Why live with drab furniture you're unhappy with, or spend a fortune on replacing it, when a few painting supplies are all you need to give your old pieces a great new look. Faux paint jobs make your furniture unique to suit your decorating style, do not cost a lot and don't require any special artistic abilities. Try one of these faux painting techniques to spruce up some of your old pieces.
Instructions
Rustic Antique
1. Sand your furniture piece to give it a "tooth" so that the paint will cling to it. Wood furniture will accept paint well, but if your furniture is made of a smooth material, such as Formica, it will require a heavy sanding.
2. Prime your furniture with a water-based primer. Allow the primer to dry 24 hours.
3. Choose your colors carefully. With this paint job, one color will be visible through the cracks of another color. If you want it to be more subtle, choose two different color values of the same color, one darker than the other. If you want more contrast, you can choose two colors that go well together that match your room's color scheme.
4. Paint your base coat with the color you want to show through the cracks. Allow it to dry.
5. Paint one heavy coating of crackle paint medium. Immediately after, paint one single coat of the second color. As it dries, the paint will begin to shrink and crackle, showing the color underneath. Allow it to dry.
6. Make the piece look even more aged if you like. Use fine grain sand paper to wear down some of the paint around edges or corners. Rub some black or brown shoe polish into any carved areas, then wipe away excess, to make them stain and stand out. Replace knobs and handles with old rusted ones from a salvage yard or second hand shop.
Marbling
7. Choose what part of your furniture you would like to look like a slab of marble. This technique looks particularly realistic if limited to table tops, counter tops and shelving, and it is also good for any kind of ornamental stand or pillar. Prep your furniture by sanding your furniture and give it a coat of primer. Allow it to dry.
8. Prep your furniture with sanding and a coat of primer. Allow it to dry. Paint your furniture a base coat of black.
9. On a disposable plastic plate, add some dark green, some light green on top of it and a splash of white paint. Use a Popsicle stick or plastic spoon to just swirl around the three paints so you have streaks of all three colors, but don't blend them.
10. Wet a sea sponge and wring it out well. Tap the sponge into the plate of paint, then tap it onto a rag or newspaper to remove excess. Pat and tap the sponge in random patterns onto the furniture you are painting. Try not to blend the colors together too much when you are applying the paint. Just keep applying it until the area has a mottled look. It is okay if some of the black shows through as well. Allow it to dry.
11. Mix one part glaze to one part white paint. Dip the tip of a feather into the white paint. Trace shaky lines onto your marble finish. Do not try to have a steady hand for this-- the more imperfect the line, the better. Make as many white marks on your marble finish as you like. Allow it to dry.
12. Paint or spray a clear acrylic sealer over the piece to make your marble shine.
Faux Stone
13. Choose what furniture or accessories you would like to look like a slab of stone. This also works well for table tops and stands. Prep the piece by sanding it and priming it with a water-based primer. Allow it to dry.
14. Paint the surface with a medium gray paint. Allow it to dry. Mix one part glaze with one part light darker gray in a flat pan or wide container.
15. Wet a sea sponge and wring it dry. Dab it into the paint and glaze mixture, then dab it on a rag or paper towel to remove excess. Begin patting it onto the gray painted surface randomly, and sporadically so that the undercoat of gray shows through. Allow it to dry.
16. Add another layer of depth and highlights by mixing one part glaze with one part lighter gray, and apply this mixture using the same process with a wet sea sponge. Apply it even more sparingly than the darker color, highlighting only certain areas. Allow it to dry.
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