How can I get the grayish, brown, whitish look on furniture?

There are several ways . We discovered an easy way by accident , working with what we had in the garage . We were painting some wooden candle sticks and wanted that antiqued look you're looking for . After painting them white with a satin spray paint, we let it dry then took an old rag rubbed a little bit of dark stain all over the piece and immediately rubbed it off with a clean one . They came out perfect and it so easy ! Experiment with a scrap piece of wood and see if this is the effect you are looking for . Good luck and have fun !

Hi Carolyn

I will try to help you on this. I really tried out all the ways on the internet/Pinterest and at the end I did my own thing which came out so nice that my son asked me to re do his whole house's build in cupboards. I never liked the other methods cause they looked either to shabby or to dark or what ever. Mine came out a beautiful light grey. Remember this is my own recipe on how I did it, but it is worth the try.

3 teabags in 2 cups of water - let it sit for about 18 hours, remove the bags.

1 very fine roll steel wool - break this in pieces and let it sit in 2 cups of white vinegar and 150ml apple cider vinegar. Keep this in a glass jar with a metal lid for 18 hours.

Your wood must be clean, raw wood. My table was a very yellowish old pine.

Put the tea on dry clean table with a paint brush. Let it dry for about 2 hours. (I have speed it up with a fan heater).

Shake the vinegar mixture well and brush this on top of the tea.

Let this dry for about two hours or so.

(now my secret) -

Mix 200 ml Annie Sloan Lacquer with 400ml water AND mix 3 teaspoons of WHITE chalk paint together with that. Stir very well.

Varnish your piece of wood with that. Let it sit for 1 or 2 minutes and rub of with a dry soft cloth till you receive the required look.

Please remember that it will go a bit lighter once dry.

When dry, after about an hour, sand down lightly with a very fine sandpaper till smooth.

Wipe down and put another layer of Annie Sloan Lacquer but not thinned or coloured with the white paint. Just as it is from the tin.

I hate to do all the work with the wax and the Lacquer is water base and gives you the exact look as the wax.

You will not regret this method. I tried all the ways and were never satisfied.

Here is a picture

that's just the look I want it's gorgeous