How to Shabby Chic Furniture... Elliemagpie Style

I love the look of old antiqued furniture, and sometimes you can find it beautifully painted and suitably worn around the edges. However, more often than not you find the piece, but it is too dark, or stained, or just needs a new colour scheme. If you scour salvage yards, antique sellers, or even auction sites  for pieces ( I use pre-loved and gumtree for some real bargains!) you can find the right piece for you and then with a little bit of graft - and probably a lot of sanding and painting - you can make sure that piece of furniture is just right for you and reflects your style.

You can start with something simple like a small stool, so you can get a gauge of the work involved and try out your techniques. Then you can move on to larger projects. Some projects are fiddly - chairs with lots of spindles need some careful attention and sideboards with glass panels and lots of hinges will need extra care and attention.
So “make do and mend!” , up-cycle tired & unwanted furniture and create your own style.
This is a quick guide on how to shabby chic your furniture.....

Once you have your chosen piece , you need to prep the surfaces to be painted. Be sure to remove any handles, hinges or metalwork then you are ready to start stripping the paint or varnish. I prefer to use  sandpaper but you can use Nitromors or a similar paint & varnish stripper. I find both methods are equally effective and take the same amount of time, but when working with heavy detail Nitromors is best. Nitromors is a chemical substance that removes paint, varnish and skin, so do be careful and wear protective clothing & work in a well ventilated area.

Once the item has been stripped and sanded, get rid of any dust by wiping it down with warm water – allow to dry.  
When you are going to start the painting make sure you are working in a well ventilated area that is free from dust, pet hairs and any other debris that could potentially get into the painted finish and ruin the look! This includes being careful if you work in the garden - the wind can whip up some nasty surprises in your work!

I don’t always use primer but depending on the condition of the wood it is sometimes necessary.   Instead of a primer you can apply a couple of coats of white.  I like to use 1869 paints, or one from the Annie Sloan range; oil-based eggshells or matt paints are best as a water-based paint won’t sand as well.  There is of course the ever popular Farrow & Ball paint range too.

 





When applying the paint always go in the direction of the wood grain, keeping minimal paint on the paintbrush & with nice thin layer.  It’s quality, not quantity. You can use a small roller for the larger areas for the primer but there is something nice about a proper brush finish for the main coat.

Allow each layer of paint to dry properly before adding the next. Keep applying even layers.

Once your primer has dried you can start to paint with the main colour. I tend to leave the piece to thoroughly dry for a minimum of 24 hours before distressing. 

When distressing the furniture, there are many degrees of 'ageing' that you can do. For example just highlight on areas where, wear and tear would occur. For instance this would be on raised areas, edges, around drawers, handles & the top of detailing. To distress I use 180 grit sandpaper, the trick is to sand in one direction repeatedly. 
You can keep going until you reach the desired effect and also use different levels of distressing on the same piece of furniture.

Once you’re content with the finish, you can either leave as is, or add a coat of beeswax or varnish. This will help protect the wood, but don’t go crazy as shiny varnish will not look authentic and shabby chic!

Clean up your metalwork, hinges etc that you removed and put these back on the piece.

If you have any questions or want further tips, please do not hesitate to email us at Elliemagpie!