Creating A Distressed Finish On Furniture - Final Result!

The top surface of the cabinet was stained a beautiful walnut...then began the sanding, priming, base coating, top coating, scraping and highlighting steps on the base and drawers of the cabinet. And now, the refinishing of this cabinet is done!


Since the last post on this project, I did decide to add one more step. Of course. Perhaps if I hadn't been forced to stop, to take photos while the sun was shining, I might still be adding layers! In this last step an even lighter paint color was dry brushed over the raised surfaces, to add a few additional highlights.


The aged brown hardware works very well with the walnut stain used on the top.


The wide pull out will be a convenient surface to place a computer.


And what is my husband most excited about? All the storage this piece offers, across the front as well as two additional large bins on the sides. Stuff is going to get lost in there. (And who will be asked where the missing items are?!)


I wish the photos from further back showed more of the distressed finish...but I guess that is what the close up images are for.


These last photos caught my eye. They show me that my husband's latest request, to bring more lighting into the room, has merit. The room is quite dark compared to the sunny areas outside its door.


So that is what remains to be worked on in this room. Lighting and then the chair, that will be pulled up to the cabinet, needs to be sanded and restained. I'll start with the lighting. I need a little break from refinishing, at least for a moment.

Creating A Distressed Finish On Furniture - Part 2

In my last post I showed the first steps taken to create a distressed finish on the cabinet being placed in the Home Office Redesign. After the cabinet was lightly sanded, primed and covered with a quick layer of base paint, SW 7026 Griffin, the next step was to apply the top coat.


The color used was SW 7044 Amazing Gray, and again I didn't bother to paint with too much care. And by the way, this color is indeed amazing! I'll be talking about this color again soon as it is being used in another space I am working on.


Here, the paint was applied quickly with a "flat brush", so that the color would not be pushed into the holes and ridges on the surface of the wood. This allowed the base color to show through in these spots.


With this quick, the messier the better approach, the cabinet and drawers were painted in no time. After the paint dried, I ran sand paper along the edges and other raised areas of the cabinet and then reattached the original hardware.


I was absolutely thrilled with how the aged brown hardware looked with the newly stained countertop and pull out surface.


And when the cabinet was moved back into the office from the garage...pure happiness! Look how great the stained top looks underneath the frames and images on the chalkboard wall.


The cabinet also looked good in the room, but something was missing. I decided if I were to add highlights across the surfaces, with a lighter paint, this would create an additional dimension, adding to the distressed look of the piece.


Using SW 6141 Softer Tan paint on a fan brush, this color was "dry brushed" across the raised surfaces of the cabinet. Can you see it? It's not showing up that well in the photos, but it has added a lot to the overall look.



And finally, the last step was to scrape away little bits of paint to reveal the layers beneath.


Once these steps are also done to the cabinet sides, as well as the drawers, this project will be done!! Hopefully tomorrow there will be a finished result to show you, unless I dream up yet another step to add to this process. I am discovering this type of project could be worked on forever, adding layer upon layer of distressing. But I think the trick is knowing when to stop!

Creating A Distressed Finish On Furniture

This old cabinet, which was originally in my grandfather's woodshop, had great character with its battered finish. But remembering this post by the Thrifty Decor Chick I started to suspect trouble and tested the cabinet for lead paint.


The paint did prove to have lead in it, and I promptly sent the cabinet off to be striped by people who know how to do this type of work safely. Unfortunately, a lot of the character was taken away with the old paint. So now my goal is to recreate the worn look.


I started by painting on a layer of primer. As I began this step I had doubts, it looked pretty terrible, and I was sad to see the wood being covered up. But then it occurred to me that it shouldn't look great at this point, and in fact, the less careful I was painting on the primer the better the result would probably be. Ah, isn't that a great moment, realizing doing a task in a messy fashion is just fine?!


My next concern was where to stop the paint, do I paint a nice straight line between the interior and exterior? Then again I saw it just didn't matter...this piece is nearly a hundred years old, it should look rough around the edges!




After the primer dried it was time to paint on a layer of SW 7026 Griffen as the base color.


I am loving how the ProClassic paint is going on, this formula is very easy to work with.


If I was feeling doubt while painting on the primer, this first brush of color changed my mind. This just may work!


Again, I didn't worry about the paint being perfectly applied, so the job went quickly. At this point I started appreciating the fact that I hadn't gone overboard sanding the body of the cabinet. The paint didn't cover the cracks or make its way down into the little holes, and this has started to create the distressed look I am after.




Specks of primer also show through and I think this will help add layers to the final weathered look.


And look at the original hardware. I love how the pieces came back from being striped of paint, talk about patina. So these will remain just as they are.


The next step is to paint on the top color, SW 7044 Amazing Gray. Finally, I'll need to determine how much distressing to do, through sanding, scraping and who knows what else!

I think the Nester knows what she is talking about when she says, "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful."