How to Distress New Wood #FixerUpperStyle

by Kalynbrooke

Medium

After building our headboard, I knew I wanted to distress it Fixer Upper style, all of which I have never done before to any kind of furniture, let alone brand new wood. Thankfully, I read a ton of tutorials online and was able to piece together what I needed to buy to achieve the end result.

how to distress new wood fixerupperstyle, how to, painted furniture

Step 1: Sand furniture smooth {if needed}, and prime with one coat water-based primer.

Step 2: Paint with a semi-gloss paint in a white or ivory color. I used the color Polar Bear from the Behr line at Home Depot. Two coats of this were enough to cover all the crevices.

Step 3: Using a sanding block, sand along all the edges where there would most likely be natural wear. I alternated between sanding hard in some spots and soft in others so it looked "random".

Step 4: Mix a 50/50 ratio of chocolate brown paint {I used Glidden's Monterey Cliff} with a can of Behr's Faux Glaze. Then paint a medium amount {not too much, but not too little} of the paint onto furniture and wipe off immediately with a paper towel or rag.

Step 5: When everything is dry, give your piece of furniture a final coat of Polyurethane to seal everything in and give it a nice shine.

For a more detailed tutorial, be sure to visit the link below:

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3 questions

Sandra Kahlich-Biluk on Feb 27, 2016
I would love to see the finished headboard. I want to make one just like it. Roughly, how much to make$? I would like to compare to ready made. Thx for sharing!!

3
Michelle on Mar 01, 2016
I found a headboard to use for this project, but how would I attach it to a simple metal frame in a safe way?

3
Margaux Ferrari-Saul on Nov 01, 2016
Great job on your headboard. My question is - I have a very old I mean very old, I bought it 40 years ago and it was an antique then probably from 1800's. So how do I decide if I should paint like yours or leave the original wood. It looks good now but would look good painted and please don't say it's my choice. Thanks

6