Make It Monday

Morning lovelies todays tutorial is on

How To Paint Distressed Furniture

I did promise a little reveal of my own but my weekend didnt quite pan out as planned & I didnt quite get things finished, as you can see from my sneak peek below there is a little something missing to this furniture makeover.......

I have been busy hand painting some butterflies onto the piece but I have yet to add the handles. So this afternoon I promise to get the handles painted & fixed inplace so my big reveal will have to wait a few days longer.....

     Ok well lets move on to the tutorial shall we?

                      How To Paint Distressed Furniture

Firstly You Will Need:

• An old shee or newspaper
• Fine-grit sandpaper or a small electric sander
• Safety goggles
• Gloves
• Dust Mask
• A cloth or barely damp rag
• Good water-based primer
• Water-based paint of your choice (I used French Grey from The Little Greene Paint company)
• Some Paint Brushes

                          METHOD:-

1. Find an area that is well-ventilated and away from heat sources, open flames or anything that can produce sparks.
2. If there are drawer pulls and hardware, take them off before you start painting.
3. Put the piece on an old sheet or newspaper to catch drips and spills.
4. Sand the piece with fine-grit sandpaper on a sanding block or a small electric sander. Make certain the surface is as smooth as possible so sand away. Wear safety goggles, gloves and a dust mask.
5. Use a tack cloth or a barely damp rag to remove any residual sawdust otherwise your finish will end up being lumpy and bumpy.
6. Apply a coat of primer – Use a good water-based primer.
7. Let the piece dry until it is dry to the touch. Normally this takes a couple of hours.
8. Usually you will need a second coat. If the primer coat is too thin then the original coats of paint are still showing through.
9. Sand away any rough spots.
10. Apply a coat of water-based paint (any color you wish) Brush it on with even strokes, going in the direction of the grain.  Allow the first coat to dry.
11. A second coat is usually required. Allow the final coat to dry overnight.

I then distressed my paint work to give it a shabby chic feel by sanding areas of paint work for a worn look. I also decided to pretty it up with some butterflies which I hand painted using Little Greene Paint company's gorgeous liliac colour - Clockwise. Oposite you can see the working progress but i promise to let you see the piece when its finished. xx