WSS Home: Provincial Style Pots Using Chalk Paint

I have a Hamptons, Provincial and French Country style to our home and I have been taking those styles outside by using rattan pots and furniture, brass cloches, and french county vintage pots. I’ve found plenty of beautiful, vintage look pots at cottage & garden shops, but the prices are ridiculous. For the size I need, they are at least $80 each.

After a scan on Pinterest, I quickly realised I can easily achieve the look myself using chalk paint and wax, which I had some leftover from my upcycling projects.

Chalk paint is very porous. It can be used indoors or outside and on just about any surface, from wood to metal, and matt plastic to terracotta. Very little preparation is required before painting, such as sanding or priming. Which means you can’t mess up any projects.

I purchased two large terracotta pots and some plants from Bunnings, which came to a total of under $50.

You will need:

Terracotta pots and matching saucers (if required).

Chalk Paint (I’ve used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint but you can use any brand of chalk paint such as Jolie Home or Rustoleum (which you can get from Bunnings).

Chalk Paint Wax (as above. Any brand of wax will do).

A plastic plate or bowl (I used the lid off a Woolworth’s bakery cake container).

A towel or drop sheet for protecting your surfaces (I painted the pots on the table of our outdoor setting with an old towel underneath).

A brush (I’ve used a chalk paint brush but any thick, short brush will do).

What to do:

Mix a tablespoon of the chalk paint in with a tablespoon of the wax and mix them well. You will need to make sure the paint is well distributed through the wax. You don’t want waxy blobs on your pot.

Once mixed thoroughly, using your brush, add the paint to the pot in horizontal lines around the pot. I used two coats (letting the first coat dry overnight. And then giving the paint a light sand before adding the second coat ) to get good coverage but it really depends on the look you are going for. Don’t put too much on or it will take days to dry. As it was, the pots took a few days to dry with two coats of the paint and wax mix.

Once the paint wax mixture has dried. You can add some soil and plants. You don’t need to seal the pot with wax or a sealer, as the mixture should seal the pot relatively well. I’ve used some Portulaca plants, as our alfresco only receives afternoon sun. They are quite hardy, so they will tolerate a bit of shade. Portulacas (Portulaca grandiflora) are drought-tolerant annuals that produce masses of double blooms in a range of vivid colours. I chose a white variety that has a yellow middle (left) and a bright pink that also has a yellow centre.