I asked several of my blog friends for ideas on the best faux wood paint technique. My friend Lauren of Bless’er House is the one who told me how to create this wood look with paint. For our kitchen remodel, I really wanted to paint our plaster hood to resemble our dark wood floors. I changed Lauren’s tutorial just a bit to make my faux wood a bit darker to match my floors.
For this Faux Wood Paint Technique tutorial, you will need (affiliate links provided for convenience):
- Painters Tape
- Paint Brush
- Wax Brush
- Rag
- Gray Chalk Paint
- Cream Chalk Paint
- Dark Gray Chalk Paint
- Dark Wax
To begin, paint the first layer a medium gray.
My hood already had two layers of chalk-type paint on it.
For the next layer, dry brush cream or white paint. If you are unfamiliar with with dry brushing, see the tutorial here. It is one of the easiest painting techniques!
For the third layer, add a dark gray using the same dry brush technique. By doing these layers of dry brushing, it will add dimension and eventually mimic wood grain.
Now comes the fun part – waxing! Add a dark wax to the entire piece. Make sure you use dark wax (not clear wax) and be very generous with adding it.
The dark wax is what makes the piece mimic the look of wood. It is amazing how quickly the piece is transformed.
Cover the entire piece with wax, and come back through with a lint-free rag and buff. Once you buff, you are done!
I am so pleased with the result. My hood really does resemble our dark wood floors.
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I LOVE this, Sara! Definitely pinning for later use! It really looks like wood. Great job! Can’t wait to see this finished kitchen! 🙂
Thank you April!
I love this!! I really want to do my front door but it gets full afternoon sun. Do you think the heat would mess with the wax? I’ve never used wax before so I’m not sure how that works!
Unfortunately I wouldn’t use wax outside. The heat of the sun would definitely soften the wax often. I’m sorry!!
would this work on stair treads???? If I sealed it or would this be a no go? And How long did it take you to do this?
I did this in a couple hours – it’s pretty easy! I don’t love the idea of wax on a stairway because of durability?
Would you do this to kitchen cabinets? Wondering if thats a bad idea or a really good idea! 🙂
Hi Savannah, It would take a LOT of dark wax to make it happen, and I don’t love wax on kitchen cabinets from a durability standpoint. I had wax on our old kitchen cabinets, and I felt like they collected dirt and grime too easily…
Could you use stain over the paint instead of dark wax? Thinking of trying this on an OLD wood floor that has several layers of paint.
It’s worth a try – or a glaze could work?
Can you do this technique to drywall?
Thanks
My concern with this technique on dry way is the wax finish. It would be a paint to remove if you ever want to repaint the wall.
Can you use any color paint under the dark wax or do the grays make the wax’s color you have?
You sure can!
Also, do you recommend a clear coat eurythelane to protect it?
Unfortunately you can’t add that to the wax finish. I really wish it would work!
This looks awesome! Did you use Amy Howard dark wax also, or a different brand?
I used Annie Sloan’s dark wax – it’s softer and works better for this technique.
Did you use brown or black?
I used brown.
Love the color, thinking of doing this to an interior door could you list the color names you used?
This looks great! I did this to my old cabinets and it held up nicely.
I think you could totally do this to a front door. I would use a poly to seal it rather than wax. That is just my thoughts on it.
The only problem with that is that the dark wax is what makes the look of wood grain, so you can seal it with poly over the wax. However, I’m sure there are other faux wood painting techniques that don’t require dark wax to achieve the look.
How has the wax held up over the heat?
I don’t think much heat actually hits the hood exterior, but it has held up extremely well!