Adding French Flair to Your Home: Distress Furniture Using Chalk Paint and Vinegar

No priming, no sanding. Just a little bit of effort can transform an every day piece of furniture to French Country. Visitors might think you’ve just been on a shopping trip to France! This is the second in a series on adding French flair to your home.

Source: How To Distress Furniture With Vinegar – White Lace Cottage

This piece was distressed using chalk paint.

This piece was distressed using chalk paint.

French Country furniture often has a distressed look — like it’s been around the barn a few times. If you want to add a touch of French flair to your home, why not distress a piece you already own? Or one that you just bought at a garage sale and not sure of what to do with it? This method is super-easy.

  1. Remove any hardware.

  2. Clean piece with a damp rag.

  3. Using chalk-type paint, paint the piece at least 2 coats, allowing the paint to dry between coats. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the can for drying time. PIECE MUST BE FULLY DRY BEFORE DISTRESSING.

  4. Fill a spray bottle (after testing it first, to verify it has an even spray) with white vinegar and water, using a 1:1 ratio for vinegar to water.

  5. Spray mixture onto piece. Using a white rag, wipe off the mixture using varied pressure so that some areas have more paint removed. Continue wiping and spraying as needed.

  6. You might want to paint the hardware separately; lay hardware on a white surface, such as a rag.

  7. After piece has dried, apply wax to seal the chalk paint. Wax isn’t needed all of the time, but your piece will wear better if you do.

 

Au revoir!

 

Image of distressed piece using chalk paint by 5023 Creations from Pinterest, CCBY 2.0.

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