Dresser complete...sort of

I mentioned a week or so back that I had finally found a dresser on Craigslist that I wanted to redo as storage space under the TV in my living room. I went ahead and ordered some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. Well wouldn't you know that my plan worked out perfectly, and the paint arrived just in time for me to tackle the dresser while my fiance was working the night shift at the hospital for a few days.

The pinspiration for the piece came from My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. I love the way my dresser looks. The oil rubbed bronze hardware, which is came with, really pops against the Old White just like the pinspirational piece.

But I will say I do not love how my dresser turned out. You see, someone (me) didn't read the label on the stain to see that I needed to wipe it off in between the two coats I did. Such a beginner DIY'er mistake! So when I say in the title that the dresser is complete...sort of, I mean that the top is still not dry, nor from what I've read, will it ever dry. Very heartbreaking. I've tried and tried and tried to wipe it off. Its worked a little bit, but its still so sticky to the touch. Anyone have any suggestions before I go ahead and strip it, re-sand it and re-stain it? It looks fabulous though, so I definitely want to do something to salvage it. I am just itching to get some accessories on there to stage it. Here's the before and after:

I will say I love working with Chalk Paint. This is the fifth piece I've done and I plan to do many more. Its so easy to work with. Even though I ended up having to do 2.5 coats on this piece, it still cuts your work time in half since you don't have to sand and you don't have to prime. So easy.

What probably took the longest was the top of the dresser. I bought a small palm sander for just $35 at Lowes that I used to take the finish off of the top. Then I wiped it down and set off on my first coat of stain. I used this:

I love the color, I love the shine, I just don't like the stickiness, but that's not Minwax's fault. Oh well.

Once the first coat of stain was on, I started painting. I did one coat of stain and one coat of paint the first night. The second night I did the second coat of stain and the last 1.5 coats of paint as some parts needed just a little extra coverage. Since I was unable to remove the drawers, doing all the detail work for the parts around the inside of the drawers was very time consuming.

I ended up not distressing this piece like I've done with the others. I liked the clean look of the Old White. It's something I might do in the future, although I already used the wax to seal and protect it.

The best part about Chalk Paint, and I don't know how to explain this, is that after 2.5 coats on a fairly large piece of furniture, there is still more than half a can left of the paint, which they sell in quarts. It may be expensive, but it lasts forever. My new goal in life is to open a little furniture store so I can be an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint stockist! One day....