antiquing

This great question form Donna – a newsletter subscriber – I am happy to share the limelight with Guest Painting Expert – Tawn….

I am wanting to get a distressed look on the center isle in my kitchen. It is real wood and was stained in a medium to dark finish when we built the home.

I want it to be a different color from my cabinets and thought of a distressed or old world look in a lighter color on top of the already stained wood. Can this be accomplished?

This is my first time doing this particular faux process. I assume there will be sanding involved. I just did not know if this is something I should try myself or if I should hire it out. ~Dave & Donna

Hi Donna -

What a great idea and fun, too! Easy to do as well.

If you want your center isle in your kitchen to look like it is a different piece of furniture, older, well loved, with many transformations, then here are a few steps for you to follow:

1. Sand – lightly sand the isle (this scuffs the surface so that the paint will have something to adhere to without chipping off later on).

2. Add Dabs of Color – paint a dab of turquoise here and some hot pink/red there and some bright sunny yellow over there.

3. Candle Wax Rub – go back over the dabs of color with a rub of wax. Take a candle (a taper or emergency candle works well – white – no color) and rub it on a portion of the color you painted and some on the edge of the dark stain.

4. Paint – you can paint over the entire thing with a creamy ivory color (2 coats)

5. Distress – when the paint dries take your sand paper and lightly run it over the areas you know you rubbed on the candle wax. It will take off the paint exposing the color(s) underneath (your dab of turquoise here and pink there and avocado green there and yellow here). Rub the sandpaper along some of the edges exposing the darker stain underneath and even go deeper here and there exposing just the wood.

6. Antique – to age the piece I would take a light stain or brown paint watered down and rub it all over the piece following the grain of the wood. Then seal it with Polycrylic Satin.