How to Paint Furniture in a French Style, the Easy Way

Redoux Interiors
by Redoux Interiors
This desk has received two makeovers in the time it has grown with my family. The lovely French lines made contributed to a gorgeous, old world look. With layering paints and darkening some areas to show age, you can achieve this look in no time, with little effort.
This desk was originally found at a thrift store and sat in my kitchen as a little telephone and message center. Now it has a gorgeous grown up French finish.
This is my first makeover of the desk. Not bad. I used leftover latex paint we had used to paint my walls. There was a lot of labor involved trying to sand off some of the paint to show the yellow underneath.
The 2nd makeover was easy! I painted the first coat with CeCe Caldwell's Virginia Chestnut. Because this paint is so highly adhesive, I didn't need to sand or use a primer coat. When the first coat dried, I painted the top coat in CeCe's Alaska Tundra Green.
When both coats were dry, I lightly sanded the top to reveal the brown underneath. I then waxed the entire piece with and used a dark wax on the edges and areas where the furniture would have been touched.
I added another trick using Modern Masters Coffee Bean colorant to further darken the edges. You can read more about this method at the post on my website. Adding the Modern Masters in the right places gives this piece a truly authentic, old world look. With a little practice, you can easily do this too.
Redoux Interiors
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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