This project began with a simple statement: “Mom, I want to be an artist, and I want a rainbow on my wall.” So we emptied out a corner of my daughter’s room and decided to create an art space for her.

The first step was to find a desk and chair for this space, so I headed to an antique store with my daughter to search for the perfect desk. I’ve always been a firm believer in adding vintage items into any space because it adds character AND it’s a more sustainable approach to living. Not to mention, the quality of craftsmanship in a piece of vintage furniture is often second-to-none. When we stumbled upon this set, I was drawn to the clean lines of the desk and my daughter fell in love with the charming little child-size chair. Though it wasn’t quite “our style”, we knew that with a little paint and elbow grease, we could make these pieces shine!

The first step in transforming this vintage wooden furniture was to sand it. By lightly sanding it, the paint will adhere better when we brush it on.

Now comes the fun part: the paint! We choose to use Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint because I wanted an ultra matte finish. Rust-Oleum has so many beautiful shades of Chalked paint, and I narrowed it down to 2 favorites: Blush Pink and Linen White. Since my daughter loved the chair so much, I let her make the final choice of the color we will use, and she wants blush pink (no surprise there!).

I love that Rust-Oleum’s Chalked Paint in Blush Pink is a subtle muted pink shade. Not a hot pink or bright pink like the color of my beloved Bubblicious watermelon gum from my childhood in the ’90’s, lol. Instead it feels like a modern and slightly sophisticated pink. And the fact that my 6-year-old and I both love it is a definite win!

Now comes my favorite part: The actual transformation that happens as I put paintbrush to furniture and transform this dark outdated wood into an adorable chair where my daughter will sit to create, and draw, and imagine! On some items, you can just use one coat of Chalked Paint but I decided to do two coats on the chair for extra coverage and durability. I waited about 2 hours in between the coats. You can buy Rust-Oleum’s Chalked Paint online here for under $20.

After giving the paint plenty of time to dry, I added the Rust-Oleum Matte Clear protective topcoat. It is way easier to use than traditional furniture wax (believe me, I’ve used actual wax and it takes much longer!) And most importantly, this protective top coat will help the paint be more durable which is good since I’ve got a feeling this little artist’s chair will get lots of use!

Now let’s talk about this desk for a minute…my original plan was to use chalked paint on it as well, but the moment I started sanding down the desk and I saw that beautiful light maple wood underneath, my vision changed. I just knew that light wood tone would perfectly compliment the Blush Pink Chalked paint on the chair, so I decided to just sand the desk instead. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the DIY process, it’s that sometimes plan change your mind as you work through a project and that is ok!

After sanding down the desk, I used Varathane Water-based Polyurethane in Crystal Clear Matte finish. I always use a water-based sealer to ensure that it will not turn wooden furniture yellow as it ages over times. And I love that the Varathane crystal clear matte finish doesn’t alter the color of the wood tone at all. It’s a great way to seal wood to provide protection from stains and scratches.

After giving the chair plenty of time to dry, we moved the furniture into this corner of my daughters room, in front of the giant rainbow on her wall. You’ll notice that blush pink stripe at the very top of the rainbow is the same Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint we used on her chair! I love how that really ties this whole corner together.

Paint is such a great way to have a big impact on a small budget, and I could not be happier with the way it transformed this corner of my daughter’s room. It’s incredibly meaningful to me to have breathed new life into these old vintage pieces while creating a space where my daughter can pursue her passions and use her imagination! Now what are YOU going to paint in your home?!

This post was sponsored by Rust-Oleum, but I selected the products used and am sharing my honest thoughts based on my experience with them.