areas where a more textured effect was desired, before lightly sanding the entirety of the piece to reveal patches of darker blue. She went over everything with the candle one more time.

She then mixed one part Duck Egg Blue with four parts Old White for the final coat of paint, and once dry used the coarse Sanding Pad to achieve the desired amount of distress. Finally she used Clear Chalk Paint Wax to protect the paint work.

Photography by Christopher Drake © CICO Books from Colour Recipes for Painted Furniture and More.