Distressing is one way of achieving an antique look without searching around for the perfectly aged piece of white furniture. White distressed dressers can be easily achieved by a few simple steps. First sanding your piece lightly, which allows the paint to bond better to your piece of furniture. Next, prime your piece with a white primer. I always recommend Gripper Primer, because it is very easy to work with than other name brands. Next, apply your top coat of paint, and use a hand sander to sand away the areas you wish to antique.
3M Pro-Pad PRPD-100 Sanding Sponge, 2.88 in x 4 in x .5 in, 54-Pack
52-6160 48PC FOAM BRUSH DISP DESC:12"X12"
Pro Painter Tips:
- Once you have sanded your piece, you can soften your look by wiping over the distressed areas with your white paint. You can control how much of the distressing you want to show. Doing this you achieve a light white wash look in the areas you have distressed. I find this step really produces professional results that antique dealer show rooms often feature without looking home painted.
-French country furniture is often seen with black or red distressed paint. I have found early on in my painting experience, that you DO NOT want to prime your furniture piece before hand if you plan on using these colors. The problem is you end up seeing the primer once you begin distressing. Gripper primer does come in a gray for dark paint colors, but if you do prime your piece first, as it naturally ages and shows wear you end up seeing the primer instead of the natural wood. *Be sure to sand your piece down well, and then apply your paint. I have always suggested Rustoleum's Satin Oil Paints, because they are quite a bit durable than latex paints.
- When you are applying your paint, use a simple chip brush to apply the paint, and go over your your piece with a disposable foam brush to even out the paint. It produces the best results next to spraying your furniture. The last thing you want is to see is your painting marks. by doing this simple step, your piece will look professionally painted.
- White furniture that shows black distressing can look very sophisticated and elegant. I have found success using black oil paint (with no primer underneath it) and then a (flat) latex on top. If you do this, lightly sand your oil finish and use a flat paint, which you can later apply a water based polycrylic over your finished piece. Flat will eat up any dirt, so be sure to coat it with a water based polycrylic or untined glaze.
Oil as the bottom coat makes it quite a bit easier to sand, and it produces nicer results. If you do plan on doing this on a chair seat, be sure to use a latex over a latex, or be sure to sand your oil finish before adding your flat white paint. Oil naturally does not adhere to water based paint unless you sand. So be sure to sand in between coats.
- Bright white furniture is never a color you find in true antiques. Try an antique white or the heirloom white by American Accents. It is a creamy white, which would fit in with any period antiques.
Rust-Oleum American Accents, Satin, 1-Quart
- Try adding a brown glaze over your white piece of furniture for an extra antiquing step. Do not add glaze over a flat finish, because the white will eat up the brown pigment. Paint over your piece with a coat of glaze (un-tinted), which will protect your paint finish, and then add your glaze with a little bit of brown paint mixed together to finish your piece. The glaze un-tinted can be used instead of your polycrylic as a finishing coat as it dries clear.
- W26W00960-14 Best Look Faux Finish Glaze
Country Living Distressed White Cabinet
Country living shows this beautiful shabby kitchen with a variety of shabby chic ideas. This table is very distressed, which can be achieved using a metal brush. It could use a simple wash of white to tone down the abrasiveness of the wood. In my opinion the white furniture needs a coat of brown glaze so it doesn't look so stark, but then again many people would also disagree. This picture shows that there are many different levels of distressing that can be used.
Again, another distressed cabinet that shows quite a bit more of an aged look which can be achieved using a wire brush which allows you to pull off more of the paint.
Country Living also shows this stunning distressed antique dresser with antique pulls.
Southern Living features these beautiful signs that feature a variety of distressing. From the heavy distressing of the yellow garden sign, to the slight distressing of the blue and green signs, you can add in crackling paint and glaze to combine with distressing which produces beautiful looks.
loved every distressed thing shown and thank you for explaining so clearly how the results are achieved. i have been struggling with this for some time and after reading your blog i feel i can do it all by myself and it is going to be fun. i am an artist and i want to have the distressed look in my studio. welll, here i go………thank you a million times