Do you love farmhouse, rustic or a coastal look? You know that we do! Would you like to know how to create that weathered look for a piece of furniture? While there are stains you can purchase and use, often they look fake. Today we would like to share How to Weather Wood with a Vinegar and Steel Wool Stain.
There is something so satisfying about transforming a discarded piece of furniture into a real treasure. If you are new to refinishing furniture this may seem a little intimidating, but if you take it step by step and are willing to give it a little elbow grease you too can create a piece that you will treasure. Today we would like to share How to Weather Wood and get that Restoration Hardware style finish.
We both LOVE the Restoration Hardware style! I will never forget when the store opened up in Salt Lake City and I walked in the door and my eyes lit up … I was in LOVE with all of the finishes, the lighting, everything! Then I looked at the prices, yikes, well it didn’t fit into my budget.
That’s the beauty of refinishing a good solid piece of furniture, not only is it satisfying to say “Hey, I did this”, but you can save thousands of dollars!
Steph had been eyeing a bed at Restoration Hardware with that vintage coastal style and it was nearly $3000, but luckily we are DIY’ers and we knew we could figure out how to get a Restoration Hardware style finish. We have come up with a simple 3 step process to achieve their wood finish.
Stephanie bought this bed after graduation from high school, I guess she was anxious to spend all that $ she was making! 🤣
It is a solid pine bed with lots of rustic character which she loved at the time, however as her tastes changed, she married and began looking for something else.
Thank goodness she kept this bed, because it is a good solid piece with real wood, which is hard to come by these days.
Lets take a look at the before photos of the bed.
Hi Girls
Love your creativeness, it inspired me to take on projects around the house I thought was only jobes for pros. All of the best for you and God Bless. 🤗
Thank you Peter for visiting our site. We are so happy that you found inspiration here. We look forward to hearing from you again. Happy DIYing!
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Hi, The bed came out beautiful. When you make your stain, did you use the 0000 steel wool pad in the vinegar? Or does it matter? Also, do you know if cleaning vinegar was used how it would change the outcome? I never knew cleaning vinegar existed until I read about it on another post and I now use it instead of the regular white vinegar I was using for other projects and cleaning. I just figured I would ask.
Thank you so much!!!
Thank you Sue! The steel wool we used in our stain was the 0000, because that’s what I had on hand. I don’t think it really matters. The vinegar we used was 5% acidity. I believe the cleaning vinegar is 10%. I don’t believe it would change the outcome of the stain. But be sure to test first in an inconspicuous spot. Please let us know if you try the 10% acidity vinegar and how it turns out. Good luck!
My gloves leaked with the vinegar/steel wool stain.
How to remove it from hands and nails please?
Oh no! I think it will just have to wear off. 😬
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Hi, I have a banana leaf glass top table and chairs Do you think I could use this process on them.
Hi Barbara, I would first try the vinegar and steel wool stain in an inconspicuous place first. Each species of wood will stain differently. You’ll want to make sure you’re happy with the color before you do it to the entire set. Please let us know if you try this and how it turns out.
The whole room is just beautiful and inviting. Thanks so much for sharing
Thank you so much Kaye!
Hi, wonderful tutorial thank you! I have a vintage dresser I would like to try this technique on, it has a very light stain on it, that is cracking do I need to sand it down first or can I just put the epoxy on that?
Thank for your question Amy. For this technique to work, it needs to be bare wood. So you will either need to sand it down or remove the finish with a stripper. Let us know how it turned out for you.
I have ugly varnish steps I would love to try but is t slippery when done?
Hi Carol, the finish is smooth from the wax, but it is more of a matte finish. Try it first on a scrap of wood so you can see what it feels like. Good luck! Let us know if you give this technique a try.
I LOVE THIS THE BED TURNED OUT AWESOME!! IM THINKING OF DOING MY CABINETS IN THE KITCHEN!! I JUST LOVE THIS BED!!
Thank you Deboorah, We appreciate you taking the time to comment. Please keep us posted if you try this technique, we’d love to hear how it turns out.
Did you strain the steel wool pieces from the vinegar once it had set long enough?
Hi Laramie, thanks for your question. No we didn’t strain the steel wool pieces. We just used the mixture straight from the jar. Hope this helps.
Hi there from new Zealand. Love love love this! Question do you or would you cover any metal finishings on the bed with the mixture. Kindly lauriane
Hi Lauriane! Thanks for reaching out to us. When we refinished this piece we did apply the mixture to the metal accents. It just made them look more aged and a little more rustic. We also applied the white wax over them too. This of course is totally optional. We just didn’t want to take the time to try to remove the accent pieces and/or mask them off. You could always test the mixture on a small surface to see how you like the way it turns out before committing to the whole piece. (By the wway, my Mom and I are saving up to go to New Zealand in a couple years! We’ve never been but her Dad served a mission there and has been back a few times since so we’ve both LOVED learning about the beautiful country and wonderful people there! You’ll have to share some of your favorite things for us to do while we’re there. 😊)
Love it, heading to an antique mall. Got me creating. 😉
Thank you Denise! We’re happy that this was inspirational. Keep us posted if you try this technique on something!
Does this technique
Work on other woods? Do you know?
Hi, thanks for reaching out to us. Yes this technique will work on other woods, although the patina and finished color may vary slightly. You can always test a small area on the back of the furniture or somewhere else less noticeable to see how you like the finish. Also the longer you allow the stain to sit on the wood, the darker it will get. The white wax really made this look come together!
You ladies take the cake! My daughter and I do not do projects together, but we discuss how to and if it will look the way it should. I am an artist and old craft teacher. I love looking at projects that others do. I happened onto your post just recently. You do so well. Not my style, but I still got a lot out of your blog. Good luck, lore
Thank you Loretta for taking the time to respond to our post. We appreciate your kind words. We both enjoy working with our hands, working together and creating beautiful pieces.