How to Make New Wood Look Weathered

So, I bought Hubby a new saw for Christmas, and boy what a good investment it turned out to be! It's so easy to use, and he was so excited to try it, that I somehow managed to talk him into building me a farmhouse console out of pine 2x4s! What a deal!

I knew beforehand that I wanted to give the console a weathered wood look. So, I experimented with some techniques. Here is what I ended up with.

I started by trying to decide if I wanted to stain the wood with a dark walnut or a weathered gray. After painting swatches on the back of my console, I decided to start with the dark walnut. The gray looked too much like gray paint to me and it wasn't the look I was going for. I wanted a layered look so ultimately the console would look as if it was made from wood that had been painted and left out in the elements.

The first step was to stain the entire console with Dark Walnut Minwax Stain.

When the stain was dry, I dry brushed a layer of the weathered gray stain over it. To dry brush, I lightly dipped the brush in the stain, then wiped it on a cloth to get most of the stain off. Then I lightly wiped the brush across the wood, letting the texture pull small amounts of stain from the brush. The point is to get a light, layered look, NOT to cover the piece completely. This left plenty of dark stain showing through. You can play around with this on the back of your piece or a practice board to see what works for you.

Finally, when the gray stain was dry, I dry brushed white acrylic paint over the other two layers, again letting the wood grain pull the paint from the brush very lightly.

Overall, I like the effect, but the piece seems a little busy to me. I think I will probably paint the entire bottom of the console white and just leave the top weathered. What do you think?

Love Grows on Grandpa's Farm: Barnboard Sign

I've mentioned a few times that my dad lives on a farm. And I've also mentioned a few of the items I found while snooping around one day: wire baskets, galvanized buckets, old rusty chains. But my favorite item was this amazing piece of wood. 

It still had the remnants of rusty hinges and a lock attached. The wood was weathered, but tough. It just really reminded me of my dad. So I decided to keep it and make it into a kind of family heirloom that I hope will be passed down from generation to generation.

 

I decided to make it into a kind of family tree. On the back, I wrote the names of our family, starting with my Great-Grandma Rose whose parents came to America from Germany. She had lots of children, but I only wrote my grandmother's name: Dorothy. Dorothy, too, had many children--all my aunts and uncles, but I only listed my dad, Dave, and my mom, Audrey. After that I listed my husband and I and then our kiddos. I hope the tradition continues and names get added.

On the front I simply painted "Love Grows" which I thought was fitting in keeping with both the farm and family tree themes. 

Now, it just needs Hubby to add a chain to the back so I can hang it on the wall. I know this will be a cherished memory for my kiddos--one of which graduates from high school this year and the other turns sixteen. They have many years of fond memories on Grandpa's Farm, and I think this will be a beloved reminder of that as they grow up and begin families and memories of their own.

My girls are grown up now, but when they were little they enjoyed riding with Grandpa Dave on his tractor (and giving mom a heart attack for fear they would fall).

 

The girls loved the baby kittens.

 

Sisters could always find an adventure exploring grandpa's farm.

 

Our family at Grandpa Dave's farm along with Maggie the border collie.