It’s been a little while since I have done an antiqued look with painted furniture, so I was excited to work with my client Sarah on a recent project in Dover!
Sarah and her husband recently moved into a new home and have been in the process of decorating the space to make it their own. With the help of their interior designer Anne Mueller of Briar Design, they have been making incremental changes that are making a big difference!
One of the suggestions Anne made was to keep their existing media cabinet even though the look was not quite right for the room. Rather than buying a new cabinet, Anne suggested they paint the piece they had and give it a lightly distressed/antiqued look to go with their décor and make it a statement piece in the room.
With the color suggestion from Anne, I did a sample board for Sarah and her husband so they could get a sense of how the antiqued finish would impact the color and the overall look – and Sarah loved it!
With this all set, it was time to paint the piece. Using a lot of my techniques from painting cabinets (staring with scrubbing and sanding!), I was able to accomplish a finish that will last. Unlike my cabinet work, however, I used chalk paint on this piece. After painting 2 coats, I sanded lightly again to achieve a lightly distressed look – which is aided by the hard durability of the chalk paint. To add to the aged look, I also used 2 waxes for the final finish. First, I applied a light antique wax which gives the entire piece a slight yellowish patina. On top of this, I strategically applied a darker wax to show subtle “aged” color variation.
It was satisfying to buff the wax to a beautiful soft shine and show off the final result to Sarah – who loved it!
Below are pictures to give a sense of the project.
Enjoy!
Jason
The cabinet before painting
After!
