How to Whitewash Wood

Did you notice a beautiful background in yesterday’s photos?

Something other than a messy family room or paint-spattered garage?

I’ll give you another peek:

Look at those gorgeous whitewashed boards!

You could create your own photo background, or redo some furniture or even an entire accent wall in a room – it’s THAT easy!

Wanna know how I did it?

First up, I used some more of the amazing aged cedar from Steph (thank you again!), and used my Kreg Jig to screw the pieces together.

If you are thinking of trying some DIY projects, I highly recommend the Kreg Jig – it’s really easy to use and makes a really solid joint/connection.

I flipped my boards over and gave it a good sanding at 80 grit and then 180 grit.  I kept a bit of the aged patina, but removed any surface dirt/paint/oils so that my whitewash would soak in nicely.

Now just mix your water and paint.  I went with 3 parts water to 1 part (latex) paint – for this I just used a quarter of a tester pot of white.

Stir them together until they are completely combined and then apply to your wood using a paintbrush.

You’ll want to work in sections here, so that the whitewash doesn’t dry before you have a chance to use your cheesecloth.

Think of it more as “rubbing your whitewash solution into the wood” than wiping it off.  This will help you to move the paint around to get it into every nook and cranny.

I’m LOVING it at this point – it’s almost a grey colour and looks SO GOOD!

BUT, I need a backdrop that will make the subject pop, and nothing does that better than white – so once this coat was dry, I added a second and did the same thing;

apply liberally with a paint brush, then rub into the wood with a cheesecloth.

I went so far as to add one more coat to make it even more white and then lightly sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper so that the elevated grain of the wood would really stand out.

I topped it with a single coat of matte varnish and it’s GORGEOUS!

I can totally envision staging Christmas crafts in front of this background!  In fact, this can go the other way and be used for projects with a ‘coastal’ feel in the summer as well.

Come on, you wouldn’t know that these apples were sitting in my scruffy workshop would you?

A nice clean background to make my subject really stand out – plus, I don’t have to clean an entire room to get a nice image. lol

Still working on photo quality, but that’s a post for another day.

Have a great one!

I’m skeptical…

 

 

 

 

Linked to:

• Between Naps on the Porch
• AKA Design
• Craftberry Bush