Looking to give your newly painted piece an antique look? Today I’m showing you how to age furniture and I promise you, you won’t believe how simple it is to do!
You may remember this gorgeous DIY Trumeau Mirror that hubs and I created a few weeks ago for our Master Bedroom. I’d been eyeing this style of mirror up for ages, but each time I happened to come across one in my travels, I’d be forced to walk away from it by a price tag that was always so much more than I could bring myself to spend. Honestly, it broke my heart a little each and every time. Unfortunately, this seems to be the story of my life (what can I say? I have great expensive taste!).
Luckily, with the help of this blog, we’ve found (or made) our own opportunities to break down those barriers and find ways to make exactly what we’ve been coveting. We’ve actually been creating (or re-creating) our own projects for more than a year now, yet somehow I’m always so slow to realize that I can usually make my own version of whatever it is I’ve been eyeing up for a fraction of the cost. Why do I let myself want for something for so long when it literally takes hours and just a few dollars to knock it out? It would seem I’m a slow learner. But, I swear I’ll catch on one of these days!
This mirror is one of my very favourite projects to date and it’s definitely no secret that it’s totally stolen my heart!
It really did turn out even better than I had dreamed it would and I absolutely adore all of the beautiful details!
Except…
It didn’t really have that historic feel I had imagined. It felt like a new piece, when I was looking for an old piece. Not to mention the fact that all of those lovely details didn’t quite stand out as much as I had hoped.
Humph.
I was pretty sure I knew what I needed to do about it. It needed some antiquing – my sanding and distressing just weren’t cutting it.
Now, I have to be honest with you, I was absolutely terrified I was going to ruin this beautiful piece. It was pretty darn tempting to just leave well enough alone.
I mean why mess with a good thing?
Sure, it could look amazing. But, it could also look terrible.
Ugh.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but this literally consumed my thoughts for a week. #firstworldproblems
Then, Periscope came along – have you heard of it? It’s actually a ton of fun. Basically, users “broadcast” videos in real time for the whole world to see. I’ve spent countless hours watching my fave bloggy friends! It’s really been such a great way to get to know them on a whole new level! Anyway, in my excitement to jump on board with my own first broadcast and perhaps a bit of fear that I had nothing really worthwhile to share, I decided – on a whim – to just go for it.
So, I set it all up and went to town antiquing my beloved DIY Trumeau Mirror.
On camera. Live. For the first time ever.
What was I thinking?!
Things went okay. Nobody died (of embarrassment or awkwardness obviously). But, I did learn a few things the hard way with my very first Periscope broadcast:
one. Do not pick up the phone after setting it up for the perfect video view – you may just end up broadcasting your bum the entire time! #truestory
two. Do not let yourself get so nervous that you forget to greet your friends that took the time to join you – sorry guys, let me say a HUGE thank you now!
three. Do not rush off the camera before answering all of the questions you ignored while everyone was stuck watching said bum – again, sorry guys, will take more time to enjoy the interaction next time!
Despite the lesson learning listed above, I really did have a blast “scoping” with everyone and, now that I’ve got those first time jitters out of the way, I cannot wait to do it again!
And, just in case you’re the type that likes to watch a train wreck in the making, here’s a link to my broadcast. For the record, it doesn’t show the comments, so if it looks as though I’m talking to myself, I promise you, I’m not.
Anyway, back to the actual point of this post…
Turns out, adding a bit of age and character with Vintage Storehouse’s Antiquing Powder was easy as pie.
There were just a few materials I needed to get started:
– furniture wax
– Antiquing Powder from Vintage Storehouse (I used Wrought Iron)
– stiff bristled brush (I used an old make up brush I had laying around)
– lint free cloth or paper towel
– mineral spirits
Following this fantastic video tutorial from Kelsey at Vintage Storehouse, I started by waxing my piece (Kelsey has a brilliant trick for this!). I did this in stages as it’s really important that the wax is a bit wet so that the Antiquing Powder has something to stick too.
With the top portion of my mirror waxed, it was time to add some Antiquing Powder. I gently dipped my brush into the powder and swirled it around a bit in the lid to work in all of the loose stuff, which helps to cut down a bit on waste (ask me how I learned this!).
I liberally brushed the powder onto the waxed area of my mirror, which looked just as overwhelming and scary as Kelsey had promised it would in her video tutorial. I made a point of pushing the powder into all of the nooks and crannies, where dust would typically settle on a true antique.
Thankfully, with just a bit of mineral spirits worked into a paper towel, the excess powder was easily wiped away. I actually found it really easy to control what was left behind simply by applying a bit more or less pressure – the more pressure I applied, the more powder I removed. In some areas I ended up removing more than I had intended, so I simply dusted on a bit more powder and blended it into the piece with a lighter touch. I absolutely loved how easy it was to play around with!
Here’s where I ended up:
I am head over heels in love with how this turned out (thank goodness)!!! It brings so much character to our master bedroom!
Find tutorials for all of our Farmhouse Master Bedroom Projects below:
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
PS. You can find me sharing here and Savvy Southern Style.
This turned out amazing, Kristi! Just the right amount of aged look it needed! I have some of that antiquing powder sitting around and haven’t even used it yet but you’re inspiring me!
Oh good Bre! I’m so happy you love it! It was a ton of fun to play around with, you should definitely dig it out!!!
Such a great idea! Everything turned out so beautifully!
You are super sweet KariAnne! I was absolutely terrified to try it, but I’m so happy I did! Thank you SO much friend! xo
I have never used antiquing powder before, I’ll have to try it! I absolutely love how this turned out, so pretty!
