DIY Distressed Furniture – The Best Paints and Guides for your project!

The Rustic Boutique

So you have decided to up-cycle, DIY, renovate, transform and fix up your old piece of furniture, right? But what paint do you use? Where do you find new hardware?

You lucky sod! I will tell you my favourites!

Undercoat

If your piece of furniture has some scratches or dents, you can choose or choose not to fill these with a wood filler  like Selleys Interior Wood filler. If it’s in good condition you can go ahead and apply a primer sealer undercoat like Wattyl’s Aqua Prep Primer Sealer Undercoat. That’s right! No need to sand! It can be used on water or oil based surfaces, is quick drying and creates the perfect base for your next step. It’s $30 for 1 litre.

Top Coat

I love Wattyl paint because it is thick, cover well, can be tinted to any colour and have low VOC’s. If you want a hard, durable finish, use Wattyl’s Aqua Trim  in Satin or Gloss. For a super smooth finish you’ll want to lightly sand between coats with 180 Grit sandpaper. If you are not fussed about being super smooth, don’t bother sanding. 1 litre is around $38.

Designer TIP : If you are looking for a good neutral white, you cannot go wrong with CALCIUM in the Wattyl range.

Can you use standard interior wall paint to paint furniture?

If you ask that question to Valspar, they will say..err no Best to use the enamel range. (Yes, I asked them). However, slip over to LilyField Life and she’ll tell you that in fact she prefers to use interior paints as long as you wax them over the top!

They are cheaper, you can buy low VOC and you can often get away with using a sample pot for under $10. If that’s the case, I suggest using Valspar’s interior range for the best stickability and coverage as it is a primer and top coat in one.

Lilyfield Life has great tips online but also runs classes for $195. With a huge gallery of the many furniture surgeries she has performed along with a a guide for paints, brushes and waxes and other top coats, she is top of the class. The recommended wax from Lilyfield Life is Feast Watsons Carnauba Wax as the top coat over standard interior paint for a hard finish. It comes in brown or clear.

Lilyfield Life
Lilyfield Life

Specialty Paints

Sweet Pickins Milk Paint With Wax

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Milk Paint and chalk paints are pretty hot right now but they may seem like a weird idea if you haven’t heard about them before. They are great for creating an aged, shabby or creamy paint surface with a soft, satin sheen after waxing. They require very little preparation work and can be painted on practically anything! You may have seen the brand Annie Sloan, slumped around Pinterest, well, Sweet Pickins Milk Paint and Websters Chalk Paint can be bought here in Oz. Not only does The Rustic Boutique sell these goodies online but they also sell them from their amazing stall at the Ballarat Mill Market. As a bonus, classes on how to use the paints to their best ability are booked at $140 a head and you get to work on and take home your own piece!

Check out the online gallery and tutorials if you think you can follow along. The online tutorial is pretty deep and easy to follow.

Hardware

3051 Cupboard Knob Domed AB 32mm

We are finally at the last stop. We’re talking handles. Brass knobs, french scallops, antique drops or shiny stainless steel modern pulls, whatever your poison, pick something that you love and whats works with your style. Hardware stores like Bunnings and Masters have a huge and cheap range of cabinetry handles but mostly supply modern ranges. They do have a small range of the classic knobs and scallops at great prices but they are pretty basic. For ceramic knobs, Ebay has a lot of great designs and it is simple and cheap to have them shipped directly from China.

Where you may not have though of, are these shops below.

Schots Home Emporium – Modern and antique reproduction

Early Settler – Modern and antique reproduction

Antique Effects – Ballarat In-Store only but online catalogue

These stores will cover most items you are seeking. Schots especially have a HUGE online catalogue and I do love to order online!

I hope this helps! I have now two projects to start mind you. The buffet come dresser and I just bought a solid pine toy box for my son for $50 on Ebay today. I am hoping to have this finished over the weekend so I can house the growing trip hazards. All going well, I will post my results with what method I used!!