Tag Archives: Restoration Hardware Look

A Round Pedestal Table Gets an Amazing Makeover

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I found this small (20.75” tall and 24” wide) solid wood table at a flea market about a year ago.

https://sharsumpaint.com/2020/07/16/a-round-pedestal-table-gets-an-amazing-makeover/

It was in good shape, but dated. It needed a makeover. We had sanded the top almost all the way, but it still needed a bit more to get it down to bare wood.

However, life got in the way and so it sat in our basement waiting patiently for its makeover.

A few days ago, it happened. I took the heat gun and stripped away the rest of the residue on the top, then sanded it smooth and hand scuffed the base. I cleaned it well.

I couldn’t wait to try out the DIY wood aging stain recipe I found and mixed up. It had been sitting waiting to be used for several weeks. I had tried it right after I mixed it up on a board. I think it reacts differently on different types of wood and it really hadn’t had a chance to darken the wood much. But, it turned out with a beautiful, natural wood look that I loved.

The stain is a mix of used coffee grounds, vinegar and steel wool. It doesn’t look very pretty in the jar, but wait until you see it on this oak table top!

Here’s the link to the DIY tutorial I found and used: https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/how-to-stain-unfinished-wood-with-used-coffee-grounds/?_cmp=stf

The interesting thing is you don’t see how it is working until it dries. At first it looks like it is just darkening the wood (and it darkens more as it dries) but when it dries, ahhhh….there is that beautiful grayish cast….just like old barn wood that has been left out in the weather for years. And this photo doesn’t even do it justice.

Hmmm…..At this point I happened to notice a strange formation in the grain going across the top. In my eye, I saw a llama head and neck. There are actually 4 of them, seeming to march in a line across the table, but this one stands out more than others. Still not seeing it? Let me help you. Lol

So now I had the stain on, but I wanted to really enhance the old wood look so I sealed it with a mix of liming wax and clear wax.

I wanted to open up the grain for the liming wax to get into it and stay so I used a wire brush and carefully ran it across the table top, going with the grain.

The liming wax I used is by Briwax. I mixed some of it with Howard’s Chalk-tique light wax. You can use any brand of clear wax, though. Mixing them together gives you a little more control over the liming wax and provides a nice finish. I think you can purchase both of these products from several places like Amazon online.

The next photo shows half the table top with the liming wax combo and half without. What a difference the liming wax makes!!

Can you see my 4 marching llamas? I know…. they are hard to see. Lol

Let me help. 🙂

Here is the top all waxed and buffed. Again, pics don’t really show just how beautiful this table top is. The sheen of the wax is gorgeous!

By the way, did you know wax helps repel dust? So using wax on furniture that isn’t going to get a lot of heavy use will save you dusting time, too!

The little metal feet needed a makeover, too, so I took them off and spray painted them a metallic gold. So pretty now!

Now it was time to paint the base. Sometimes I use primer, sometimes I don’t. I didn’t on this one. I had just cleaned and scuffed it up really well. In retrospect, I wish I had primed this and I wouldn’t have had to use as many coats of chalk-style paint, especially since I wasn’t going to distress this piece. I used 4 coats of Missouri Limestone Paint Company “January”, a pure white. You tend to need more coats when using white or very light colors.

But all is well as chalk-style paint dries so quickly. Once the paint coats had all dried well I sealed the base with several thin coats of Varathane Crystal Clear water based polyurethane. I never have had a problem with yellowing in the 6 years I’ve been using it.

The secret is thin coats and no drips or pooling. I use a round damp car wax sponge to put on a thin coat and follow it with a sponge brush if needed to clear up any drips or pooling. For long areas I go in one direction only and work quickly. You can’t go back and forth or overwork the sealer or you will have a mess as it dries so quickly.

And now…. drum roll ….. My finished “llama table!” 😉 What a difference, right?

Restoration Hardware Look? Yes, Please! A Driftwood/Old Barn Wood Technique for Wood

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My husband and I (SharSum Paint) are distributors of a brand of chalk-based paint out of Ozark, Missouri, called Missouri Limestone Paint Company.  Even better, we personally use the paint we sell and, through our business, teach classes to others on how to use it.  As a result, I’m always on the lookout for different techniques to try out and share with others.

