Hi Loves!
I finished up a few projects just before the holiday season that I got so busy I forgot to share! First up are these beauties...
I tested out several techniques to achieve a driftwood
finish on wood without having to strip, sand, or prime. It doesn't get any easier than that.
Check out my tried, and tried again, paint steps to achieve this look.
I finished up a few projects just before the holiday season that I got so busy I forgot to share! First up are these beauties...
I tested out several techniques to achieve a driftwood
finish on wood without having to strip, sand, or prime. It doesn't get any easier than that.
Check out my tried, and tried again, paint steps to achieve this look.
I've been drooling over several cane-finish side chairs online, but they were out of budget at $360 a piece on sale, and I needed two of them. So I started searching for a cheaper edition.
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| Wayfair |
I found these Cane-Cuties on my local FB Marketplace for a steal but they were sad old girls, so I started searching for a paint technique that would mimic the driftwood appearance. There are several tutorials floating around and I tried about three or four of them until I found the best technique.
The first order of business is to remove all of the old padding, and yes, I removed it and threw it out because...just gross. I replaced the foam cushion and the poly fill for the tufted back and front, yet chose not to tuft it again to make these chairs a little less feminine. All of the fabric came off with a flat head screw driver, scissors, pliers, and some elbow grease to remove the staples.
After all of the fabric is off, clean the wood. I used Clorox wipes and lightly sanded the frame.
On first glance, it seems like you could just go over the current brown wood with white and taupe paint and be done. But this isn't the case. With a few more steps, you can get the exact finish you want. I followed much of the same steps that Carrie from Lovely Etc. used on her antique sofa. My paint colors varied a bit and the application steps were a little different, but this was the best tutorial I tried.
I used everyday craft paints for this job. I started with three different colors: a taupe, a dark brown, and a medium gray. I recommend getting at least 3 of these cheap chip brushes, one for each color. Blow are the paints that Carrie used.
Although I didn't find these exact colors/brands, I found similar.
The first step is to use the chip brush and dry brush on the taupe paint. You can't go wrong here, covering all of the wood finish is okay and if you don't it's okay too.
Let this dry for a few minutes, then using a clean, dry brush, go over the taupe with a light application of the gray. To do this, dip your dry brush in the gray paint and wipe it off on a paper towel or rag before you start to apply it to the wood. When painting, follow the grain of the wood in light and long strokes. You are going to think you've made a mistake here and used too much paint. You have not! There's a third step!
Follow up with the dark brown using the same light and long brush technique.
This actually adds the"wood" look back into the piece. I added it sporadically and focused on the nooks and crannies of the chairs.
After the painting was finished, I used a sealer to be sure that my finish stays put. My favorite is a matte finish poly that won't alter the painted surface, but just adds a nice sheen. The fabric I chose was an inexpensive cotton blend that has a linen look. I stapled and even hot glued it into place and left the edges raw along the back, although I may go back and trim that out.
Thanks for stopping over!