Textured Paint Creates a Shabby Chic Patina

My goal is to reproduce this beautiful finish.

This very cool candle holder was found at the thrift store.

I love it and I use it as a hook in my bathroom.

More importantly I thought if I could reproduce 

this finish, the thrift store possibilities would be endless!

This is a work in progress but my first thought was to

use white paint and add a ton of un-sanded grout to the paint. 

I used a creamy white flat latex paint. 

The recipe?

The ratio I used was about 1:3 

1 part un-sanded grout to 2 parts paint.

You will have to experiment with the paint you are choosing to use.

The trick here is to dab on the paint, don't drag the brush.

The first experiment was on a piece from an old lantern.

This is the first coat and it looks great already and... 

it is really sticking well! If you don't want the chunks you can knock them off when wet.

Next I tried it on a frame. By just dabbing the paint

onto the frame I was able to keep a lot of the chunky look.

Then I tried it on an old rusty candle holder.

This is the perfect example where rust is not a good thing.

And finally, the experiment I was the most curious about

was on a hook that I removed from my bathroom.

I was tired of that very shiny chrome look and I was thrilled to see that this hook could look so much better with a Shabby Chic patina. 

Each of these items got another coat of very sanded grout paint then I sponged on a little gray paint for added dimension

Here are the finished products...

I am especially happy with the hook... 

I was a little worried that since the original finish was so shiny and a hook is used so much, that the paint might scrape off.  

I gave the hook a finishing coat of Polycrylic which sealed it completely and gave it a very hard finish.

* update-  The shabby chic paint on the hook is still going strong 2 years later!

My paint color choice was a little more cream than white but imagine the different colors you could use for this.

Imagine the thrift store possibilities,

old brass? Old light fixtures? 

I'm so glad to have found an inexpensive

Shabby Chic finish that looks great!

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