I have been working on the chalk painted and dark waxed concept in my head and on a couple or end table for a couple of weeks. First there was a lot of research in the how-to, what it actually is, what it is trying to emulate, etc.
Then I looked at how people are doing this from their own "pantry" without having to purchase the expensive brands. Then I ran across Jenine at
A Bit of Whimsy blog post (click
here to see her blog post) on alternative dark wax- which was exactly what I was looking for and a great resource!
The other part of this project that was a hold up was that I wanted to choose my own paint colors, not be limited by a brand. So, I opted for Benjamin Moore's Aura line of paints (low to no VOC and excellent coverage) and combined it with Jenine's alt. dark wax concept.
I decided I probably should not add to the plethora of posts on this concept unless I could enhance the knowledge base or improve on the concept. Since I am posting, I have decided that I can. I am bringing to the table the concept that I did not see in many of the posts during my research. The idea of thoughtful aging.
This patina we are creating is based on the look of years of aging and caring for furniture. Which means, we are trying to create the look of wear and also of "build-up" on grime being waxed into furniture. My tables are streamlined and from the 40's to 50's, so they do not have a lot of detail for grime to be lodged. But they would have had grime and wear around the handles, as most pieces would and a build-up on the table top where they would have been waxed with pledge, probably weekly, if this was the original finish.
For balance of finish, I added, lightly, some dark streaks down the legs and some general smudges.
Here are the key areas for any distress on a piece or furniture:
Chairs-
scuffs on the feet
nicks on the lower leg
scuffs on any projecting parts of the legs like a cabriole knee or banding
wear on the front of the apron from legs rubbing against it
wear on the sides where you would put your hands to pull up to a table
wear on the seat- mainly on the front edge
grime on the back of the seat around any spindles or splat
grime around the attaching point of the arms to the back and seat
wear on the top rail of the center back
Tables-
scuffs on the feet
nicks on the lower leg
scuffs on any projecting parts of the legs like a cabriole knee or banding
wear around handles
grime around handles
grime in any detail work- mouldings, banding, etc.
nicks, dents, scratches and dings on the top and any top mounting edges
Other furniture pieces-
scuffs on the feet
nicks on the lower leg
scuffs on any projecting parts of the legs like a cabriole knee or banding
grime around handles
wear around handles
grime in any detail work- mouldings, banding, etc.
grime and wear anywhere that one would normally place your hands
Notes on wear~
Be consistent with sanding, if you sand your wear spot below one handle do the same on the rest unless there is a use reason why you would not. For example, on a large chest, you would grab the drawer pulls different if there were at eye level as opposed to near the floor.
Grime can be inconsistent.
When you are distressing a piece, or adding wear, think about the person who would have put the wear on the piece. Decide who they are and how they use the piece BEFORE picking up the sanding block. When you understand the person, you will make better and more consistent choices on what you are doing to the piece and the finished piece will look more authentic.
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