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!