With this quick technique you can make white furniture look distressed naturally for a shabby chic look or that oh so popular worn look. If you have white furniture already then you just need a piece of sandpaper and a bit of time to get this distressed look.
Distress Furniture For A Natural Worn Look
You guys know I’m all about bringing color into my world but sometimes I see a piece of furniture that screams for the simplicity of white paint. This piece was one of them. Even the hardware wanted to be white.
But the best part of this diy project is the distressing. I love the look of distressed paint! Distressing is one way to age white paint or to give the furniture an old or antique look like it's been around for a while.
Select The Right Furniture
When you distress wood that's been painted you usually distress along the edges of drawers and the casing of the furniture so select a piece of furniture with a lot of raised details.
I bought this chest at my favorite junk shop. I believe it was $30. Just looking at the chest makes me think it belongs in a nursery. Perfect size and low enough to use as a diaper changing station. Those raised edges on the drawers are perfect for the distressing technique.
Prep The Furniture For Painting
Painting furniture doesn't take long it's the prep work that takes the biggest amount of time. The first thing to do before painting is remove the drawers and the furniture pulls or knobs. I couldn’t get the drawers out. I've never had this problem before.
The JTS and I pulled and pulled on them every way we could think of but they wouldn’t come out. We were going to remove the back but look at that. The chest was solid wood and well made. Well, I will just paint with the drawers in place.
Prime The Wood Chest
My favorite primer is Glidden Gripper and I always have it tinted Gray because gray works well under any paint color. I do not like using white primer under red or black or any other color. It is too hard to cover. White primer doesn't make sense in those instances but it would have been okay for this project since the latex paint is white. I only applied one coat of primer.
After priming I painted the chest with white latex paint I had on hand. The first coat of paint covered really well but I always apply two coats just in case I missed a spot somewhere. After the paint dried I started distressing the paint. I was distressing the drawers when I noticed something interesting. Take a look at the before photo above.
The drawer in the middle has divided panels. Now we all know that drawer should go in the top slot. I pulled the middle drawer and it came out easily. ????
drawer stop on furniture
The chest has these plastic flaps on each end of the drawer slots. That’s why we couldn’t get the drawers out. I called the JTS and he helped me get the other drawers out. We did have to wiggle and pull sideways and tug and work and work on them for a bit but they eventually came out. I was scared we were going to pull the drawer apart.
how to distress white paint with sandpaper by hand
How To Distress Paint With Sandpaper
It was much easier to do this furniture makeover once we got the drawers out. I used 100 grit sandpaper to sand the layer of white paint by hand. It takes a little longer to distress the paint by hand but I have more control than with an electric sander. I like to tear a small piece of sandpaper and fold it at least double. It is easier to handle that way.
Sandpaper comes in a variety of grit sizes from 60 grit up to 7000. I personally have never used anything above 220. Sixty grit is the coarsest and sometimes if the paint is really adhered to the wood I will use 60 or 80 grit but very seldom. One hundred or one hundred fifty are my go to grit sizes for most projects.
Next I run the sandpaper over all the edges of the furniture where it would naturally wear. The amount of pressure you apply while sanding will depend on the type of paint and how long the paint has been cured.
Usually chalk paint will be harder to remove than latex paint but some of the latex paints are so well made that it takes a while to sand the paint from the furniture. I sanded right through the paint and the primer on this project. When sanding the paint you can remove a lot or a little depending on your preference.
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After sanding the wood showing under the paint may look light or raw. I sometimes run a little dark wax on a rag over the raw wood to darken it. In this case the wood didn't look too light so I left it as is. It is not necessary to apply sealer over distressed furniture but you can if you like.
Update The Hardware
The drawer pulls needed a fresh look so I spray painted them with RustOleum Spray Paint in Heirloom White (one of my favs). The color is off white but looks white until you put it up against something that is really white.
Distress The Painted Drawer Pulls
A little distressing for the hardware too. This part takes just a few seconds per drawer pull. I also sanded the drawer pulls by hand.
How to make white furniture look distressed and naturally worn
Aren’t those rain boots cute. I was standing in line at the local thrift store when I spotted them on a shelf by the cashier. I picked them up and almost put them back. The price was $3.89. Kind of high for the thrift store. But I do get a discount (golden oldie). So I bought them.
how to make white paint look shabby chic or old and worn
Do you think I made the right call to distress the paint? You can use the distressing technique to distress any color of paint! I love black distressed paint too. I would call this a moderate amount of distressing. How do you like it?
how to distress white painted furniture
I have gone all out before and removed a bunch of paint. Heavily distressed paint isn't for everyone but this piece is one of my favorites diy projects.....Over-The Top Heavily Distressed White Furniture | Love Or Hate
how to distress paint
How To Distress Paint Video Tutorial......
