pupwhipped, in your search use the words 'painting shabby chic'~you will get many different sites as well as blogs. I've done my fair share of furniture and other decor items, and most of the direction are similar to what I do, but don't find it necessary to prime.

It's just much easier for you to read the directions than for me to attempt to tell you. Something could get misinterpreted, but it's really hard to mess up doing something shabby. As the word implies, it's not perfection. ;o)

PW, my best advice is to read as much as you can on the subject, then find a very inexpensive, *small* piece of furniture, and just *do it*. LOL Experience really is the best teacher and after all, what do you have to lose?

So much depends on the current finish and the type of shabby chic finish you want as to what you need to do. Not all shabby chic finishes are equal and one can be as useful as the other but you'll have a different look with extremely shabby beaten with chains and sanded than you will with only gently distressed using glazes.

Here are some links I've bookmarked on the subject altho I can't guarantee the instructions as I've never followed them:

http://acottageindustry.typepad.com/a_cottage_industry/2007/02/furniture_redo_.html

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2010/01/painting-furniture-101.html

Some pretty pics to look at for inspiration: http://www.cranberryjunction.ca/

Check out the blog link below for inspiration and a few instructions in the FAQ section.

Here is a link that might be useful: for inspiration

PW, here's another great site. She has a blog also. ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: more inspiration....

My DD and I love the shape of shabby chic style furniture (in other words depression era furniture from the 1930's/1940's). But we don't like the shoddy look. We like the furniture to be freshly painted so that it looks perfect and brand new with no rub or distress marks. To me it's the best of both worlds. Well made, beautiful furniture with beautiful lines . . . but freshened up so that it looks new again. I have other antiques that are not painted, but they also are in good repair. I never quite understood the mindset of wanting something antique that looks beat up. Are we in the minority, or are there others in our camp? I bought furniture recently from a "shabby chic" online store. I was appalled at how crappy the paint job was. And we had specified no distressing. But there were chips, dripping paint, areas with no paint, loose decorative rail, paint on roller/hardware, veneer that had fallen off leaving wormholes on the substrate, etc. etc. We call it sh_tty chic, not shabby chic.

This bed is from the 30's.

This high boy was in the "servant's quarters" and is approx 100 year old

Beautiful bed Judydel. I can understand you not wanting distressing, but a bit of glaze on the details would be amazing.

Notes from a Cottage Industry (Tracy) does ALOT of painting and she has some great instructions. So does Cindy at My Romantic Home blog. I don't have it bookmarked on this computer, just do a google search.

tina

Judydel....WOW! Thanks for the eye candy!

My favorite antique/gift shop (more antiques than gifts) has a very successful recipe for their beautiful painted pieces that they generously share on their site.
Their website is disjointed and not very sophisticated but, if you're in the midwest (they're in Rochester, Indiana)and want to shop all day, this is just a taste of
Shabby/Cottage at Green Oak Antiques or just spend some time clicking around their site for inspiration.

Here's their paint recipe:

When we paint our white cupboards, we use Tru-Value brand semi-gloss Country White and Antique White paint.
We paint the cupboards with Country White and then we dry brush Antique White over it to give it a two toned look.
Or you can paint it Antique White and dry brush Country White over it.
When you dry brush, you just dip your brush in the paint and scrape it off.
Then just lightly brush over the cupboard so it's not solid.
Our black items are painted with Black latex semi-gloss from Tru-Value.
After painting, we apply Deft over it.
Sometimes we rub off the paint on the high spots.

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Oak Antiques in Rochester Indiana

You may want to ask ttodd she is a real expert on the subject, as well as the people above.

Thank you, thank you one and all! I was so busy yesterday I didn't even get back to my post. I appreciate all the sites and advice, oh, and especially those pics Judydel! I'm going to have fun reading and learning. Don't know how much fun the actual paintng may be when I get there, but my old 1952 lake cottage is far from perfect. So, my furniture doesn't need to be either.

