Faux antiqued painted furniture and cabinets are currently very popular.
Here are some tips and tricks in order to get the vintage or antiqued painted look on your cabinets or furniture.
Photo courtesy of Horia Varlan flickr.com/photos/horiavarlan/4273253021/Distress
If you wish to distress your furniture or cabinet to give it a more antiqued or vintage look, make sure to distress it before painting it.
You can distress it using chains, nails, a hammer, sandpaper, and most anything else you can think of.
When distressing, think of how the chair might have been handled over many years and the areas that may have been bumped over time.
Clean
Clean the cabinet or furniture to remove all dust and dirt. You can use plain soap and water.
Make sure it is dry before painting.
Primer
Paint the furniture or cabinet with a bonding primer (must say bonding on label).
Bonding primer comes as both a spray on and brush on paint.
Make sure to follow all the instructions on the label of your primer. Allow the primer to dry according to the directions.
Paint Base Coat
Paint the furniture or cabinet in a base coat of your choice.
Make sure to follow all the instructions on the label of your paint.
Allow the paint to dry according to the directions.
Paint Top Coat (Optional)
If you want your furniture to look vintage and worn, consider painting the base coat a dark brown and the top coat another color (such as antique white).
Paint the top coat as you did the base coat.
Once it is dry, sand down the edges to reveal the base paint color, giving it a worn look.
Glaze (Optional)
Paint the cabinet or furniture using a tinted glaze in a color of your choice (perhaps the base color if you did a top coat).
Brown is a very popular color to compliment the antique white.
Make sure to follow all the instructions on the label of your glaze. You will need to wipe off most of the glaze after applying it with a wet rag.
Allow the glaze to dry according to the directions.
Make sure to cover all painted parts of your furniture or cabinets with glaze.
Don't worry about being perfect because imperfection is what makes the furniture or cabinets look more antiqued.
Photo by Mustard Seed Interiors - Discover bedroom design inspiration
Protective Finish
Put a protective finish on the furniture or cabinets using a polyurethane or other protective finish.
Ensure that you get the correct finish depending on whether you used oil based or water based paint.
Make sure to follow all the instructions on the label of your polyurethane.
The finish should be completely dry before using your furniture or cabinets.
