Are you wanting to transform/update your existing furniture?
Design styles inevitably evolve and change. The ultimate goal is to land on a style that is timeless, right? Unfortunately this can be difficult if not impossible to do. This post is designed to show you how to apply a DIY limewash technique to update and breathe new life into existing pieces of furniture.
What is your design style?
There are so many varied and beautiful design aesthetics – farmhouse, modern, cottage, rustic, coastal, boho, traditional, industrial, or…an eclectic mix of all the above. With so many choices, it’s often difficult to land on just one style. Regardless of your current décor preferences, chances are your furniture may need to be updated to reflect the style you are most drawn to. I am currently loving light and bright interiors and would describe my style as cozy cottage. However, I also love blending elements of farmhouse and coastal design into my spaces.
When to update/transform existing furniture versus buy new?
Do you have wooden furniture pieces that are in beautiful condition, but the finish is causing them to look dated? I honestly have a whole house full of furniture like that! I still love the structure and bones of these pieces, just not the orange(y) color. If you feel the same about some of your pieces, you will LOVE updating your own furniture with this DIY limewash technique. It is a budget friendly way to transform existing pieces of furniture rather than buy new!
Why use the DIY limewash technique to update furniture?
My goal was to use this DIY limewash technique to create a finish that lightened, brightened, and aged the surface of the furniture while allowing the wood grain to still show through. I have heard this “look” described in many ways and researched how to create a whitewashed, beachy, bleached out, weathered, sorta vibe for my own furniture pieces. Many people are using a liming wax product to create this look, while others are using a bleaching technique to transform their furniture. I ultimately decided to use a product made by Valspar called Limewash Glaze to achieve this finish.
I am so excited to share this DIY limewash technique I’ve been using to update my furniture! Why? Because the results are better than I ever imagined they would be.
Here are a few tips to help you update your own furniture using this DIY limewash technique:
- Use an inexpensive chip brush. I bought mine at Lowes for around $1.00 but you can get them here for much less!
- Use the product sparingly. This look was achieved by dry-brushing the product onto the surface – (check out this post to see another painting project achieved by dry-brushing).
- Work quickly by lightly brushing the product against the grain. Working on a diagonal will help to push product into the grain.
- Once product is evenly dispersed…use brush to lightly feather the glaze, this time be sure to brush in the direction of the grain rather than against it. This helps create an even and cohesive look.
- To protect the finish, apply a few coats of polyacrylic to ensure the top of your piece remains durable for many years to come. FYI – polyacrylic is non-yellowing so it has become my preferred top coat rather than polyurethane.
Check out these BEFORE and AFTER pictures of the DIY limewash technique!
Follow me on Instagram for more décor tips and tricks!
If you want more DETAILS about this process including actual videos…click here to head over to my Instagram Highlights! You will find these under my profile picture. I have saved this DIY limewash technique in two places – “Coffee Table” AND “Limewash”. Let me know what you think and if you intend to try this yourself.
Until next time…
Tina
Recent Comments