Thank you everyone for your time,
pup

This is kinda a cute "rehabbing" site I found with some good instructions...well, to my mind it is anyway.

Just thought I would share.
pup

Oooops, forgot the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rehabbing site I found

Pupwhipped, I do a light blue shabby(I call it Romantic French)w/glaze for my antique space, and there are 3 or 4 other vendors who do basic shabby chic. None of them use an oil base primer or paint, or prime at all. The only time it would be necessary to prime is if the piece has a high-gloss veneer.

From looking at pictures, i'm thinking you want white painted furniture w/no distressing~am I right? The shabby we have at the antique mall is more of an ivory and distressed, which is the 'original' shabby chic. Check this out.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Rachell Ashwell

Patty Cakes, really I want painted furniture with distressing and to judydel's dismay, I like the beat up look. I like the edges rubbed away as if worn. FYI, my old but new to me lake place has old pine wood floors from 1952. I envision braided rugs and a mismatch of furniture...some wood some painted. I just figured with the painted pieces, I could purchase them myself and learn the technique. As I mentioned, I don't want perfection...more of a worn cottage look.

Clear as mud? Ha!

Thanks,
pup

I gotcha! I like the beat-up/worn look too. Keeps scratches from Grandkids/dog not being a big deal. Don't use a fine grit sandpaper or it will take you forever~medium works great. Electric sanders take off too much and make the wood rough also. Have fun! ;o)

There's a used furniture store in town that spray-paints everything white then scrapes it off. They recently started selling new "shabby" furniture too. The paint jobs are soooo bad! It literally looks like someone indiscriminately took a putty knife to the paint. I can see sanding a little to expose stained wood or bottom layer of paint (love rjinga's black chest), but rough chipping edges? It'll just keep flaking...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1636442}}

Ajsmama, that's exactly why I don't use an electric sander. You want the wood to have a worn look, but not like someone took a chisel and hammer to it! I have seen so-called professionals do the same thing, to the point were you to rub it, you might get a splinter. Rjinga's(Rhonda)got it down!! ;o)

Ajsmama, yep, that is exactly NOT what I am going for.
I think I could achieve that look right now with no practice or nothin. HA!

pup

I just picked up the newest issue of Romantic Country magazine today and if you're leaning towards a Shabby Chic Cottage look I'sd recommend this issue highly. It was very nice to look through.

Newdawn - I really need to save those instructions I wrote for you to age.

Thoroughly enjoyed the examp;e of paint that someone listed above. I will be trying that on something soon too!

Pupwhipped, I started a site over on Yuku just for this type of help. I and rjinga are both there along with a friend of mine that loves redoing old furniture. patty cakes belongs to though she's not stopped by yet...hint hint. :P It's only what(?) a couple weeks old or so. If you'd like to participate you're very welcome to apply for membership. It's by invitation only and you must participate (hint patty) in order to stay a member since we are sharing our secrets and I'm putting loads of time and energy into it.
Check the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sweet Potatoes

I will say that I am in judydel's camp at this point. I've looked at "new" distressed furniture. Everything I've seen has a very obvious distress pattern to it. Seems as though the pieces are put through a machine as opposed to being hand distressed. The distressing is overly even IYKWIM. The dings and other distress marks are exactly the same in different spots on the pieces. That is what I didn't like about the distressed pieces I've seen so far.

Perhaps there is a whole bunch of new distressed furniture out there that doesn't have that pattern to the distressing?

pupwhipped - getting the type of aged appearance that you are speaking of is fairly easy.

For the rubbed back look some things that you can do are the following:

After you have a base coat on and prior to putting a top coat on - choose which areas that you want to have that 'rubbed back' look. They will be areas that are naturally handled, touched and bumped over time.

Don't think too hard about where these areas are (too many people over think this and end up w/ pieces that are over done) - just simply pretend that you are walking by or putting something in a drawer - where did you just naturally touch or handle the piece?

