HOW TO CREATE GORGEOUS GHOST STRIPING ON YOUR PAINTED FURNITURE | YOUTUBE TUTORIAL!

Hi creative friends! If you’re not familiar with ghost striping, you’re in for a treat!  Louise S. asked me to create a piece of furniture showcasing ghost stripes and how to create them using glaze.

If you’ve been following me here and on my Youtube channel, I’ve been encouraging you to drop in with ideas for makeovers. What do YOU want to see me do? Are there any painting techniques YOU’RE interested in seeing? I’d love to hear from you so feel free to leave comments down below! After reading Louise’s comment, I was searching for a new piece on FBM to demo this on when I thought, hey, I already have a piece in my inventory this would look amazing on… and it hasn’t been top-coated yet. Perfect candidate!

It’s also Furniture Fixer Upper Day where I share my FFU Crews makeovers as well. Be sure to check them out below as well!

But first, here’s what I started with. You may remember this dresser in a previous post back in October of 2021. My sweet friend Mara from Revived By Mara gifted me this dresser on one of our fun shopping days!

Before I get into the how-to details here’s a sneak peek at the NEW look! What do you think?

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

SOURCE LIST

Thrift Dresser – SALVAGED
Green Painter’s Tape
Scissors
Paint Brush
Gold Shimmer Glaze
Equal parts Kudzo + Collard Greens = Juniper
Stir Sticks | Plastic Container

WHAT IS GHOST STRIPING? 

Ghost stripes are created when you STRIPE the same color paint but make the stripes a slightly different hue or sheen. This can be achieved by using a different topcoat — say a satin on the base and a high gloss on the stripes for example. It can also be done by lightening or darkening your base color by a shade. OR an even easier way of doing this is to use a glaze with a pearl or metallic mixed into your base color. Ghost stripes are most visible when the light hits them just right.  I’ll bet you’ve seen ghost-striping on classic cars. It’s super popular on those old muscle cars and looks amazing when the sunlight hits it!

Here’s how I created these stripes using glaze…

PAINT BASE COLOR 

As I mentioned this was a piece I did last fall. It already had a base color of Juniper which is no longer available as it was a limited edition. A recipe to get this exact same green is to mix equal parts Kudzo + Collard Greens. I have a full post and free download recipe card for all these trendy FALL COLORS HERE.

DESIGN & TAPE

After your base color dries it’s time to design. I chose to add the stripes on the bottom three drawers on the side. I started with the same width of stripes but then decided to use two different widths of tape to create some variation. I think it makes the stripes look more interesting when it’s not quite as symmetrical but be sure to pick whatever looks good to you. If you wanted super chunky ghost striping, you can even double or triple up on the painter’s tape to create a super thick stripe!

TIP – To tape off perfectly straight lines, start at a straight edge of your furniture. Then start butting the painter’s tape side by side. This will create PERFECTLY STRAIGHT STRIPES every time! I’m sharing two ways in the Youtube Tutorial at the end of this post so you can see it in action!

SEAL PAINTERS TAPE

To get perfect crisp ghost stripes I recommend sealing the tape. To seal the painter’s tape and prevent bleedthrough I painted over the tape with my base color. One thin coat is all that is required and once this coat is dry it’s time to create some ghosting! 👻

GLAZE + PAINT

I had a few different glazes on hand and tried a couple before deciding on the one I wanted to use on this dresser which was the third one in the pic below.

I tried applying the glazes at 100% and then tried a 50/50 mix of paint and glaze which I much preferred.

Once I mixed a small batch of 50% Juniper and 50% of this Gold Shimmer Glaze, I painted one coat to add the striping. While this coat was still WET, I removed the painter’s tape.

That’s all there is to it! So easy right!

Now I can go ahead with a topcoat in whatever sheen I want and the glaze beneath will still catch the light and provide that really pretty sheen.

YOUTUBE TUTORIAL

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on Youtube. If you have any problems viewing below, feel free to watch it on my Youtube Channel HERE. Our #siyoutubefamily has hit 14.6K 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 team of Furniture Fixer Upper ladies do!  Below are their BEFORE photos. Visit the links below to see the amazing AFTERS and learn how they did it! I’m heading over to take a peek as well! x

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

2. PETTICOAT JUNKTION

3. CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL DIYER

4. GIRL IN THE GARAGE

Here’s another look at this dresser’s before and after. I hope it’s inspired you and given you some new ideas for your projects!

 

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF GHOST STRIPING. FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE OR ADD ANY TIPS I MAY HAVE MISSED! I ALWAYS LOVE HEARING FROM YOU. IT MAKES MY DAY! 🙂

Happy furniture painting friends!

Denise x

RELATED POSTS::

DIY PAINT RECIPES | FREE DOWNLOAD 

MCM PAINTED DRESSER IN JUNIPER TAKE #1

HOW TO ANTIQUE WITH GLAZE

FURNITURE GLAZING ALL THOSE DETAILS

HOW TO GLAZE YOUR FURNITURE

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