This old bench fit perfectly in our small foyer and was in desperate need of some TLC. I wanted a to keep the wood but didn’t want to deal with messy furniture stripping. I chose to use chalk paint to create a weathered wood Restoration Hardware look.
Supplies
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- Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in French Linen
- Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Cocoa
- Rust-Oleum Chalk Paint in Linen White
- Annie Sloan Clear and Dark Wax
- 1.5″ angled paint brush
- Chip brush
- Wax brush
- Clean, dry lint-free rag
- Paper towels
There was minimal prep work needed for this bench and I started by giving it a quick wipe down. I applied two coats of the French Linen, letting it dry in between each coat.
Forgive the lack of photos from this point on. I got too far sucked in and forgot about progress pics!
The key to achieving the weathered wood look is by layering paint to give it depth.
To layer paint, I used a chip brush to dry brush on the white and the cocoa paints. To dry brush, take your dipped brush and wipe off excess paint onto a paper towel or rag. Cover your project in very light coats, to achieve that wispy and weathered look. I’m not sure how many coats I did here, but I alternated between the two colors with the dry brushing technique until it got to that weathered, wood grain look I was going for. (Check out my thrifted candlestick makeover I did with the dry brushing technique here.)
Once dry, it’s time to get waxing.
I used dark wax on this piece to get into the nooks and crannies to give it more of an aged look.
I applied the clear wax to seal the piece first. You don’t want to apply dark wax straight to chalk paint because it will absorb and give you really little control over the wax.
To make the wax more workable, I usually pre-mix the dark wax with the clear wax on a paper plate with a plastic spoon. Take your wax brush and apply the wax in circular motions, and wipe off excess using a clean rag.
Work in small areas because the wax dries pretty quickly. If you think you went too heavy or made a mistake, don’t panic. You can “erase” the dark wax by going back over it with clear wax and you can just start over.
It’s ok to leave the wax heavier in some of the grooves of your piece to give it an aged look, it just might take a little longer to cure.
Once you’re satisfied with the color of your piece using the dark wax, wipe it with clean rags until the surface is no longer tacky and a clean rag glides smoothly across the surface.
While I’m not typically one to gravitate towards wax, I was really thrilled with the way it all turned out. I think the dark wax and antiquing really is what makes the bench pop.
Let me know if you guys try this painted weathered wood technique!
