Shabby Chic Thread?

vintagepleasure

fallen_angel_shelley wrote: »

i'm trying to find web sites with instructions for distressing wood, i bought some shelves for my kitchen, any body know any good ones? i have never tried this befor so any tips would aslo be helpful.

Do you mean distressed wood or distressed paint finishes?
I always remember watching a program where a guy was distressing brand new pine tables to look old.He whacked them with chains and all sorts.Then stained them with tea, coffee & whatever and waxed them.It was very bizzare but they did look good when he'd finished!

vintagepleasure

vintagepleasure wrote: »

They are indeed!

Not far from me then we are in east manchester.Small world eh?
I agree about the garden centre being expensive.I've never bought anything but there's lots of inspiration and the food is very good!

fallen_angel_shelley

vintagepleasure wrote: »

Do you mean distressed wood or distressed paint finishes?
I always remember watching a program where a guy was distressing brand new pine tables to look old.He whacked them with chains and all sorts.Then stained them with tea, coffee & whatever and waxed them.It was very bizzare but they did look good when he'd finished!

distressed paint finish is what i want to have a go at.

wizzkid_3

To give furniture the distressed paint look, you can do all sorts of things.

You can paint a contrasting colour in an oil based paint on first, then when it is touch dry, but not actually dry (IYSWIM) you paint on a water based colour. what happens is that the water based paint dries faster than the oil based and it gives you a cracked paint effect.

Also, make good use of a candle. Paint a coat of paint onto the furtiture, rub on some candle wax in 'high traffic' areas, keep building up the layers of paint in different colours. Keep in mind the overall colour scheme you want tho as when you have finished you then get some fine sand paper and gently rub away the areas you rubbed with a candle. You will then get the impression of an old piece of furniture which has been painted over and over in the past and has been well worn. I usually finish with a white or cream and when all the distressing has been done, give it a coat of Briwax or Fiddes wax.

stas4949

triage999 wrote: »

LOL

I am coming to [strike]steal[/strike] sample your wares in Plymouth :rotfl:

Thanks for the tips

Jo xx

Glad to be of assistance Hope you manage to find lots of bargains.....

In my local charity shop I managed to buy a readers digest complete guide to sewing book and one of those button making gadgets plus blank buttons..... have wanted both of these for ages total spend £4, so chuffed with myself. The button bits still have all their original prices on and would have cost nearly £15 for the lot .......

We may be going to Plymouth tomorrow so will see if I can spot [strike]a woman loaded down with Tk Maxx bags/a bored family standing outside Tk Maxx[/strike] you :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

have a good day
Amanda x

COOLTRIKERCHICK

sorry i havent been posting,but i have been sooooo busy with work, with stuff coming in and trying to tout for more business so to speak....

i am hoping to get my dumb waiter painted up this weekend, and to get stuck into the top part of the kitchen....

vintagepleasure i PROMISE to pm you with some photos of bits etc....

not exactly shabby chic but more kitch country ...lol.. but as i have mentioned before about looking out for second hand kids clothes as these can be quite floral... this week i have had quite a few of the school gingham dresses in.... which would be great for the material for making things...or maybe for edging a plain t towel or hand towel... just for decoration...


icandream.....those diff doors and panels would be great for doing diff things.. like has been mentioned earlier..... chalk board.... patchwork wallpaler.... ' a doodle panel' etc...

fallen_angel_shelley

thanks for that wizzkid :beer:

sandieb

YouTube - How to paint kitchen cabinets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJXDbEVtNPY&feature=related

lindens

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

sorry i havent been posting,but i have been sooooo busy with work, with stuff coming in and trying to tout for more business so to speak....

i am hoping to get my dumb waiter painted up this weekend, and to get stuck into the top part of the kitchen....

vintagepleasure i PROMISE to pm you with some photos of bits etc....

not exactly shabby chic but more kitch country ...lol.. but as i have mentioned before about looking out for second hand kids clothes as these can be quite floral... this week i have had quite a few of the school gingham dresses in.... which would be great for the material for making things...or maybe for edging a plain t towel or hand towel... just for decoration...

Hi!
Funnily enough when I told my friend I was coming to see you and why - she mentioned school summer dresses too!!

vintagepleasure

fallen_angel_shelley wrote: »

distressed paint finish is what i want to have a go at.

You can use oilbased paints for distressed finishes but If I'm distressing stuff I tend to use emulsion paints as they dry much quicker and it means you can more layers on more quickly.Then when you are happy a coat of acryllic emulsion (or waterbased) seals everything.I then just clear wax over the top.i have furniture that I painted 10years ago that's still going strong.In fact I just sold a chest of drawers on ebay that I painted 10years ago and got £185 for it!
I would start by giving everything a good sand just to give the paint something to key onto but don't worry about imperfections in the wood as they only add to the distressed look in the end.I would however round a few corners off.
Then decide whether you want a two-tone or more look and if so the first coat can be whatever colour you like.Alternatively the wood itself can be you base colour. I once used a pale lilac with white over the top and it looked fantastic.Nowadays I prefer to sand back to the wood though.
Once you are happy with your base coat/s then use a candle and rub it all along the edges and around handles but make sure you go with the grain of the wood.Otherwise your distressing will look very artificial.
Then apply a couple of layers of your top coat and when dry start to sand with a fine sandpaper in the direction of the grain again.I wouldn't sand between any other coats of paint though.You will see the paint comes away much more easily where you have rubbed the candle.
Sand back in varying degrees so the edges and high use areas are more worn looking. In some areas use a coarser sandpaper and remove layers of paint, then go over them with fine paper to soften the edges. Once you are happy with the amount of ditressing give the whole thing a wipe down with a damp cloth.Let it dry.
Then finish with a coat of non-yellowing acryllic or waterbased varnish (it goes a long way)
Then finish with a coat of clear wax.That will give you a great smooth to the touch finish that is easy to keep clean.
I hope that this helps!
Here are a few examples of mine over the years

and here

You can see one of my great-grandma's chest of drawers in Josie's corner here too http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintage_pleasure/509865629/