How I restyled this Bombay Chest using an EASY paint color wash technique | Youtube Video

 

Hi, creative #sifamily! I rarely see Bombay-shaped furniture here in the Greater Toronto Area so I was so happy to find this chest at my local Restore. I can’t wait to share how I gave it an elegant look using an easy paint wash technique.

It’s also Furniture Fixer Uppers Day and I’m joining my FFU crew and sharing links to their projects below. I hope you join me in visiting their before and afters too. I can’t wait to see what these talented ladies do. There are some gorgeous pieces of furniture being made over today!

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Here’s the Restore Bombay Chest I started with. The drawers work great. It is a nice solid piece.

It was a little scuffed, scratched up, and had many holes in the finish. I think it’s supposed to mimic worm holes in wood.

My challenge is to create a finish that highlights all the imperfections rather than fixing them all… who wants to fill all those tiny little holes, right?!? lol

THIS POST IS SPONSORED/CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS TO PRODUCTS I USE.  YOU CAN SEE MY FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Bombay Chest  – SALVAGED
Sand Pads | Shop Towels
White Lightning Cleaner
Bonding Boss Primer
Paint Brushes
Aubergine Chalk Mineral Paint
Secret Path Chalk Mineral Paint
Caviar Chalk Mineral Paint
Gold Gilding Wax

PAINT AND COLOR WASH

Here’s how it all came together and I can’t wait to hear what you think…

CLEAN/PREP

I started by giving this piece a good vacuuming. There were a ton of cobwebs on the underside of this piece.

When I turned it over and removed the drawers, I saw it was Made in China. It’s not entirely wood but made of some molded (maybe resin??) material. If you know what this is, I’d love to hear in the comments below.

While cleaning, look what I found. Some drawings…

…and a coin…one franc! After I pulled out the drawings and coin, I gave this piece of furniture a cleaning with White Lightning. Once I went over it a few times, I rinsed my sponge and wiped it with clean water to remove any residue.

HAND SCUFF SAND

I scuff-sanded the body and drawers with a 150-grit sanding pad to give the surface a little tooth for good paint adhesion. Then using a tack-cloth, I removed all the sanding dust before priming.

PRIMING WITH BONDING BOSS

To seal any bleed-through and create a surface that the paint will stick to, I brushed on this Clear Bonding Primer. The clear primer goes on milky so you can see exactly where you are brushing or where you have missed. Then it dries clear and invisible.

PAINTING

Now for the fun part! I created a blended purple paint finish using this Aubergine and Secret Path Chalk Mineral Paint. The Aubergine had such great coverage it only needed one coat. I applied a second coat in the areas where I used Secret Path to create a beautiful blended contrast.

HOW TO APPLY A COLOR WASH

I could have stopped there because I thought it looked pretty darn good but a little too purple-eee for me so I mixed up a black paint wash.

Using a 50/50 mix of Caviar Chalk Mineral Paint and water, I created a black paint wash.

Working in sections, I brushed on the black wash making sure not to miss any areas.

While the paint wash was still wet, I used a shop towel to dab off the excess. This really darkens the piece up while creating awesome texture!

FINISHING TOUCHES

For the finishing touch, I used Gold Gilding Wax on the hardware and the studded furniture accents. Super easy to do. I grabbed a small brush. Dipped it into the gilding wax, then using a soft touch, ran the brush lightly over the studs to highlight. If it didn’t seem like it was gold enough, I repeated the process.

Once my gilding is completely dry, I’ll be spraying this piece with Gator Hide for protection.

THE REVEAL | FINISHED LOOK

Here’s the finished look. Check out the rich dark “Eggplant” hue the black color wash created!

I’m really happy with the gold contrast on this piece as well!

It looks like a crushed velvet finish!

PIN FOR LATER 🥰

YOUTUBE TUTORIAL

Here’s the full step-by-step video tutorial below. Our #siyoutubefamily is already a community of 44.4K so don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t done so already! So exciting, thank YOU!

And now for some FURNITURE FIXER UPPER FUN!

You’re going to LOVE what my creative FFU ladies do!  Below are the BEFORE photos. Visit the links to see the amazing AFTERS and learn how they did it! I’m heading over to take a peek as well!

1. SALVAGED INSPIRATIONS (HAPPY YOU’RE HERE!)

2. PETTICOAT JUNKTION

3. CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL DIYER

4. A RAY OF SUNLIGHT

5. MY REPURPOSED LIFE

Here’s another look at this color-washed bombay chest before and after. I hope it inspired you and gave you some ideas for your upcoming furniture painting projects.

For those of you who celebrate, I’m wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend.

Let me know what you think of this paint wash makeover or feel free to ask any questions you may have. I always love hearing from you, it makes my day! 🙂

Happy painting my friends!

Denise x

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