Home Decor

Home Decor
Home Decor Ideas

Best Furniture Paint

Best Furniture Paint
Favorite Furniture Paint

BEST Furniture Makeovers

BEST Furniture Makeovers
Best Furniture Makeovers

How To Apply A Paint Color Wash On Furniture!


Spruce up your furniture using a twist on a classic furniture painting technique. We're going to show YOU how to apply a paint color wash on your furniture! Color washing furniture is a great way to imitate the look of a stain. It's also a great technique for layering paint! Learn how to create a paint color wash on your furniture, and pin this tutorial so you can reference it again later!


Refinished cabinet with a painted color wash with black furniture paint.


Thank you for all of the lovely compliments on our recent nightstands makeover project! I'm so glad you loved the color as much as we did! 

We're stepping away from color on this next makeover to share a new spin on a classic color washing furniture technique! 


PAINTING FURNITURE WITH A COLOR WASH



updating furniture, up cycled furniture, repurposed furniture, painted furniture, painting furniture, spanish furniture, diy furniture


Our goal was to replicate the look of an old rustic Spanish styled cabinet and we'd like to know what you think. Is it mission accomplished? If you love it, keep reading because we're about to show you how we did it!





Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to products I love and use everyday. You can view our full disclosure here.


WHAT IS COLOR WASHING?



What in the world is color washing? It sounds rather silly, doesn't it? 

In short, color washing creates a really nice subtle aged look simply by diluting your paint. 


The furniture or wood you want color washed can be dipped into the diluted paint or it can be brushed onto your wood surface and then wiped off with a lint free cloth



Here are some great examples of color washing in white, grey and blue. In most of these color washing examples, the color wash was applied AFTER the base coat was applied. 




Today, I'm going to show you what a color wash looks like on a piece of furniture BEFORE you apply your main paint color and the effect is pretty neat!





before and after media console, media cabinet ideas, painted media cabinet, painted media console, before and after furniture, diy furniture





Here's what I started with... I snatched up this old 70's pecan cabinet on Craigslist for $35. It was love at first site with those intricate swirly details.

The cabinet was heavy and well made but the wood grain looked like it had been stuck in a time warp.


Color washing as a stain is a great way to cover up old and outdated wood finishes. In a moment, I'm going to show you exactly how I was able to disguise this outdated pecan finish by using a black color wash as an imitation stain!




color washing wood tutorial, color washing tutorial, how to color wash, color washed wood, whitewashing, grey washing



HOW TO COLOR WASH YOUR FURNITURE


Color Washing Supplies:


Paint (I used this paint color for this project.)
- Paper or plastic container/cup
-Water



#1: HOW TO PREPARE YOUR COLOR WASH



  • Clean Your Piece of FurnitureAlways prep and clean your pieces so that they are free from dust, dirt and oils. This cleaner is one of my favorites!
  • Pour a 1:1 ratio of paint to water in a plastic container or cup and stir. Depending on your project, you won't need much. A little bit goes a long way and it's easy to mix up more. 





chalk paint, milk paint, best paint companies, best furniture paint, annie sloan, fusion, country chic paint, general finishes






#2: HOW TO APPLY COLOR WASH TO WOOD FURNITURE


If you're doing a traditional color wash (i.e. applying the color wash AFTER your main paint color has been applied), you would dip your paint brush into the diluted paint and brush it over a small section of your piece.


Then, using a damp rag you'd lightly wipe it off. You would continue in this same matter for another small section and repeat until the entire piece as been covered.



However, for this media console makeover, I wanted to use the black color wash as a stain to darken up the existing wood tone before I painted it with straight Lamp Black. 


This easy technique comes in handy when you're wanting to hide or darken an existing outdated wood grain!




To use your color wash as a stain, dip your lint free cloth into your 1:1 paint/water solution and rub the cloth over your piece. 

You can apply the color wash with a paint brush. I simply prefer to use a cloth because I think it tends to be less messy.


Here you can see where the diluted paint has been applied. There's no rhyme or reason to wiping it on. 

If your piece has a distinct wood grain, then go in that direction. 

The important part of this step is to make sure that the color wash is rubbed in and that there aren't any drips.


This looks like a hot mess right now, but I promise... once you add your 1st coat over the top of it, it will leave you with a gorgeous rustic finish!




how to update furniture, color washing furniture, diy furniture, refinished furniture, painting furniture, staining furniture with paint




Above, is a picture of the cabinet with the black color wash still wet. Below you can see what it looks like after it has dried.


I was really surprised to see so much pigment even with paint diluted at 50%. If you find that the first coat of your color wash is too light, add a second color wash to darken the color.



The Lamp Black color wash gave this cabinet door a really nice imitation walnut stain color and a warm base for our next step... painting!



applying color wash, color wash directions, painting instructions, chalk paint directions, before and after furniture



I'm not going to go into specific painting details here. 

Over the years, I've learned how to distress my furniture pieces as I paint. 



It's a simple technique that I call, Reverse Distressing and it consists of layering paint in varying degrees so that it gives you a naturally distressed and worn look without ever using an ounce of sandpaper. 



