How to Paint a Chippy, Heavily Distressed Finish

Photo by Jacqueline Marque

 One of my favorite pieces of furniture is my sewing table in my guest room.  I discussed my inspiration for the color and the geust room here,  but never discussed the process.

The desk was the ideal candidate for painting;  it was perfect for my purpose, very sturdy and well made, and with a regrettable finish.  The legs were standard 90s fruitwood, and the top was in a contrasting, slightly damaged, mustard crackle finish.  All this added up to a piece I had no qualms about painting. 


Here's the desk before.  I sanded it lightly and wiped it with mineral spirits.  Because I was going for a heavily distressed look, I didn't bother to putty the small imperfections in the top.

 

Because I was planning to expose the stained finish through layers of paint, I did have to co-ordinate the top to the legs.  I covered the top with a standard faux bois finish (tutorial here), immulating a fruitwood finish with paint, layers of wood stain, and a graining tool.



 

 

 

It's now, after the initial prep is finished and before beginning the actual painting begins when you need to plan for your finished look.   With a real painted antique there are several aspects that give the finish that valued patina.  There is breakdown and fading of the paint, there's the build up of furniture polish, dirt, oil, candle smoke, etc.  There is crazing and cracking of the finish.  There is wear on edges and corners.  There can be physical damage--dings, worm wood holes, gouges, etc.   When you are making a "fauxtique,"   you need to decide which of these things you want to immolate.  I wanted actual chips in the finish (not just sanded edges), and a dark, stained patina suggesting years of wax and grime. 

 

I started with taping off sections of the stained finish.  I made sure they were irregular like chips in paint and on the places you would expect wear and trauma---at edges, at corners of drawers, around the handle.  You can also use wax, wood glue, putty, etc.  to shield these areas.  The idea is just to create a chip like barrier between the bare wood and the top coats of paint.

I then covered the table in a tinted adhesive primer.  It may look white in the picture, but in reality it was a pale, bluish gray.  I like to use tinted primer, because it serves as the primer and a base layer to contrast with the top coat, saving a step

 

I then sanded the stable with steel wool.  I like using steel wool, because the metal often reacts with paint finishes to great a burnished, streaky effect.

 

 

It was now ready for the greeen.  One thing that can happen to paint over time is an uneven breakdown of pigments, sometimes causing a streaky effect.  I like to make my materials work for me, so to help create this illusion of unstable color, I actually used a mixture of several different paints in the same pan that I purposedly did not mix.



After a couple of streaky coats: 

 

The nest step is yet more sanding, then time for the real fun.  First, the tape is removed, revealing your "chips."  I lightly sanded around each one to reveal more of the undercoat:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once I was happy with the chippiness, it was time to add my layers of grime.  I used a light stain for overall color, and added a darker one in crevices and for depth.

 

 

 

Before the stain dried, I used mineral spirits to create water damage and splatters of stain for interest:  

 

And the finished product, in all it's chippy, dirty, distressed glory!!!



the green desk

I did it.  I actually completed a project in a timely manner, AND took pictures before and after, AND finished it in time for Monday's Linky parties.  This must be a first.

Actually, finishing the project was easy...this was one of those that I was very excited about doing.  I've wanted to replace that white melamine sewing table for five years.  I ordered it on impulse and have hated it since the day it arrived.  It was relatively expensive (for melamine) so I hated to spend even more money to replace it, even though I longed for a writing desk instead.  Several times I've been tempted to go ahead and replace it, but something held me back.  I'm glad the design gods intervened because I love, love, LOVE the lines of the new desk.  Best of all...it was free!  It was a part of the old decor of a hotel project I'm working on, and the owner's wife let me have one of them.  I even already had a can of paint in the exact shade of green (I'm not even sure why I bought it...I found it cleaning out my studio), so the painting portion cost me nothing as well.

My inspiration was this beautiful show house room below by Peter Dunham.  I loved the pop of the emerald green and I the colors and tone on tone inspiration board reminded me of my guest room walls.  And, in the wider shot, you can see that the color and pattern are balanced by wide swathes of white in the trim, ceiling, and other furniture.

I took a couple of pics of the other side of the guest room to show you that I have a similar situation.  While the walls are dark and heavily patterned, that is balanced by a creamy white ceiling,  bone bedding, and creamy white draperies on the windows and used as closet doors.

Here's the original sewing table against the inspiration wall:

Here's the inspiration again:

 

And here's my version:

It's certainly not an exact replica, but I think it captures the feel very well.  In any case, I love it.  I also found some small, strong magnets that let me finally use my magnetic primer inspiration wall the way I had hoped to.

I did go with a heavily distressed "fauxtique" finish on the desk:

Here's what the desk looked like before:

My sewing box was a little too big for the desk, so I tucked it away beneath it, raised on a salvaged child's chair:

 

I've realized that I do all big sewing projects downstairs in the dining room, so I used the sewing table less than I thought.  What I would like it a peaceful place to write, so I styled the top as a writing desk.  I used things I already had:  a vintage lamp moved from another location, a Beni Hana figurie as a vase, a mock croc stationary holder, and my grandfather's christening cup to hold pens.

I have a great view from the desk to my window seat and love that light that streams in:

I absolutely love the way it turned out.  This was one of those projects that just worked out exactly the way I planned.  Those are rare, so I am savoring it.

the green desk

I did it.  I actually completed a project in a timely manner, AND took pictures before and after, AND finished it in time for Monday's Linky parties.  This must be a first.

Actually, finishing the project was easy...this was one of those that I was very excited about doing.  I've wanted to replace that white melamine sewing table for five years.  I ordered it on impulse and have hated it since the day it arrived.  It was relatively expensive (for melamine) so I hated to spend even more money to replace it, even though I longed for a writing desk instead.  Several times I've been tempted to go ahead and replace it, but something held me back.  I'm glad the design gods intervened because I love, love, LOVE the lines of the new desk.  Best of all...it was free!  It was a part of the old decor of a hotel project I'm working on, and the owner's wife let me have one of them.  I even already had a can of paint in the exact shade of green (I'm not even sure why I bought it...I found it cleaning out my studio), so the painting portion cost me nothing as well.

My inspiration was this beautiful show house room below by Peter Dunham.  I loved the pop of the emerald green and I the colors and tone on tone inspiration board reminded me of my guest room walls.  And, in the wider shot, you can see that the color and pattern are balanced by wide swathes of white in the trim, ceiling, and other furniture.

I took a couple of pics of the other side of the guest room to show you that I have a similar situation.  While the walls are dark and heavily patterned, that is balanced by a creamy white ceiling,  bone bedding, and creamy white draperies on the windows and used as closet doors.

Here's the original sewing table against the inspiration wall:

Here's the inspiration again:

 

And here's my version:

 

It's certainly not an exact replica, but I think it captures the feel very well.  In any case, I love it.  I also found some small, strong magnets that let me finally use my magnetic primer inspiration wall the way I had hoped to.

I did go with a heavily distressed "fauxtique" finish on the desk:

Here's what the desk looked like before:

My sewing box was a little too big for the desk, so I tucked it away beneath it, raised on a salvaged child's chair:

 

I've realized that I do all big sewing projects downstairs in the dining room, so I used the sewing table less than I thought.  What I would like it a peaceful place to write, so I styled the top as a writing desk.  I used things I already had:  a vintage lamp moved from another location, a Beni Hana figurie as a vase, a mock croc stationary holder, and my grandfather's christening cup to hold pens.

I have a great view from the desk to my window seat and love that light that streams in:

I absolutely love the way it turned out.  This was one of those projects that just worked out exactly the way I planned.  Those are rare, so I am savoring it.