Thanks SO much Amanda! It was definitely fun to play around with and really easy to get exactly the look I was hoping for!
Awesome Trumeau mirror. You did incredible job putting it together and antiquing it. I”d have been anxious also but we can’t learn until we try, no cart before horse? lol. I’d love to make one of those, did you use a sheet of plywood to start on it? Did you cut the trim or your hubs, looks so professional. One nice thing about Trumeaus is you can either put trim on top or a picture of some kind and then mirror on bottom. I have little trumeau mirror I bought at antique store in Petersburg FL one time while trucking with hubs. Have changed out the picture couple times. Will have to hunt it up to see what I can do with it. Many people have no idea what a trumeau mirror is so your post will help to educate and maybe get few more people making them themselves.
Can imagine how great your new trumeau mirror looks in your new old house. Haven’t emailed with you in long time it seems. Came across a post you did on a party and read about how you found your house. It is a great house and lots of bedrooms. How do you find having to clean that big a house? I’m sure I might have enjoyed a big house when I was young but at this point in life not into making any more work for myself. Yeah you could call me lazy. It takes me most of week to clean this little joint, can’t tackle whole house at once anymore. The old body says enuf already.
How was the school teaching you did in first part of summer or end of school year? Did you enjoy being back at it?
Our grand daughter will be leaving with her family on Sunday to take her to college. She will training to be a special needs teacher. She has already done some substitute teaching while she was in high school and taking few college courses. She has fantastic scholarship to Dominican University around San Rafael, CA and she lives in western CO, west of Grand Junction. Will be so hard to say goodbye Saturday night.
They’re bringing over their adorable beagle dog for us to babysit. She fixed my tablet so we can skype while she’s gone. Her Mom already has her ticket to come home for holidays. She was born in San Diego. When she was week old I flew from MT to San Diego to help her Mom and get to know my grand child. Was so hard to leave her after 3 weeks. Used to make her Mom and Dad mad that I could get her to stop crying but not them. After raising 4 kids I had better have some kind of experience huh? When I married my present husband I had 3 young kids and we had our daughter in 1970, got married Nov 30/68, he had to leave for Nam on Dec.26/68.
Daughter and family moved here so they could buy a house with market what it was in San Diego in 2004. They’re only original owners in their cul-de-sac who still live in house. Most other people have moved on to bigger houses. Some older people bought houses in development but then complained about noise of young kids. Why would older people want to live by young families will never know. Life is so much quieter for seniors after their families grow up and leave.
From what I read you are loving your new house and being close to your in-laws. Hope that is still going very well, how nice for your son to have family around him.
Better quit this or you’ll be telling me not to email you anymore. Glad to be in touch again. Have great weekend
Looks like a great (and easy!) technique! Thanks for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty
Thank you Alayna! It was so easy to work with and I can’t wait to play around with it again!
Kristi! I just watched your video, you’re so cute! Isn’t it a little odd to talk to a camera the first few times? You did such a good job being live on camera (I would have been so nervous I probably wouldn’t have been able to talk). I love the simplicity of your mirror – it turned out beautiful! I’m super jealous!
Awwww, thank you! Broadcasting live is incredibly intimidating, thank goodness that powder was so easy to work with 😉 I’m head over heels in love with that mirror and now that we’ve added the antiquing powder, all of those beautiful details definitely pop! Thanks again Kelsey!
Hi, Kristi ~ I’m so bummed I missed your first scope! I love that you just jumped in! I tried it once and it didn’t go very well, and now I’m afraid to try it again. :0} I loved this post! I’ve distressed a handful of projects lately that have left me less than thrilled. I think I’m going to give Antiquing Powder a try and see if that ups the thrill quotient! Thanks so much for sharing! Have an amazing week!
Awww, thank you SO much Tiffany! Don’t worry at all about missing that first scope girl, it was a total disaster – thankfully my second was SO much better! I don’t know how people can send out a live broadcast and sound so easy and breezy about it! I was a complete mess 😉 Hoping to work up the courage to try again soon! Would love to see you try one again too Tiffany!!! I haven’t tried to distress my pieces with much more than a bit of sanding until this, but I’m absolutely thrilled with the result! Would definitely recommend trying it out!!! Thanks again girl, wishing you a wonderful week as well!
I love how this turned out! I need to get my hands on some of that antiquing powder :).
Thanks Amy! I bet you would LOVE it!!! It was so easy to work with!
I dig the way that all came together. I have been thinking of trying to make a few things here at my house look older than they are, I think it gives it personality. Thank you for this post.
Thank you SO much Deedra! I love the character that an antique piece brings to a space, even if it’s not really as old as it looks 😉
It looks amazing, Kristi!! I’m hoping to do a similar project in the future with a dresser. Now… I just have to find the time to do it! 😉
Ha! The trickiest part LZ 😉 Thanks girl!!!
Love this! Your mirror turned out so well! Such an easy technique, I will definitely be giving this a try. Thanks for sharing this at Merry Monday! This is going to be my feature at tonight’s party. 🙂 Hope to see you again!
Awwww, thank you SO much Chelc! SO happy you loved it enough to share!!!
Turned out beautifully!
Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
Blessings,
Cindy
Thank you Cindy! I’m absolutely thrilled with how it turned out!
I love the way it turned out. Where would I buy antiquing powder?
Thank you SO much Diane! You can find the antiquing powder here: https://www.vintagestorehouserestorationco.com/what-is-antiquing-powder/.