Furniture Painting Masterclass

Not at all — Annie Sloan built her entire teaching approach around people who say "I'm not creative, I can't do it." She teaches from the ground up, exactly as she has in her hands-on workshops around the world, so complete beginners can follow along confidently. If you already paint furniture, you'll still gain plenty from her deeper lessons on colour mixing, layering and decorative finishes.

Annie Sloan is the creator of Chalk Paint®, which she developed in 1990 so that she could paint, dry and finish a piece of furniture in a single day around her young family. She trained for seven years at art school, has written around 26 books on decorating and colour, and her paint is now made in her own Oxford factory and sold in over 1,000 shops across roughly 50 countries. In this course she shares the colour knowledge and practical techniques she has taught in workshops worldwide.

Yes — Annie takes you along to Sunbury (Kempton) Antiques Fair to show you how to "get your eye in" and spot pieces worth painting. She explains what to look for in shape, character and patina, which pieces to leave unpainted, how to judge damage and repairs, and etiquette for negotiating politely with dealers. She also shares practical tips such as bringing cash, a tape measure, room measurements and a trolley, plus photographing pieces to return to later.

Rather than showing you how to paint one piece, Annie aims to change the way you look at your whole home — combining upcycling, sustainability and confidence-building with hands-on technique. She explains the "why" behind everything, including why her paints contain no black so colours stay pure and mix cleanly, and how colour combinations rather than single colours make a room feel right. The result is a course that gives you the tools to make creative decisions yourself, instead of following prescriptive instructions.

All of our courses are online, meaning that you are able to watch them whenever and wherever suits you best. There is no beginning or finish date and they’re completely self-paced so that you can stop, start and pause each lesson to fit around your own schedule. You can begin watching a course as soon as you purchase it – simply login to your Create Academy account whenever you have a quiet moment to yourself.

Yes! You can rewatch each lesson as many times as you’d like. If you have purchased an individual course, you will have lifetime access to it, so you’ll be able to rewatch and dip in and out of each lesson forever - perfect if you have a busy schedule! If you purchased an annual subscription, you can enjoy full access to all of our lessons until you choose to cancel.

If you have purchased an individual course, you will have life time access.

An annual subscription gives you access to all courses for 12 months from the date of purchase, including those released during that period. Our subscriptions are set to automatically renew after 12 months so you have the benefit of uninterrupted access! If you choose to cancel, you will no longer have access to the platform.

Below each video lesson you’ll find the link to download the corresponding workbook pages. If you’d like to download the whole workbook at once, simply navigate to the very first lesson in the course and click 'Download Workbook'.

We’re on a mission to help you build your creative confidence and live a more creatively fulfilled life. Through beautifully curated video courses, we give you unprecedented access to the expertise of today’s best designers, makers, gardeners and chefs - allowing you to unlock your creativity whenever and wherever you want.

Yes – all our courses are available internationally. Please note, all our courses are taught in English.