I just completed these beautiful side tables for a previous customer. She had seen some side tables in a home decor store, took a picture and asked me if I would be able to do something like it for her? I agreed and she began the hunt for some tables on craigslist.
I did some research on metallic finishes on the internet and asking advice at local paint stores and then began the task of hunting down metallic paint. Benjamin Moore carries a line called Modern Masters and there are tons of metallic colors to chose from. My client chose a nice warm silver called Nickel.
This piece was sanded down and painted a dark chocolate for the base color. Chocolate was chosen as she has espresso furniture in the same room and it went well with the undertone of the nickel. I was planning on dry brushing this piece as well, so a base color was needed.
This type of technique involves dipping your brush in the paint and wiping almost all of it off on a rag and then basically "dry brushing" whatever paint is left on your brush onto the piece. A series of coats is required until you achieve the look you desire. The base coat can show as much or as little as you like. Metallic paint does not go on like regular paint so it needs to be brushed on as apposed to rolling. This creates a bit of a streaky brush look because of the nature of the paint.
I also mixed the paint with some glaze and water to make the little jar go a bit further and this allows the paint to dry slower, which gives you more time to even out your strokes. I ended up starting with the dry brush technique but found the coverage wasn't quite enough so I just used a small amount of paint and brushed it on back and forth until the coverage was somewhat even but still seeing the brush strokes for a dry brushed appearance. I ended up doing at least 6 coats of the silver until I achieved a solid silver tone. Then the piece was slightly distressed and sealed with Minwax furniture paste.
Voila! I'm not sure if that is the best description of my technique but that's it in a nutshell anyways! And my pictures are painfully terrible as usual, as I am not a photographer and I'm sure my crappy camera has something to do with it as well:) It doesn't really capture the true color of these beautiful tables.
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I did some research on metallic finishes on the internet and asking advice at local paint stores and then began the task of hunting down metallic paint. Benjamin Moore carries a line called Modern Masters and there are tons of metallic colors to chose from. My client chose a nice warm silver called Nickel.
This piece was sanded down and painted a dark chocolate for the base color. Chocolate was chosen as she has espresso furniture in the same room and it went well with the undertone of the nickel. I was planning on dry brushing this piece as well, so a base color was needed.
This type of technique involves dipping your brush in the paint and wiping almost all of it off on a rag and then basically "dry brushing" whatever paint is left on your brush onto the piece. A series of coats is required until you achieve the look you desire. The base coat can show as much or as little as you like. Metallic paint does not go on like regular paint so it needs to be brushed on as apposed to rolling. This creates a bit of a streaky brush look because of the nature of the paint.
I also mixed the paint with some glaze and water to make the little jar go a bit further and this allows the paint to dry slower, which gives you more time to even out your strokes. I ended up starting with the dry brush technique but found the coverage wasn't quite enough so I just used a small amount of paint and brushed it on back and forth until the coverage was somewhat even but still seeing the brush strokes for a dry brushed appearance. I ended up doing at least 6 coats of the silver until I achieved a solid silver tone. Then the piece was slightly distressed and sealed with Minwax furniture paste.
Voila! I'm not sure if that is the best description of my technique but that's it in a nutshell anyways! And my pictures are painfully terrible as usual, as I am not a photographer and I'm sure my crappy camera has something to do with it as well:) It doesn't really capture the true color of these beautiful tables.