Now grab a candle and simply rub wax on that area.

Use whatever topcoat you are using and paint over top. When it's dry buff back where you waxed over the base coat w/ a soft cloth or brown paper bag. I've always found that it is much easier to control how much top coat I take off by using a paper bag. It will also buff up to a nice subtle sheen and knock done any raised brush strokes. DH uses brown paper bags at work too when he's working on a piece.

Glazes are nice over top to age a piece. If you are not using a top coat (for instance you just want your white or cream basecoat to look aged) after you paint your base lightly sand back to the raw wood in the areas that you want to rubbed back and use a glaze, stain, shoe polish (whatever you are using) and paint all over the top. The raw areas will hold the topcoat more than the painted areas and give a nice aged look.

The shinier the base caot finish that you choose the more stain/ glaze top coat will come off and you can build up your 'aged look' to how dark you'd like it to be.

Matte paint sucks up the glazes a bit more right away.

If you use crackle medium there's a bunch of tips that I can give for that too if you'd like. The worst think in the world is when I see an entire pice w/ crackled paint on it. No piece EVER ages like that. EVER! But that's a whole 'nother pet peeve of mine.

Use a phillips head screw driver to replicate a small patch of worm holes.

Sometimes I'd go into my dad's shop when he was aging a piece and he'd use a heavy chain to make dings here and there. They would also use a handful of keys wrapped in an old t-shirt to make smaller dings.

Making dings follows the same principal as rubbing back: Think carefully about where the piece would get naturally knicked over time. Don't ding it all over. I hate when I see that too.

Sometimes I'll take a hammer to a piece (w/ a lighthanded approach of course - not everywhere!) and ding the edge here and there.

My dad has a friend who makes beautiful reproduction furniture - some of it aged - some not (he will never divulge all of his secrets to me but I've gotten some out of him since I've known him since I was a child and he worked for my dad) and he used to tell me how they would tie brand new chairs together part way through painting, and throw them in the running creek behind the shop and just let them bob around and bang into rocks and smooth down from the running water. Then they'd haul them out and finish them up.

He is so good at aging furniture that he has a reputation for fooling antiques dealers and has been named to the Fine Woodwoking magazines top 200 list for the past 10 years.

Use as many or as few of some of these ideas as you'd like to get the look you want.

It's so much fun!

Ttodd, i've used a candle underneath the paint, and still had to sand pretty vigorously. I recently heard on HGTV to apply a little Vaseline, which sounds like a great idea for 'repelling' the paint. I'll be trying that on my next distressed piece! ;o)

If you're using candlewax and are having a hard time getting it off you can try dampening your cloth w/ hot water to heat up the wax or use a blow dryer to heat the wax.

I still like using paper bags though to sand.

I can see trying vaseline. May try that on my next bureau.

Hey, thanks again all. I appreciate everyone's comments. Justgotabme, thanks for the invite but I guess I will hold off as I couldn't contribute a darn thing to the group. Mostly I would be going "huh?" LOL! And honetly, I've never DIY'ed or rehabed anything in my life...I wonder who I'm trying to fool here. If my hubby read any of this he would laugh out loud. But, we all have to start somewhere, don't we?

Ttodd, thank you very much for that wonderful information. I've read it once but will have to read a few times to get it. HA! I am grateful for you detailed post. I'm going to find some little small piece and "practice" my new found craft.

One last thing, has anyone spray painted wicker furniture or have any interesting ideas for wicker?

Thanks,
pupwhipped

Gotta say I am with judydel and work in progress on this. Even the unrefinished antiques I have from the early to mid-1800s don't have that distressed look everyone seems to be going for these days. I love what you did to the bed. When I don't like the wood, I often do like the lines and some designs and painting like you have done would work for me!

You're welcome pupwhipped.

joanie b , we went to the Rochester store yesterday. I too would highly recommend seeing what it's all about. My daughter bought several pieces. Will definitely go back. Big variety of everything.