Distressed, shabby chic furniture looks amazing with vintage/shabby chic style decor. It’s also a great way to restore old furniture instead of getting rid of it and giving it a new lease of life.
You could use a piece of your old furniture, or maybe even find something at an auction or charity shop to get creative with. If you fancy making a unique, one of a kind piece of furniture; read the 8 step guide to giving your furniture a shabby chic makeover:
Things You’ll Need
- Something to give a shabby chic look
- Newspaper to protect surfaces and your floor
- Tools like pliers and screwdrivers
- All purpose filler
- Sandpaper
- Lint free cloths
- Masking tape and scissors
- Primer or undercoat
- Water based acrylic egg shell paint
- Different sized paint brushes
- New handles
- Beeswax
Once you’ve got all of the equipment, you can begin.
Step 1 - Prep Your Furniture and Work Space
If you’re changing the handles on the furniture, is best if you remove them before starting. Fill in any old holes, but remember to leave holes for the new handles. Remember to prepare your work space with plenty of newspaper, as this can get messy!
Step 2 - Sand and Wipe Down
Sand your piece of furniture using sandpaper or another method. Make sure you work in a well ventilated area here, and don’t let any pets interrupt you as you work. Wipe down your furniture with a wet cloth and then leave it to dry before preparing to paint.
Step 3 - Use a Primer to Create a Sturdy Base
If your furniture needs a coat of primer, now’s the time to go over it. Not only will the primer prepare your furniture for painting, it’ll give the paint a better look. Make sure you leave it to dry thoroughly before even thinking about moving on to the next step! Your furniture will probably look messy at this point, but don’t worry you’ll tidy it up later.
Step 4 - Paint With Your Favourite Colour
Now you can paint your furniture with your favourite colour paint. Pastel colours and neutral colours work really well to create a shabby chic look. You might need to apply 3 coats of paint for full coverage, but make sure you leave time to dry in between coats for the best result.
Step 5 - Distress Your Furniture
To create the amazing distressed look, you need to use sandpaper to reveal the wood underneath the paint. About 24 hours should suffice for the paint to dry! Start with a rough sandpaper and then go over it with a smoother sandpaper for a nice finish.
Step 6 - Beat Your Furniture
If you want to make your furniture look even more timeworn, why not grab a hammer or chain and give it a beating? This will create bruises and bumps that add to the effect, just make sure you don’t do any serious damage!
Step 7 - Remove Dust and Wax
Use a wet cloth to remove dust, and you can then go over with a coat of beeswax to protect the paint.
Step 8 - Re attach Hardware
Re attach all the handles, metal, and hardware to finish off the look.
Now you can create your very own shabby chic masterpiece. You can even find shabby chic gifts like these at The Other Duckling to give to your loved ones for Christmas. Enjoy your creation!