Chalk Painted Steps, Sponge & Spatter Paint
© Stephie McCarthy
VIDEO LINK
Our Victorian house steps look fresh and beautiful … now.
Textured brown chalk paint hides dirt.
White risers lend height and show up well as the sun goes down.
But, our steps didn't start out this pretty.
Our steps catch a lot of wind-blown dirt and leaves, but the chalk paint is durable, bonds well to concrete, and usually covers in just one coat.
A sealer on top is also a good idea if you havfe a high traffic area. Test your products in a small spot to make sure it won't get slippery when wet.
We think this textured paint will wear very well, plus any stains can be touched up after a few years without too much effort.
This effect was created with Waverly™ Chalk Paint in these shades of brown, 'Truffle' and 'Hazelnut'.
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'Plaster' color was used for the risers. It looks very white in the daylight.
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The steps may look nondescript with these neutral colors, but they remind us of chocolate-iced sponge cake, plain but sweet!
Take a look at the steps before!
The top step was crumbling. We knocked loose pieces off before making repairs. You can see the rough aggregate beneath.
Several of the steps had cracks running through them.
The three bottom steps were cracked the most.
We mixed small batches of Quikrete™ to the consistency of peanut butter.
We also pre-wet our steps where we wanted to patch.
We applied the Quikrete with an ordinary plastic putty knife.
As the Quikrete set, we smoothed it with a damp paint brush for a smooth "broomed" finish. We dipped the brush in water now and then. It's great for smoothing patches.
The drying steps look horrible don't they? They looked much better the next day.
Once the Quikrete dries a few days, fresh chalk paint will make them beautiful.
This Quikrete has vinyl as a component. The vinyl will help the steps withstand harsh weather and general wear and tear. Our video will show you how to work with Quikrete if you've never patched concrete before.
The paint effects
On the second day of the makeover, we painted the risers.
We'll use masking tape for a straight edge once the brown sponge painting is dried and cured for a day.
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You could paint the risers last, if you like.
The steps got one coat of "Truffle" which dried to a chocolate brown. You can see white lime already staining the flat brown in a process called 'efflorescence'. Also, dirt was accumulating by the minute!
Sponge painting to the rescue (shown on the top step above.) By deliberately creating a mottled surface, stains, wear, lime stains, and dirt that will inevitably appear, are lessened.
Here's a closeup.
The dirt is camouflaged very well.
These were the synthetic sponges used for the steps. They were destroyed by the rough concrete work so we did not want to use expensive, real sponges. You can buy a good set of real sponges from HobbyLobby™ for around $4.99, if you know in which aisle to look. Synthetic sponges work fine too.
We poured the chalk paint colors onto a plastic lid.
Wearing gloves was a must. Sponge painting is very messy. We lightly sponged Hazelnut onto the flat Truffle …
… then blended bothwith more sponged Truffle on top. We scrubbed the paints together to blur the two browns. We did zig-zags and 'clouds,' scrubbing with a bit of pressure.
We spattered Hazelnut on top to add contrast to the soft sponging. After letting the spatters sit for 5 minutes, we lightly sponge-blurred half of them with Truffle to soften the look where needed.
The galaxy of dots formed by the spattering is our favorite part of the texture. Leaves as many spatters as you can!
The hard edges of the spatters compliment the blurry sponge painting. We can tell that the grit and dirt accumulating on these steps is well camouflaged.
When all the sponge painting was complete, we touched up the white edges with the help of masking tape.
We were surprised at how easy it was to make crisp edges using the tape. We touched up any rough areas with a small artist brush.
The white risers help demarcate the edge of each step, making them safer especially when the sun goes down.
This project really made these steps a welcome sight and made us love chalk paint all over again .
VIDEO LINK
See how we painted our green marble floor
These are not tiles. The whole effect was made with paint!
See how we painted our brick walls
Three unexpected colors make realistic antique bricks.
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