Finding a way to DIY driftwood finish on old furniture was inspired by desire: I love Restoration Hardware’s furniture, but I don’t love the prices (or that ridiculous tree-killing catalog they send out). Their weathered woods in modern silhouettes are the epitome of Coastal French design. For instance, these current sets are actually named ‘French Contemporary‘ and ‘Maison‘:

I also love to upcycle. We had perfectly functional bedroom furniture we’d ‘purchased’ as part of our first house. The set had a yellow stain I wouldn’t learn to love, though … no matter how much time passed. Thankfully, we had very young children so I was distracted from hating on it. (In those days, I would happily fall in to anything resembling a bed!)

About five years into owning this set, I received Annie Sloan’s book color recipes for painted furniture.

I’d done a little chalk painting in the past, but this made me armed and dangerous.

Page 33 gave the ‘recipe’ for a distressed armoire … with a little tweaking, I saw this as my ticket to a DIY driftwood finish — copycat Restoration Hardware. Without leaving the house, our tired yellowy furniture could be transformed!

The job wouldn’t require many supplies either:

• chalk paint (three colors)
• chalk paint clear wax
• 3 brushes (chalk paint, chalk wax, flat)
• lint-free rags

The harder things to obtain would be an empty bedroom, nice weather so the windows could be open (the wax is smelly), and a few days to pull it off. Oh, and a foam roller. There’s a lot of stooping over and contortionist-type work with pieces this big!

5 STEPS:

1. Wipe the furniture clean with a damp rag
2. Paint the furniture with a coat of chalk paint and let dry
3. Wax the furniture with chalk paint wax
4. Paint the furniture with a white wash mixture and immediately wipe it through the uncured wax, leaving streaks that mimic wood grain
5. Let dry, clear wax again USING A RAG

The Details:

Step 1: Wipe the furniture down with a damp rag to get the dust and cobwebs off. Easy peasy!

Step 2: Apply a coat of chalk paint with any brush. As recommended by the book, I used Annie Sloan French Linen paint with an Annie Sloan brush. The strokes don’t need to be perfect because it’s going to be coated with the wax/white wash anyway. I do like to keep the strokes with the grain of the wood, though. Let it dry (about 30 minutes).

If you missed some spots with the first coat or coverage is a little thin in places, do what I call a ‘half’ coat. Dip the brush’s tips in a shallow container of water, push out the excess against the edge of the container, then lightly dip into the chalk paint for a second coat. With the addition of the water, it will go on much more thinly, quickly and smoothly. Let it dry (another 45 minutes or so).

Step 3: Apply the chalk paint wax. Again, it doesn’t have to be a perfect application, and again I go with the grain of the wood. That way, when the white wash settles on top, it finds the grain-like brush strokes. Make sure the entire piece is covered, and any clumps are gently buffed off with a lint-free rag.

Step 4: This is the artsy part! Mix an even amount of white chalk paint with any color of chalk paint — 50/50. I used Annie Sloan’s Paris Grey for a weathered gray driftwood look. For a more Restoration Hardware antiqued grey look, use less white paint in the mix.

Now mix this paint 50/50 with water.

Get a bunch of lint free rags ready. Ok, A LOT depending on how big your pieces are! They get saturated, and you have to throw them out. Apply the white wash with a flat brush over a small section. You’ll see it sort of sits on top of the wax. It might even streak down the piece.

Put the brush down, and use a rag to wipe the white wash down or across the piece, with the grain. The white wash will catch and streak through the wax as you wipe, leaving the gorgeous grain patterns you want!

Play with it until you get the look and amount of white wash opacity you like, but don’t overdo it. You can apply the white wash a couple of times, but be wary of overdoing it, or you risk pulling off the wax and underlying paint entirely (then you have to start over). Let dry.

Step 5: Apply one more coat of clear wax USING A RAG. The rag application is critical because you want to tread lightly, and not accidentally scratch or rub your beautiful work back down to the original surface. The first layer of wax hasn’t had a chance to fully dry yet, much less cure (30 days). This isn’t a step in Annie Sloan’s book, but I love how much more durable it makes a piece. It’s insurance against dings (I wield a vacuum pretty recklessly)! To me, it’s worth the extra work.

BEFORE & AFTER: DIY Driftwood Finish

Final Note/The Icing on Top: Do the all the same steps with your furniture’s hardware!

Next we tackled the electric fireplace and an antique mirror with chalk paint. Subscribe here so you don’t miss that post!