Create a Beautiful Ombre Effect on Furniture

3 Materials
$20
2 Days
Medium
I have been wanting to try out ombre effect on furniture for ages but was waiting for the right furniture piece to do it. As we were decorating our living/dining room I had a sideboard that was in need of a makeover and I thought it would be a perfect piece to practice this technique. For this project I used Old Fashioned Milk Paint (mixed with extra bond for the 1st coat so it would not chip) and just milk paint for the other two coats. Here is what I did.
I started with this piece (it was a cheap imitation and not an antique piece), the veneer was damaged and chipped so I knew it would be a lovely piece to paint.
I mixed four Old Fashioned Milk paint colours for this:- 1) sea green, 2) two scoops sea green + 1 scoop snow white, 3) slate blue, 3) snow white.  For the first coat I added extra bond, for the other two I simply used mixed OFMP paint without extra bond.
This is what it looked like with extra bond.
I started by painting the top of the sideboard in the darker – sea green colour, then using a fresh brush the lighter shade, then using another brush, which was slightly watered down, I blended the colours together. Then followed with third colour and repeated the steps. To keep the colours nice and crisp, I used a separate brush for each tone and kept wiping the ‘blending brush‘ in a towel.  I kept going quite quick with the first & second coat as it was simply a guide/base for the last coat, which I did work on carefully and blended it slowly.
Once dry I used clear Daddy Vans Wax, which brings out the colours nicely and offers a great protection. The milk paint almost gives a watercolour like effect don’t you think? 
Here is a close up!
Let me know what you think, more details on the blog, also a giveaway is on until 20th October to win some paints + wax!
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From Evija with Love
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Racie Racie on Feb 04, 2020

    How do I repair a veneer top on my old sideboard. Several spaces on the top are in eed of repair.

  • Cathy Wallis Cathy Wallis on Feb 10, 2020

    I love this look and I like the way you can see the same effect on the legs. Great job!!! I’ve never worked with milk paint before but I’ve done the same effect on other things. Is milk paint easier to work with? Cathy

  • Rhonda Rhonda on Feb 10, 2020

    This is gorgeous! I actually have a few pieces I want to re finish, although, I’m not crafty at all. This sounded a bit challenging for me. Should you say it is?

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2 of 104 comments
  • OOOOOOOHH!! I really like that! I think most things I've seen painted hombre had the dark color on the bottom, which is fine. But the dark on top, blending to light on bottom is really striking!! LOVE IT!!

  • Vicki Dover Vicki Dover on Feb 14, 2020

    I love it! It’s beautifully blended ! Thanks for sharing !

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