Keen as Mustard.

Kate's Tips and Tricks

As you may have noticed, we love the look of distressed, worn back furniture with that shabby chic/vintage feel. Most of the pieces we have on the site we’ve worked on ourselves to achieve that raw, rustic look. Transforming what was previously a fairly plain, bordering on ugly piece of furniture into a gorgeous, fresh little gem.

Since DIY has garnered such massive appeal of late, we thought we would let you in on a few tricks of the trade when it comes working on your own pretty pieces at home. 

Firstly:

Think about what you want the final product to look like: the colour and the feel of the piece. Consider where you are putting it in your home in conjunction with other furniture to assist in making decisions about colour, you want your pieces to compliment and enhance each other. 

Secondly:

Materials are key! You don’t want to get half way through a job only to discover you don’t have all the materials you need (trust me its bloody annoying!).  

• Sandpaper is your first stop; make sure you buy a range of grits because you WILL use them all. You’ll need a really rough grit, about 80-120, to work the piece back. Especially if your furniture has previously been painted. A range of medium to fine will allow you to experiment with different effects when you’re finally distressing your piece. Also, the sand paper blocks are a nifty little invention that you’ll get a lot of use out of, so be sure to add that to the list.
• Paint Brushes! Any shape or size your heart desires.
• Primer Paint is next, it will give you a nice even base to apply your coloured paint to. It is also what creates that gorgeous white that appears when you start distressing your piece back.
•  Coloured paint is the fun part. Make sure you purchase good quality furniture paint. There are a range of different finishes to choose from e.g. matte, gloss, and semi gloss. The type you choose is entirely up to you.  Although in my experience a matte, water based paint works really well when distressing your furniture.
• A few boring things you'll need to remember; a paint stirrer, drop sheet, mineral turpentine (to clean your paint brushes), a bucket (to soak the brushes in the turpentine), a sponge or cloth (never forget to wipe all the residue off your furniture before you paint) and scissors and painters tape (no one likes uneven edges). 

Most importantly:

Remember to have fun and don't be scared to experiment. Once you become more confident you can experiment with wood stains, spray paint and wall paper - the fun never stops! What are you waiting for?

We would love to hear about your own experiences with painting and distressing furniture so feel free to share any handy hints or discoveries you’ve made in our comments section or send us your pictures - keen.as.mustard@outlook.com.

You never know, there may even be a sneaky prize in it..

Kate x