How To Distress White Paint On Home Decor Accessories

Learn how to distress white paint the easy way. It’s easy to paint and distress several frames and other home decor accessories in one afternoon. I even made a video showing how to distress the paint. It’s short and sweet.

My idea of a DIY good time is getting out the white spray paint and going to town. Throw in a little sandpaper and it’s a party.

How To Distress White Paint

White décor is so clean and fresh looking. I love it even though my home is the total opposite, where I surround myself with color. I do have pops of white throughout the house and wanting more. I may have to rethink my decorating style.

White Spray Paint & Distressing Party

In the midst of my workshop junk stash purge I gathered a bunch of items to paint, prepped them (if needed), laid them all on tables or pegboard outdoors, and grabbed the can of white spray paint.

I try to work smarter, not harder, and this is one of my time savers. Spray paint projects en masse ( fancy French term for group). I used RustOleum spray paint in Heirloom White.

update: I received several questions about how much spray paint I used for the projects. What you see in the photos above took about a can and a half of spray paint. The chair just has a base coat of spray paint then I finished it by brushing on a coat of latex paint. It’s hard to get into all the nooks and crannies on chairs and the spray paint a great way to take care of those areas.

I distressed all of these projects by hand using 3M Flexible Sandpaper ( my new fav). The process is super easy and really fast. There is no need to try and distress all parts and edges equally. The finished project is much prettier and realistic when distressed in a random fashion. Perfectly imperfect is my go-to look.

I always fold sandpaper two or three times to get a better grip on it. The regular sandpaper usually tears after just a bit of use but not the flexible kind.

I counted over 15 pieces I painted in one afternoon. You guys don’t have to do everything at one time. Maybe you want to change the décor in one room. Gather a few items and either spray paint them or brush paint them at the same time. You don’t have to use white paint….go with a favorite color.

Examples of home decor to paint with spray paint: lamps, picture frames, countertop utensil holders, wood candlesticks, groups of thrift store wood or ceramic animals (owls, chickens, etc.), silverplate trays, and more. Just a few ideas for you.

You can also distress just a few pieces at a time. I do go overboard sometimes. It was a lot of fun though and I’m loving all of the white.

Pretty little details like those on the mirror really pop after a little distressing. Distressing paint adds depth and character to items. And you know you can distress any color of paint, not just white.

Well I got all those projects spray painted and a table or two brush painted with Reclaim paint. I made a short video (75 seconds) showing how to distress the white paint….