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Create Your Own Shabby Chic Furniture

Do you love the look of shabby chic furniture, but hate the price tags? There is a secret about shabby chic furniture that antique dealers like to hide. The secret is that a lot of shabby chic furniture is actually brand new or barely new and has been made to look old. The next part of the secret is that making a shabby chic piece of furniture is really pretty easy to do as a do it yourself project.

First, go to garage sales and find the perfect piece of furniture that you think would look terrific as a shabby chic piece, buy it, and bring it home. If the piece that you have bought does not have a bottom coat color that you like, strip it. Then, haphazardly paint a primer coat on. Slap on a coat of latex flat, preferably in a muted color. Bright colors may hurt your eyes when you finish the project. Remember, you are not looking for perfection. If the paint peels here and there, the piece may look better overall.

You can also use the color or stain on the piece of furniture as a base.

If you would like to experiment, add another coat or two of paint without trying to cover your piece perfectly. Or, you can paint on other neutral colors to create a different look.

When your piece is dry, coat it, or partially coat it, with an all purpose glue. When the piece is dry again, brush a top coat of latex paint in a color that complements the base color or colors. The combination of glue and paint will give your piece a crackle finish.

Now comes the hard part. After everything is dry, take a wet sponge and start wiping away the top coat and glue until it looks “right.”

Have some fun. Beat the piece a little. Make it look like people have loved it for many years.

Next, paint a glaze color over it, a color that might give the piece a look as if it has been around for many years, colors between brown and gray. After the glaze dries, take sand paper and start sanding areas where the piece should look worn. This is where your own artistic tastes come in. You can sand down to wood in some areas with heavier grit sandpaper and use lighter grit sandpaper for less wear. If you decide to sand down to wood, dilute one of the original “neutral” colors and splash it on. If you like, press back on some of the paint that peeled off earlier for more contrast and depth.

After everything has dried, you might want to rough the piece up again with some 0000 steel wool. Use some paste wax for a finish, if you would like, and you are done.