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- Grungy Desk Makeover With Distressed White Paint And Metallic Hardware
As always thanks for being here, Kathy
Claire
Gorgeous. I see you changed the drawers around.
Dorothy
Great job, a real beauty
Teri
Perfect amount of distressing! Love it.
Marie D Williams
Loved this... you did a great job!
EVA
Good Morning beautiful DIY......I think its perfect what a differences paint and elbow grease can do for. ..... something.....
Kathy Owen
Thank you!
kat
did you sand the entire piece before or just applied the primer?
Kathy Owen
I didn't sand the piece at all.
Leslie
Hi. This little dresser turned out so cute. I was wondering though, where you distressed it the wood underneath is really dark. Did you first paint the areas you planned to distress black? I love the contrast
Kathy Owen
I think it looks dark because of a combination of things. The gray primer I used is showing in some of the distressed areas and the photos may have made the distressed areas look darker than they are. In order to make raw distressed wood look dark or stained I sometimes go over it with Howard's Wax in Walnut.
Sonnie
Wow! Love this. White is the perfect color and the distressing looks great. If I lived closer I'd come and grab this!
🙂
Debbie Mayfield
So pretty!
Kimberly
Wow, what a transformation! You made the right call on going white but I love anything distressed white. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this with us at Merry Monday this week!
Kristen
So pretty! Distressed white is probably my all time favorite for furniture!
Bonnie
I think you made the perfect call. That little dresser painted white is perfect. I agree with you that it would be so cute in a nursery.
Zee
I have a chest of drawers that could do with with distressed white. I'm not brave enough to tackle it by myself though.
Jen @ Girl in the Garage
The white is stunning on this piece! And so funny about the drawers being switched- looks like the hardware was too! Glad you got it straightened out. haha
Marie|The Interior Frugalista
I totally think you made the right call on painting it white - so pretty! Oh, and far more balanced with the drawers in the right slots - too funny. I could see this as a nursery change table or coffee bar. Pinned
Naomi S.
You definitely made the right call with the white paint! I especially like the painted hardware. Perfect.
Lisa
HI Kathy,
Could you please tell me the name of your favorite paint sprayer? With springs arrival, I have some painting projects in mind...
Thank You
Kathy Owen
Hi Lisa! The HomeRight Finish Max is my favorite paint sprayer. I put an Amazon affiliate link with a photo of the Finish Max at the bottom of the post above. You can click the photo to check it out. The affiliate link means if you purchase the paint sprayer I get a commission (very small) for the sale. The price is the same regardless.I use the Amazon affilitate links to help readers who don't have the products available where they live. The bit of sales commission helps me with website/blog upkeep and expenses. Hope this helps. Thanks
Gracie Redfield
Perfection!
Lisa
Love distressed white painted furniture.....looks great:)
Terry
Completely agree white was the perfect choice, it's a lovely chest now. And the boots- Cute!
Judy
Very attractive now!
Andrea
Why did you use the Glidden Gripper Primer? I use chalk paint and milk paint all of the time and have never used a primer. Just curios.
Judy
Love the dresser and the white is perfect!!
Pam
You are so clever! I love this chest of drawers. I have had the same problem with getting drawers out and also learned to feel around them, underneath, along the sides, and behind them to see if someone has come up with a "clever" idea to keep them from opening too far. I've never seen this one before though!!
Kathy Owen
Same here Pam. We tried everything you said and couldn't see the problem. Just accidentally when I pulled the middle drawer it came out. On one side the little do-hickey was missing. I guess that helped.
Melody Klotz
Looks really great. I love it!
The JR aka Ramona
Oh yes, the white looks soooooooooo much better. I like the painted hardware too.
Melinda
Looks lovely! Now I think I will go and find something to paint:) Thanks for the inspiration...
Barbara
You certainly made the right choice, at least I think so!! So pretty.
Barb macaskill
Love the boots and the dresser is gorgeous! TFS!
Kaycee F
A perfect paint choice and beautiful results!
sheila
Totally agree....Perfect! Thank you!!
Sue
The white is a great choice! Absolutely perfect.
Colleen Forrester
Looks great!
Angela
The white is perfect!
Lynn
Looks fantastic!
Jamie
Love it! This piece has inspired me to do some painting!
Jonni
Okay, that is perfect!