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While not all of us are blessed with wide plank floors and exposed beams, there's one aspect of the farmhouse look that almost everyone can achieve at home: bleached wood furniture. Popular with designers and homeowners alike for its random, textured look, wainscoting has been a popular (and easy) form of woodworking for centuries, as anyone who's read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer knows . "In the South, we call it dressing," says SC Harris, owner of Maiden Maxwell, a handwoven and wallcovering company in Richmond, Virginia. Terms and conditions vary from region to region.
The most common method of whitening wooden furniture is based on one of two relatively simple traditional methods:
Paint the entire fabric white and wipe off the excess paint with a cloth.
Mix paint and water and apply this solution to the wood with a brush or cloth.
I tried the second method, guided by the advice of several experienced and reliable designers. That was it.
stationery
Cool shots
Wooster Pro 8 Piece Rolling Tray Set
4 x 10 ft double safety net
Warner sanding block
proceedings
Prepare the surface
Start by carefully sanding the wood or surface you want to whiten. I chose a beautiful high chair that I bought at a local vintage store. You want to make sure the paint sticks to the wood (it hardens as it thins), so use sandpaper to remove putty or previous paint. Then wipe the substance with a cloth.
Mix with lime juice
The next step is to mix the white paint with water. "I play with proportions depending on how much wood I want to show," says designer Heather French of French & French Interiors in Santa Fe, New Mexico. For a more opaque look, choose a one-to-one ratio (this is the French preference for white painted ceilings). If you want it to be a little more streaky, add more water. I added a little more water so that my mixture was probably 3 parts water to 2 parts paint.
apply bleach
According to designer Susan Jamieson of Bridget Beari Designs, there are three ways to do this: "Apply with a brush for a grainy look, apply with a cloth for a smooth look, or pour on for an all-over shine," she advises. I used a brush as I didn't care for the brushed look.
Pro tip: because whitewash is much thinner than canned paint, it splatters and drips more than regular paint. Get ready!
Add a second level
Depending on the opacity of the bleach you want (and how runny your paint mix is), you can apply a second coat.
let it dry
Your bleach will dry faster than regular paint because it's thinner, but let it sit for at least a few hours before touching up. And leave it overnight before using.
Design your furniture
like this! You've got a cool new thing ready to build. "I love how it gives old spaces a fun, edgy vibe," says French. We too!
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