I finished painting the rest of this cabinet using that technique which you can read about here



The combination of the black color wash and the Lamp Black paint gave this cabinet a variety of cool rustic brown and black layers, the perfect coloring for a Spanish styled piece. 





how to make color washes, colorwashing, colorwashing furniture, color washing tutorial, color wash furniture, color washed wood





how to color wash furniture, color washing paint technique, painting technique, creating color wash, how to make colored paint washes






color washing tutorial, painting techniques, painting furniture inspiration, painted furniture ideas, painted media console



_________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED POSTS: 


_________________________________________________________________________________




color wash furniture, color washed furniture, layering paint using color wash, color washing, how to color wash furniture





color washing painting technique, how to stain wood using paint, black wash, black color wash





Would you have never known that the original wood tone was a light pecan color? Have I convinced you to give it color washing a try? I sure hope so!




color washed wood, color wash furniture, color washed effect on furniture, color washed effect, color washed, washed wood



While you're here stop by and see what my DIY Furniture Refinishing Friends did with these incredible furniture finds. I promise you'll be amazed AND you'll learn something new!








If you liked this furniture makeover and tutorial, we would love it if you'd share it on Pinterest or Facebook!

Watch our video here!





Have a great week!

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street





color washing, color washing, color washed furniture, color washing wood, color wash furniture, black color wash




CHECK OUT OUR HAND PAINTED FURNITURE ART TUTORIAL!
painted desk in black and white that looks like art


50 comments

  1. Any furniture piece with a black finish just always looks so elegant. I love the way this turned out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this look to bits! Thank you for the tutorial :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh my gosh Carrie, I am super in love with this technique. I'm going to try it for sure on my next piece. All of your work is always stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Another awesome paint project as always. I think I have a Pinterest board and it is all full of your projects Carrie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, thank you Mary! You make me feel like a million bucks! :)

      Delete
  5. Love this technique! I have a similar piece in my horde that will be trying this on. Thanks Carrie :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! I hope you'll give it a go, Annie! It's so easy to do. :)

      Delete
  6. I love the color wash technique for wooden furniture because it shows the grain below. Beautiful piece as always!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love that Craiglist find! And what an amazing transformation. I didn't realize you could colour wash in such a deep tone! Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was excited to snatch this one up and give it a face lift. Yes, you can get a dark rich color similar to a stain simply by color washing and it's so easy!

      Delete
  8. This is such an amazing painting technique! It looks beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Emy! Color washing is an easy painting technique! I hope you'll give it a try!

      Delete
  9. Your furniture projects are always stunning

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ohh! I love how this turned out. I will definitely be trying this technique soon.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love this look and your tutorial is great! Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle. Pinning.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the before and after! The end product looks like a million bucks. You'd never guess it was a DIY. Now I'm inspired!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jolina! It is amazing what a little paint can do for old and outdated furniture!

      Delete
  13. This piece is amazing. You are truly talented! I love your stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ah, thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying our furniture makeovers!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I really love how it came out...such a beautiful makeover!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words, Catherine! Glad you enjoyed it!

      Delete
  16. THis looks so great! And I have been dying to learn to do this!!! THank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to do! :)

      Delete
  17. SO timely! I'm been thinking about doing this to a few wood pieces in my home but haven't decided what I want to do! I'm guessing I would end up with a lighter color since I don't ahve enough sun light to pull off the dark O_O can't decide!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Selecting a color and a finish is always the hardest part of the makeover for me... there are so many choices!

      Delete
  18. I cant wait to get a house with a garage so I can redo furniture!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't wait for your garage if you don't want to! I put my furniture up on blocks of wood and paint in my house. ;)

      Delete
  19. Wow! what an amazing transformation! I've never tried colour washing but it looks like a fantastic technique to keep the look of the original wood whilst modernizing the piece. I love the vases and the rug too! Found you through grow your blog and following you now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jennifer! Color washing is so easy and yes!... you get the look of a stain without the smell. ;) I think my vases were purchased at Target and the rug is from IKEA! So glad to have you!

      Delete
  20. This is awesome! I have been wanting to learn how to make old furniture look cute and trendy like what you've done. Thanks for this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Transforming old furniture into trendy pieces is not very hard at all. I hope you'll give it a try!

      Delete
  21. Wow, that cabinet looks like a million bucks! You have a great eye!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Nicole! That million dollar look cost me under $45 to do! Paint is amazing stuff!

      Delete
  22. Oh my gosh this turned out great! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love the way it came out! This is what I need to do with a dining room set that I have in storage. It is in major need of a make-over!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tackle it as soon as you can! You'll be telling yourself, I wish I would have done this sooner! :)

      Delete
  24. Oh my goodness!! Obsessed!!! I need you to come redecorate my house!!

    xoxo,
    Angelle
    www.dashingdarlin.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You made my day! Glad you loved this furniture makeover!

      Delete
  25. Wow! Love that! Did you strip the original finish off before you color washed?

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have a 70s pecan buffet that Id like to try this on and was also wondering about the original finish. Did you sand it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patti! I didn't sand. I cleaned the piece really good first. If your piece has a sheen to it, you may want to give it a light sanding before the color wash.

      Delete