Create a faux wood finish using paint and stain

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosures here.

Check out this simple way to create a faux wood finish using paint and stain! Easy to follow steps for a beautiful finish!

Hey friends, today I’m sharing with you all about this gorgeous faux wood finish I gave to the old dresser from last week. If you missed it, I shared how to use peel and stick wallpaper in furniture updates. You can read all about it here >>> Update your furniture with peel and stick wallpaper

This has been a fun process. Well, the paint part, not the final stripping/sanding part! Ha! This is never fun, sorry, but it’s true! But oh so necessary sometimes, unfortunately. The final part to create a faux wood finish is like magic. There are many variations you can try too! I’ll share some of them at the bottom of this post.

Check out this piece from Pottery Barn…

source

The price is… $4300. amazing! But check out the ending! I was able to recreate that quite easily. Yay!
Here are a few others I found (all with similar price tags…yes!)

I think they call it Seadrift Finish or Sausolito. Now let me show you how to create this fake ending yourself instead!

Here is the beautiful cabinet in its ‘before’ condition…

inside…

The glass door had these wooden details…

…which I decided to remove.

The finish had to be removed because the old shellac was flaking everywhere.

I still haven’t found a stripper I like! I need to do some major testing because I plan to make more changes to the wood model. Well, stay tuned because I may have to buy a bunch of strippers, do a full test, and write a follow-up post with the winner. I will try to do that soon.

This one mostly got the job done. I would like to find a better one. (But it’s also not very caustic, etc.) They all work much better if you cover them with plastic wrap. It keeps it from drying out and then it stops working and that’s not good, right?!

I used multiple sized wire brushes to get into the crevices well.

I’m basically trying to remove that flaking and loose finish here, not transfer it to the bare wood.

After that, I sanded here and there. Again, not with the intention of taking it to the bare wood, just sorting things out.

Then I wiped everything with TSP Alternative Cleaner.

I carry these continuous mist sprayers in the store now too. they are great! I use them in an alternative TSP solution and plain water when painting. It works great for spraying paint with a fine mist that minimizes brush strokes. You can find them here.

Now let’s see how easy it is to create a faux wood finish with paint and stain!

Only one coat of cathedral taupe was needed.

I was okay with some wood showing underneath. Obviously you wouldn’t want a lot of wood showing through.

I picked up these brushes at the Dollar Store to use for staining the “wood.”

Now, there are several ways in which you can do this. You can apply it with a cloth, sponge, etc., then go back with your “bristle brush” and create a wood look. Or you can apply it using a brush and do the same. One takes longer than the other.

However, you can also use different brushes to get the look you want.

I mainly used the dry brush and the large brush shown above.

Long, even strokes to give the wood the ‘look’.

This brush is great for large areas.

Doesn’t that sound great? I like this effect.

You will need to make sure to use the dye sparingly. In addition, wipe away excess stains with each stroke of the brush.

I didn’t bother applying the stain to the back of the dresser since I had peel and stick wallpaper there.

I used the large brush to go around the legs in a swiping motion, from left to right.

You can see the base above where I stained the wood and where it is still just painted. What’s the difference, huh?!

It’s where easy to do! It is difficult to mess up. The great thing is that Stain & Finishing Oil is amazing to work with and has a long workability time frame.

I did one coat and done! When I say this was really simple, I mean it. The hardest part was stripping the piece and preparing it for paint/stain.

I had a hard time getting good photos because this area is very close to the window.

This is great for those times when you want a “wood look” but don’t really have the desire (time or ability) to completely sand an entire piece of furniture. You can give it a wood look without all that. I love that!

I also like the Stain & Finishing Oil because there is no need to add a top coat. (You can add a layer of ‘Natural’ for extra protection, if desired, but this is not necessary) It is different from PolyShades if you think it might be similar. PolyShades are applied on top of the wood and our SFO actually absorbs into the wood like regular stain but has a built-in finish. very good!

Do you think you’ll try it?

This was a cathedral taupe/cappuccino combo. Some other basic paints that may work well for a faux wood look are Algonquin, raw silk, champlain, plaster, and putty.
Depending on the faux wood finish you’re looking for, you can use cappuccino or walnut (yes, we have a walnut stain now!). Even Driftwood would give a completely different look.

We have several new patches coming to our Fusion line! Yippee!! I already have walnut and heartwood in stock. (You can find them here) Coming soon are the Taupe and Light Oak colors (can’t wait for those two!) We should get them sometime in June. Stay tuned!

Pin it to save!

Have a great week, friends! Let me know if you decide to try this finish!

xoxo