How do I make furniture look shabby chic? Distressed?
Posted by Michelle on Oct 17, 2011 in Shabby Chic Furniture | 9 commentsI’ve found an inexpensive way to furnish my first place! Buy furniture at a steal at yard sales (or recieve free furniture) , then paint it white or stain it. But I want it to look shabby chic distressed. How do I get that distressed look on my furniture?
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Sew patches of attractive cloth onto certain parts of the fabric of furniture. You may want to wash the cloth in hot water with a little bleach to make the cloth a little faded so it’s not so vivid. If you want it more shabby, take some sand paper and rub off some of the white you’ve painted to show some of the color below, or you can rub some of the cloth to give it a distressed look. Maybe add some beads to certain areas of the furniture.
Use sand paper on the wood to make it look distressed.
Distressing is done by beating the furniture with different types of things, like chains; heavy pieces of wood; nails in a sock; just about anything that will dent the furniture.
For ideas on Shabby Chic go to Google and type it it.
Repo the stuff from a crack house. You can also ask if Whitney Houston has any left.
I love Shabby Chic….my house is full of it. Shop yard sales, thrift stores, auctions or find it sitting out for the trash…you wouldn’t believe what I have found on Junk Day! Clean the finish….rough up the finish….paint it the color you prefer, I love white or off white. Once it is dry, sand the edges, corners, drawer handle areas…etc. It will look great. If it has handles, change them out and put new ones on. (you can buy these on ebay for a great price). check out http://www.hgtv.com. Type in “distressing furniture” in the search bar. It will pull up step by step directions w/pics. You can also find all kinds of ideas for Shabby Chic.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match….everything goes with Shabby Chic!!!
Good luck and have fun!!!!
Paint furniture white/off white, add a crackle finish then a brown glaze to give it an aged appearance. Go to library and pick up some books on shabby chic design….Rachel Ashwell is the most popular one. She sells very high end or a special line at Target. Very cute. There is also much info online
I think there are two ways of making furniture look shabby chic. One is to paint two coats of paint of different colors. Before the top coat is complete dry, wipe it to the effect that you want. Another way is to glaze over a coat of paint, then wipe away some of the glaze to make it look distressed.
You can also get some great looks using 2 different shades of chalk paint. You can do an accent color underneath and Old White or Creme on top. This paint is super easy to distress. Let it dry, clear wax it, then gently sand. It comes off like chalk – very easy and forgiving!
When I gave the shabby chic look to my furniture, I used a sander for texturing, and different types of paint (and brushes) to help coat the furniture. Sometimes when I add fixtures, I haven’t tried fabric, but I have tried metal and wood.