How To Apply A Paint Color Wash On Furniture!

Spruce up your furniture using a twist on a classic furniture painting technique. We're going to show YOU how to apply a paint color wash on your furniture! Color washing furniture is a great way to imitate the look of a stain. It's also a great technique for layering paint! Learn how to create a paint color wash on your furniture, and pin this tutorial so you can reference it again later!

Thank you for all of the lovely compliments on our recent nightstands makeover project! I'm so glad you loved the color as much as we did! 

We're stepping away from color on this next makeover to share a new spin on a classic color washing furniture technique! 

PAINTING FURNITURE WITH A COLOR WASH

Our goal was to replicate the look of an old rustic Spanish styled cabinet and we'd like to know what you think. Is it mission accomplished? If you love it, keep reading because we're about to show you how we did it!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to products I love and use everyday. You can view our full disclosure here.

WHAT IS COLOR WASHING?

What in the world is color washing? It sounds rather silly, doesn't it? 

In short, color washing creates a really nice subtle aged look simply by diluting your paint. 

The furniture or wood you want color washed can be dipped into the diluted paint or it can be brushed onto your wood surface and then wiped off with a lint free cloth. 

Here are some great examples of color washing in white, grey and blue. In most of these color washing examples, the color wash was applied AFTER the base coat was applied. 

Today, I'm going to show you what a color wash looks like on a piece of furniture BEFORE you apply your main paint color and the effect is pretty neat!

Here's what I started with... I snatched up this old 70's pecan cabinet on Craigslist for $35. It was love at first site with those intricate swirly details.

The cabinet was heavy and well made but the wood grain looked like it had been stuck in a time warp.


Color washing as a stain is a great way to cover up old and outdated wood finishes. In a moment, I'm going to show you exactly how I was able to disguise this outdated pecan finish by using a black color wash as an imitation stain!

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HOW TO COLOR WASH YOUR FURNITURE

Color Washing Supplies:

- Paint (I used this paint color for this project.)

- Paint Brush

- Lint Free Cloth

- Paper or plastic container/cup

-Water

#1: HOW TO PREPARE YOUR COLOR WASH

• Clean Your Piece of Furniture- Always prep and clean your pieces so that they are free from dust, dirt and oils. This cleaner is one of my favorites!

• Pour a 1:1 ratio of paint to water in a plastic container or cup and stir. Depending on your project, you won't need much. A little bit goes a long way and it's easy to mix up more. 

• Grab your lint free cloths, a paint brush and some damp paper towels (to tidy up your hands.)

#2: HOW TO APPLY COLOR WASH TO WOOD FURNITURE

If you're doing a traditional color wash (i.e. applying the color wash AFTER your main paint color has been applied), you would dip your paint brush into the diluted paint and brush it over a small section of your piece.


Then, using a damp rag you'd lightly wipe it off. You would continue in this same matter for another small section and repeat until the entire piece as been covered.



However, for this media console makeover, I wanted to use the black color wash as a stain to darken up the existing wood tone before I painted it with straight Lamp Black. 


This easy technique comes in handy when you're wanting to hide or darken an existing outdated wood grain!




To use your color wash as a stain, dip your lint free cloth into your 1:1 paint/water solution and rub the cloth over your piece. 

You can apply the color wash with a paint brush. I simply prefer to use a cloth because I think it tends to be less messy.

Here you can see where the diluted paint has been applied. There's no rhyme or reason to wiping it on. 

If your piece has a distinct wood grain, then go in that direction. 

The important part of this step is to make sure that the color wash is rubbed in and that there aren't any drips.


This looks like a hot mess right now, but I promise... once you add your 1st coat over the top of it, it will leave you with a gorgeous rustic finish!

Above, is a picture of the cabinet with the black color wash still wet. Below you can see what it looks like after it has dried.


I was really surprised to see so much pigment even with paint diluted at 50%. If you find that the first coat of your color wash is too light, add a second color wash to darken the color.



The Lamp Black color wash gave this cabinet door a really nice imitation walnut stain color and a warm base for our next step... painting!

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I'm not going to go into specific painting details here. 

Over the years, I've learned how to distress my furniture pieces as I paint. 


It's a simple technique that I call, Reverse Distressing and it consists of layering paint in varying degrees so that it gives you a naturally distressed and worn look without ever using an ounce of sandpaper. 


I finished painting the rest of this cabinet using that technique which you can read about here. 


The combination of the black color wash and the Lamp Black paint gave this cabinet a variety of cool rustic brown and black layers, the perfect coloring for a Spanish styled piece. 

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RELATED POSTS: 

• The BIG Secret To Distressing Furniture Naturally
• Balayage Inspired Media Console Makeover
• 17 Expert Furniture Refinishers Give You The BEST Advice!
• 3 Easy Steps To Create Furniture That Looks Like Art!
• Up-cycled Radio Cabinet
• How I Used $5 Fence Posts To Add Height To A Dresser!

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Would you have never known that the original wood tone was a light pecan color? Have I convinced you to give it color washing a try? I sure hope so!

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While you're here stop by and see what my DIY Furniture Refinishing Friends did with these incredible furniture finds. I promise you'll be amazed AND you'll learn something new!

1. How To Turn An Old Dry Sink Into A New Bar by That Sweet Tea Life
2. CeCe Caldwell's Grand Prairie Sage Dining Room Set Makeover by Lynn Fern
3. Creating A Layered Finish Using Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint by The Purple Hydrangea
4. How To Beautify Your Furniture Using A Paint Color Wash by Thirty Eighth Street
5. How To Stop Bleed Through Without Using Primer by Just The Woods
6. How To Strip Old Furniture To Create New Art by Whimsy and Wood

If you liked this furniture makeover and tutorial, we would love it if you'd share it on Pinterest or Facebook!

Watch our video here!

Have a great week!
Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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