Yesterday, I was on Pinterest, naturally.  I came across a tutorial on creating a driftwood/barn wood effect.  What was really interesting was how the author referenced the final result being reminiscent of “Restoration Hardware” furniture.  I had to learn more!

Old barn wood is all the rage right now. Here’s the excellent tutorial showing the method they used and was what gave me the inspiration to try my own version: http://cececaldwells.com/barnwood/

Of course, I took a little liberty with the tutorial and substituted our paint brand ( we all have our favorite brands, right?) and changed it from using a stain/sealer to using liming wax mainly because I wanted to try out liming wax. varathanewaterbasedstainsealer If I were going to do this on something like a kitchen table, I might use the method in the tutorial, or possible do the wash, then the drybrush, making sure to blend it in, then seal it with stain/sealer as the final step. I will try to get a sample using stain/sealer later.

I couldn’t wait to try this so this morning bright and early, I got started. Of course, I didn’t take a before pic of my piece of wood, but it was a new piece of pine, I believe….light in color. Anyway, it had some good grain in it. I also looked at the tutorial again and noticed there were quite a few steps listed to get the result of driftwood/barn wood…..the restoration hardware look. 1. gray paint wash 2. stain/sealer 3. dry brush white and 4. seal again. I decided I could create that look in 2 steps…(The older generation reading this might find this statement reminiscent of “I can name that tune in 2 notes”!)  : )

I remembered that liming wax will give the whitewash effect the dry brushing does. I also wanted to use wax rather than a sealer.  What is liming wax? It is basically a white wax – a clear wax with an added white pigment that gives a white grained finish, a white washed faded effect to your bare or stained wood or painted furniture. Liming works best on either open grained wood such as oak, pine or ash but is also beautiful on ornately carved furniture where the white wax will settle in the crevices and give a soft worn look (like antiquing with dark wax but cleaner and more gentle). Originally, lime was used for this technique, which is pretty caustic. Using a white wax will give you a similar look but it is safe to use  and at the same time will also protect your furniture and make it smooth to touch. What is even better is you don’t have to buy liming wax. You can make your own. I used the Briwax toulene-free clear wax we carry at a local store in Sullivan, Missouri as well as at our other locations in Bourbon, Cuba, and Rolla. I added a little Missouri Limestone Paint Company “January’, just eye-balling the amount…..I would say maybe 3 parts wax to 1 part January to start, and then stirred it up. It looked nice and white after stirring. Briwax is so easy to apply and buff. Not much elbow grease is needed at all. It does have a chemical smell, however, so I would make sure to work in a well ventilated area.

Here are the steps I used.  The finished result is below although the picture doesn’t show how truly beautiful the board is after this technique.

1. I poured a small amount of Missouri Limestone paint Company “Gray Goose”
into a small cup. I had another small cup of water. I dipped the brush into the Gray Goose paint, then dipped it in the water. I applied this thinned down paint to the whole board, adding more paint and dipped water as needed to cover. I let that sit for a few minutes, then wiped it off lightly with a wet cloth (I use baby wipes – they work great). I let that dry and then reapplied. The two coats is what darkened the wood more and then I didn’t need a stain.  I also didn’t need a poly sealer as I wanted to use wax to seal.

2. Then came the liming wax I made (see above). I did apply it with a round brush, really working it into the grain of the wood. I let it sit about 30 minutes or so and then buffed it out. I did two applications of this as well.

That’s it! Only two steps!   On a piece of furniture, I would go ahead and do one or two more coats of clear Briwax  for more durability.  Watch this site soon for a “Restoration Hardware” type piece of furniture I will be painting using this technique.

Here’s a photo of my finished board.  The photo, though, does reflect how truly beautiful this technique is.

driftwoodtechnique

Here are some picture frames.  They were raw oak.

But wait!  There’s more!  Here is my first finished piece – The Restoration Hardware Look – already sold!  I am 100% in love with this look.

Stay tuned for a post on my version of this technique using a stain/sealer.