Yup, who knew how good chalk painted switchplates could look?  On a dark backsplash, the cream colored plastic switchplates just don’t cut it.

Thank you Annie Sloan.

All that is needed is the following:  switchplates, Annie Sloan paint and Annie Sloan clear and dark wax, paintbrush, sandpaper, rags and something to prop the wet plates against to dry.

Super easy to do – lightly sand the switch plates and dust off with a rag.  Apply a coat of the Annie Sloan paint (we used the Chateau Gray as the first layer and added some Olive in for good form).  Chalk paint dries pretty quickly (as in under an hour) so we applied the second coat the same day (Graphite was the color choice for the second layer).

We let the plates dry overnight, then I waxed them first with a coat of the clear wax (the clear wax should be applied first as it has a stronger protective coat than the dark wax).  The next day I applied a thin coat of the dark wax.  A couple hours later, I buffed the plates then we hung them back on the wall.  Really, they were that easy to do.

We did batches of 10-15 switchplates at a time, which took maybe 30 minutes to do, end to end for the whole lot.  We also painted the screws holding them into the wall (not noted in the above or below photos), but elected to keep the electrical outlet the original color.   Here’s a shot of one done on the wall with the others waiting to be painted.    Both our contractor and our painting contractor were amazed at the before and after look.  I think they ran out and bought chalk paint that very day.

I love these easy projects.