First, I painted the whole box with “Old White” chalk paint. I wanted a cream color, and this was perfect. I should have sanded down some of the old paint that was thick in places, because it took several coats to cover and isn’t completely smooth. I did three coats. I would add in that you can sand away the corners or anywhere you want to distress, but I did not because my box was not only originally painted white, but made of white wood, so sanding it would only reveal white.
To do the little knobs, I wanted to do an ombre effect, so I mixed blue acrylic paint with white in different amounts to get my colors, and then it only took two coats to cover the knobs.
Finally, I distressed it with a dark wood stain and then covered it in finishing wax. For the stain, I used fabric scraps, dipped them in, and rubbed them around the edges of the box and drawers. After it dried, I dipped more fabric in the wax and covered it.
This is the same process that my mom and I went through when we painted my vanity: check it out here.
I am planning on doing this whole process one more time and re-doing a mirror, so keep an eye out for that. Hope this is helpful! Let me know if you try this out!