The Art of Making New Look Old!

Any homeowner knows that decorating your house is a never ending process. There is always something you want to add onto, change, and of course in my case, create. J and I have lived in our home-sweet-home for three years now and I think I have more projects and ideas on my "to-do" list now than when we first moved in! Y'all should see the face the hubs give me when I say, "So I was thinking....". It's one of those run-for-the-hills looks, and he has it down-pat. Nevertheless, he is always my helper and there to cheer me on throughout the process.

Our cozy little abode has high ceilings in the living room which I love as it gives us an open, spacious feel. However, it is hard to decorate and find large enough decor to fill these walls. It has taken me three years to figure out something to do with this one particular wall and I have had at least ten different ideas. I knew I wanted some sort of shelves so that I could switch out the decor throughout the seasons and not have it be so permanent; yet, everything I saw in the stores was so.... perfect. I know that sounds strange but I am a lover of all things rustic. That's right, the older the better. There is something whimsical about the imperfections that my heart just adores and can't get enough of.

I went to Target, BB&B, Pier One, Hobby Lobby, a furniture store, and even the flea market and found nothing that I wanted!  The closest shelf I found that was "rustic" was all white with tan streaks of paint to make it look weathered; no bueno, friends.  I wasn't budging on the rustic shelves I was picturing in my mind and let's face it, we don't have the patience to sit around and wait on brand new wood to age outside in the rain over the next 5 years.  So, at the end of the day, I knew I would have to persuade my ever-so-handy Dad to create my perfect shelves!

Hmmmm... I think to myself, 'What do I want these said shelves to look like?' which in reality was me searching Pinterest for hours on end. I found a couple pictures to give Dad an idea of what I liked, but wanted them to be our own design. Dad kept asking me specific measurements and I obviously told him exactly how big it should be in hand gestures (which annoyed him to no end) and we were off to Home Depot! We got the respective wood and a large chain link so I could beat the tar out of distress the wood. Ladies, if you are having a rough week, seriously think about taking some chain link to some old wood; it was all kinds of fun and quite the arm workout!

Well, even though we picked out the most beat up wood in the store AND distressed it with chain link, wire brushes, and hammers, it still wasn't exactly what I wanted. It needed some age to it. I didn't want to pick out a stain alone because again, that was just too ordinary. I hopped back on Pinterest and found a way to age wood with just two ingredients!

Needed Items

1 Mason Jar

Distilled White Vinegar

Steel Wool

Soak the Steel Wool for 24hrs, Remove the Steel Wool and use a paint brush to apply the vinegar solution.

At first, it didn't do much of anything. So, Dad and I decided to go get some lunch, some gray stain, and re-visit our aging process. Much to our surprise when we got home, the wood definitely turned "old" looking! It was amazing! We added a little gray stain to darken it up, but the vinegar solution really did the trick and got down into the distressed marks on the wood to give it some serious character. You can use this trick on any wood to age it easily and obviously on a small budget.

Before

After

Dad went with my specific hand gesture measurements and design and really did an amazing job!! They turned out to be more than I ever imagined and look perfect in the living room! What do you guys think??

I am in love with my new shelves and just had to share! This is a super easy technique but you have to be equally patient to let the wood 'marinate' in a sense and reach its full aged potential :) Enjoy & get crafty!!

xoxo,

Amy