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our friend gracey smythe of smythe antiques scored a pair of beautiful tables at a warehouse sale, but the finish – left unsealed – was very delicate and the tops were damaged. katie and i ciphered out a match using a soft off-white as the base, and a greige as a very loose ‘wash’ (which simply means paint mixed with lots of water.) we stippled and spritzed the wash with more water, patting it gently with a linen cloth. when heated with a hair dryer, the paint cracks slightly, adding authenticity.
since gracey wanted a totally matte look, three coats of burnishing paste were applied to protect the new ‘old’ finish.
Shan says
How did you paint the blue wall behind the table?
Mrs. Jones Admin says
thanks for noticing, shan! it’s a bit of a cheat – it’s an old (very cruddy) canvas drop cloth that we painted and tacked to the wall for photographing light pieces of furniture. annie sloan’s graphite chalk paint plus a little water with a short-nap roller…that’s it! xo stephanie