How To: Faded Pattern On Shabby Chic Furniture

shabby chic furniture ideas

I had so much fun doing this project because I love pattern and it scares me a bit also.  I guess I’m afraid I’ll mess it up.  I believe with pattern in an interior it is more difficult to make the space look pretty and simple, which is an aesthetic that I desire.  Yet I also believe that our brains and souls want the stimulation and repetition of pattern.  It makes us happy, we think owwwh che bello!

I changed the knob to green glass

Here’s what I did, it really did not take me long at all, just a few hours.  Granted the piece is small, but there is waiting time involved.

before shot

I painted this piece pale blue gray, leaving the ochre color underneath.

sometimes I use heavy books to glue veneer down

Where the tapped veneered edge of the door was coming apart.  I took a tiny brush and added some glue in the gap. I tapped it with masking tape to ahead it together. This is a simple trick if you don’t have clamps or the angle is strange.

off-white motif

I free form painted a scroll type, leafy design in off white.  Here is a Big Secret for those of you who are new to painting, go buy yourself a liner brush.  They make everything look magic and you can touch up your own designs afterward by lining in on the edges.  You could also do this process with a stencil.  With a liner brush you want to pull the brush, never push it.  Then the brush does the work for you.

easy to add in the finesse after

my best friends

I painted in metallic silver on part of the molding.  This gives the piece a slight glow.

you can leave it sanded off to your preference

When my white design dried I sanded it a bit on the edges of the cabinet and over the motif to fade it down, part of the original ochre shows through.  Then I took a small brush and painted over some of the motif with the original blue-gray base color.  Let that dry.

I paint over the design to fade it out

I tinted some clear wax in a dark kiwi green color with Universal Tints.  I like to cut up old wool sweaters to use to apply the wax (use a light color).  First I apply a lot of wax, then I wipe it off right away.  After about a half hour I get a new clean piece of wool and buff the waxed finish, a light shine comes up.

tinted wax in kiwi green

buff the wax in and off

keep life simple

so pretty and faded

Do you think it’s pretty?  What do you think about pattern in your home?  I like the idea of fading the pattern to tone down the force of the motif and make it aged looking.

Happy Weekend dear readers.

Natalie

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