Good morning, good morning! Hope you had a great weekend. My weekend trip was better than I could have imagined. The baby was a complete joy to travel with and it was such a great weekend with family from near and far celebrating my grandparents lives. Although I must admit that I came home extremely emotional. Spending time with family can do that to you sometimes I suppose! Anywho, today I am back in the newly updated foyer with the deets on how to gray wash wood on a dresser.
Last week I shared how I spontaneously painted the foyer navy to get the makeover ball rolling. Then the how and why on the “Eat Well Travel Often Choose Joy” DIY art. Today, it’s all about the driftwood dresser.
Y’all. I realize that most people do not want their furniture to look like it has been tumbling around in the ocean and washed ashore.
But that is EXACTLY the look I wanted for this dresser.
How to Gray Wash Wood to Look Like Weathered Driftwood
Yep. I wanted this dresser to look like driftwood and today I am going to show you how I did it. Take very careful notes because it is very specific with lots of exact steps.
Ha, yeah right. You know how I roll. But I will share my non-specific way I gave this a driftwood finish.
First, I went on the hunt for a piece of furniture for this space. I wanted something long and narrow, and storage was a must. When I found this amazing dresser at the Habitat Restore for $100, I was sold! But I definitely knew it would need some work.
Off to Pinterest to read about 128 tutorials on how to gray wash, white wash, get the Restoration Hardware look, yada-yada-yada…
In summary: There is absolutely no one right way to do it and very little science to it. I figured I would give it a whirl! So based on the various tutorials I read, I wandered into the basement and pulled out a bunch of leftover paint and stains I thought would work. (note=free)
And then I just experimented until I got the look I wanted.
Supplies for Gray Washing Wood:
– Sand Paper
– Annie Sloan French Linen Chalk Paint
– White trim paint (leftover)
– Paintbrush
– Old T-Shirt
– Adventurous Spirit
As a reminder, here is what we started with. I love the hardware it came with so I just left it as is.
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After I gave it a pretty good coat of gray, I started adding very dry white brush strokes. By very dry I just mean VERY little paint on the brush. If I got too much, I would just use the old t-shirt to wipe it off.
I figured I really couldn’t mess it up so I just added a little here, a little there, being sure to take my time.
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I hope you found this “how to gray wash wood” tutorial helpful! I’m fairly certain I will be “driftwooding” everything in my line of sight now. I promise, if I can do this, so you can you.
xoxo,
Heather
I was SHOCKED when I read "specific with lots of steps." Then my world made sense again when I read on. 🙂 love this dresser by the way.
Love how it turned out. Perfect against the crisp navy background.
I absolutely love your foyer! I love the navy…….I did my last dining room in a nautical blue and loved it! I would have gone with white (because I would be scared to try something new) but the driftwood gray is perfect. I love Annie Sloan and only used her paint in my shop. Definitely stunning!
I am a little jealous that your home is so up to date! I want to redo mine, but I think we will be moving soon. Unemployment has a way of making life stand still.
Blessings My Friend,
It looks great! Pinned to my furniture board so I can try it on one of my pieces after we move.
It looks fabulous! I love how it turned out!!!
I’m curious about sealing. Did you seal this piece with wax or poly? Usually chalk paint needs a topcoat, I think?
Yes, I did use some Annie Sloan wax to seal the dresser once it was painted. Just a light coat since this won’t get much wear and tear where it is.