Turn latex paint into amazing chalk paint with this homemade chalk paint recipe. Out of all of the recipes out there, this is the best (and my personal favorite).
The photos in this post are from a few of the makeovers that I’ve done with homemade chalk paint.
Ahhh chalk paint.
- It distresses like a dream.
- Dries faster than latex.
- Adheres better than latex paint.
- Is perfect for painted furniture makeovers.
- And it’s out go to type of paint for furniture!
But the name brand stuff can get pretty expensive!
Plus with brand name chalk paint, you’re limited to the brands’ color lines.
With homemade chalk paint, you instead have a unlimited amount of color possibilities.
That’s where homemade chalk paint comes into play.
You can turn latex paint (you know, the stuff you paint your walls with) into chalk paint. It’s super easy to do too!
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Homemade Chalk Paint Recipe
To make our homemade chalk paint we use Calcium Carbonate Powder, water and latex paint in the flat sheen.
- 5 tablespoons (food grade) Calcium Carbonate Powder
- Small Amount of Water (Couple of Tablespoons -ish)
- 1 Cup Flat* Latex Paint
My go to paint is Behr made into homemade chalk paint. I love the color variety it provides as well as how easy it is to get.
I’ve also used Valspar ( from Lowes) and Glidden (from Home Depot) with great success.
*You can use latex paint with a higher sheen if you want! Flat just has the best adhesion to begin with, and it is most like name brand chalk paint.
How to Make Chalk Paint
Simply dissolve 5 Tablespoons of Calcium Carbonate in a small amount of warm water to create a smooth glaze-like consistency.
Mix it really good so there are no lumps of calcium carbonate left and then pour that into 1 cup of latex paint.
I honestly never measure exact amounts – eyeballing works great for this.
Check out this short part of a furniture makeover where I share how to make chalk paint.
Calcium Carbonate Powder Substitute
When we first started painting furniture, we made our chalk paint with Plaster of Paris powder. We used the same recipe, just replaced the Calcium Carbonate Powder with Plaster of Paris.
I loved the recipe, it worked great, except it didn’t store very well. So, if you’re looking for another alternative and don’t plan to store any extra paint, Plaster of Paris is a great option!
Painting Furniture with Homemade Chalk Paint
Since we spray the chalk paint on most of our pieces, so we thin the homemade chalk paint for our paint sprayer. You can find all of those details here!
But if you choose to not spray on your paint, you’re good to go with your brush and fresh batch of chalk paint!
Check out this blue chalk painted nightstand that we brushed on our chalk paint recipe.
How to Seal Chalk Paint
After your homemade chalk paint is dry, seal it with waterbased polyurethane.
Water-Based Polyurethane gives the furniture a nice smooth finish, makes the paint extra durable, and makes it easier to clean.
That’s all there is to it! Enjoy!
P.S. Chalk paint is great for most pieces of furniture. Keep in mind though, if your furniture has a super shiny or slick finish, it is best to prime before using chalk paint, as the chalk paint cannot adhere properly to those finishes.
You may also want to prime your wood furniture, (even if it isn’t shiny!) to prevent bleed through issues.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. You give the right view of latex paint when it comes to painting furniture.
I’m open to different brands of boutique paint and I know they’re all great quality, but the truth is they are way too expensive and the top coats and waxes that go with them are also very expensive.
Please forgive this little rant, but I am so tired of seeing posts that make it seem like latex paint is absolutely unacceptable for painting furniture, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Check out That Shabby Guy , Vintage Statements and Furniture Flippa on YouTube, and then decide whether or not latex paint is good for furniture. You do have to do really good prep, but honestly, good prep should be for any paint that you use. It’s never a bad idea to prep well.
Also, companies like Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, BEHR and Valspar ( just to name a few), have been around for a long time; a lot longer than these newer boutique companies.
I think they know a thing or two about paint. These boutique companies have to have a marketing strategy and one of the strategies I’ve seen used is to put down latex paint as being hopelessly inferior to their products.
Maybe latex paint is made primarily for walls, but it’s not called “wall paint”, it’s called latex/acrylic paint . I’ve seen the same people who put down “wall paint” use products Like Zinsser BIN primer that is primarily made for, Well – what – do – you – know.. walls! on their furniture projects and also they use brushes that aren’t made for painting- chip brushes. They’re called chip brushes, because they were made to sweep away metal chips from factory machines,. We all paint with them. But…. Let’s stop using them because they weren’t made for paint. Makes sense, right? Of course not. Neither does it make sense to make latex paint appear to be an inferior product for furniture, because it isn’t.
Well said ☺️👏👏👏
I have been using SW latex paint samples with plaster of Paris for DIY chalk paint. I just mix what I think I will use in one day. No problems at all, and very inexpensive. For heavy usage I splurge on the better levels of SW paints, because I find it covers with fewer coats.