Hello friends! Can you believe it’s already November? The weather is starting to cool down here, so I’m taking every opportunity to stay warm in my paint studio. I picked up this 80’s buffet from the ReStore and my first thought – Pottery Barn Black Finish. The shape, style and existing stain are all perfect for a Pottery Barn knock-off! If you’re a fan of this popular black distressed look, be sure to read on because today I’m sharing 5 DIY tips that make recreating this dramatic finish a whole lot easier!
Here’s a peek at the before, during and after. This buffet also came with a top hutch but I decided not to use it for this restyle. It will come in handy for something else down the road.
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SUPPLIES:
- Furniture to Restyle
- Quality Black Paint (I used General Finishes Lamp Black)
- Paint Brush and/or Roller
- Sand Paper
- Stain (I used Minwax Gunstock)
- Q-Tips & Shop Towels
- Topcoat for protection (I used Annie Sloans’ Black Wax for the body and Poly for the top)
5 DIY TIPS FOR A KNOCK-OFF POTTERY BARN BLACK FINISH:
1. PICK THE RIGHT PIECE
The shape and style of the piece of furniture you pick will make a big difference. Solid wood pieces that have an existing warm stain (even the outdated orange stain on this 80’s piece) work really well. It saves a lot of time when you don’t have base coat with stain.
2. DO NOT USE PRIMER
Primer aids in adhesion and stops bleed-through and stains. The latter is helpful when painting with light paint colors. But when painting a black distressed finish, the last thing you want to see when you start sanding is a white primer underneath! This can ruin the entire look so here are a few options…As long as your piece is properly cleaned, prepped with a light sanding (220 grit), and a quality paint is used, primer is not needed. I didn’t use any on this piece and it turned out perfect. If you decide to use a primer, a tinted primer could be purchased so no white shows through after sanding. The last option to avoid using primer is to use a chalk or mineral paint where no priming is necessary.
3. SAND BETWEEN COATS
To get this distressed Pottery Barn Knock-Off Finish, sanding in between each coat is key.While I was painting, I painted some areas with a lighter hand and then sanded these areas back a little more aggressively. The goal is to reveal some of the original stain while the majority of the piece remains a rich opaque black.
4. SPOT TREAT BARE WOOD WITH STAIN
Unless you sand back with a super light hand, you may find that some areas have been sanded back to bare wood. Really easy to do on the corners and edges like I did below.
This is a simple fix with a matching stain and a Q-Tip. I dipped the Q-Tip into the stain and only applied it to the raw wood areas. I let it sit for a minute and then wiped it off with a shop towel and let it dry. This step is done after you’ve applied and sanded your last coat of paint but before you topcoat.
5. BLACK WAX FINISH & TOPCOAT
To get a rich black on black Pottery Barn Finish, black wax works amazing.For extra durability on the top of this buffet, I used General Finish High Performance Poly. For the entire body, I used Annie Sloan’s Black Wax. Any black wax will give an added layer of black sheen.
Feel free to pin this project and if you have any questions, ask away. 🙂
Do you have any DIY tips for getting a beautiful black finish? Chime in with your thoughts, questions or just to say ‘hi’ because I always love hearing from you! 🙂
Happy Painting and have a great day my friends!
Denise x
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Wow! Thanks so much for the useful information. Looking at your end-result, the paint looked like it had just a hint of gloss. I like that. Is that just the photo or is there just a little gloss. Looks fantastic!
Thanks, Christeen! There is a beautiful sheen. I buffed the Annie Sloan Wax and the poly on the top is a semi or satin… I don’t quite remember. 🙂
Hi Denise. Was wondering what you did with the hutch? i have a china cabinet almost exactly like this and want to do something similar to what you have done with the buffet, I was going to keep the hutch, but was looking for ideas of what i can use the hutch for in the future.
Hi Suzanne! It’s been a few years so I don’t recall what I did with the hutch. They make for great book shelves/cabinets if you add feet onto them tho!