How to Make a Homemade Glaze for Staining and Aging Furniture Projects!
Last week when I shared the new (old) chairs in the dining room, I told you that I would share the quick and easy way that we re-stained the cane backs on them.
This was a very simple makeover using my homemade glaze and some beautiful old hemp linen from France.
I get so many questions about my “homemade glaze”, and there’s really not a lot to it.
Supplies Needed:
See, I told you! It’s very simple! Acrylic artist’s paint in the color Burnt Umber, thinned with water. The size brush I use all depends on what kind of project I’m working with.
You can find it at any craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michael’s or online at Amazon. Any brand will do, just make sure that it is acrylic paint in color Burnt Umber.
I love using this glaze for giving a piece of furniture an aged appearance, and it’s so much easier to work with than dark wax.
I always hated trying to work with dark wax to age a piece of furniture, because it was a little challenging to use, it had a stickiness to it that I didn’t like, and it was hard to remove if you used too much….at least this is the case for me.
This homemade glaze is a wonderful, easy to use, substitute!
I’ve even used this glaze to cover up a few scratches in our hardwood floors.
If you recall, I had purchased two french cane back chairs a couple of years ago and I had stored them in the attic until I could find time update them.
I actually forgot that I had them until I was looking through the attic for something else and re-discovered them.
These chairs were very similar in shape to the other four that I had, all I needed to do was re-stain the cane and add new upholstery to the seat.
They were already painted in a distressed white (including the cane) when I bought them, and the fabric had already been removed from the seats, leaving the “undergarment” of upholstery linen.
I began by cutting out and stapling the french hemp linen onto the seat.
It was nice to not have to strip any old fabric off, and the padding and springs were in good condition, so the upholstery didn’t take long.
The finish was just gluing the braid trim on with a hot glue gun. Next was re-staining the cane back.
Now I will say, I should have stained the cane FIRST, before upholstering, just in case I was to get a little sloppy with the stain…..but I didn’t, and thankfully, I didn’t drip any paint!
I poured some of the Burnt Umber paint into a bowl, and added just a little bit of water to thin it.
How much water you use will depend on the consistency of the paint that you are using. Some brands are thicker than others.
I usually try and thin it to the consistency of milk.
Using a small 1 1/2″ brush, I quickly and easily brushed the glaze on and worked it all throughout the caning, front and back.
If you want the stain darker, a second coat can be added after the first one dries.
I wanted the caning to have a timeworn finish so that it would work well with the other chairs, so I only did one coat.
The glaze dries very quickly, making this project very easy!
And it’s water soluble so it’s easy clean up!
The two chairs work beautifully with the other four french chairs in the dining room now!
There are some subtle differences between them, but that’s a look that I love.
See, I told you my homemade glaze was super easy!
This week we’re working on completing some projects around the house……renovating the guest bedroom, and I’m still finishing up an upholstery project for the master bedroom refresh.
I will update you on those two projects soon!
Cheers,
Cindy
This is another fun project that you might love: Update An Ugly French Chair
Now That’s what I call easy peeze! Can you give information on Fabric you used. loving the texture and herring bone look. where can one shop for it on line?
looking forward to the guestroom makeover.
Hi Roseann! The fabric is antique European hemp sheets. I would suggest looking for them on eBay or Etsy!
So glad I found this post about your DIY glaze! I’m going to use this for a large mirror I have that has wonderful detail that’ll be brought out with the glaze. Thanks 🙂
If you know anywhere that I could find those chairs – I have them and need 6 more:)
Hello, I am new to upholstery, I just completed my first project this pass weekend. I appreciate your details as it will help guide me on my next project. I love your style in designing and these came out so beautiful!
I love the easy way to make a glaze. I have a small corner shelf that I want to paint & try the glaze on. I also like the fabric that u covered your chairs with. Could you provide me with name of material & where you purchased it. I would really appreciate it. Thanks
Hi Annie! The fabric is an antique hemp sheet from France. You can find them on eBay!
Walters. Ladona@ Gmail.com
Where could I get a color chart of all the colors of chalk paint that you use. Also was your homemade glaze the last coat on the wonderful new blue Mora clock?
Hi LaDona! Unfortunately, I don’t have a color chart available, however I usually stick to all shades of blues, grays, and whites. Yes, the glaze is the last coat before waxing. After the glaze has dried, I add a coat of wax, let dry, and then buff with a soft cloth.
I have a concern looking at your dining room chairs (the cane) that you stained they look to be brown stained but the bottle says black. Does the black come out brown?
The picture in the post shows the bottle of paint and the label has the color as “Burnt Umber” which is brown. I don’t see anything that’s labeled “Black”. There is no picture with a bottle of black paint in the post.
I thought the same thing at first. Blick is the brand of paint. Shirley, look further down on the label for Burnt Umber.
I admire your energy and decorating skills. I still have rooms that have 31 year old paint!
I absolutely love EVERYTHING I’ve seen so far… my decorating style is identical and nothing makes me happier than planning my decorating and next projects… thanks so much for the insipiration!
Cindy, I just found you today! Congratulations on your feature article! You, and your husband, do wholly deserve the high praise, as you put thought into each room. I know about the hard work it takes, plus the vision, and revisions, that take place. In the midst now, had one of those “u-turn” days. Reading your lovely blog helped soothe me! I surely wish I could visit your store, but thank goodness for your blog. Thank you for sharing your time, opening your home to us. Edith and Evelyn would be so proud. God Bless you!
Thank you so much, Marg! That means so much to me!
I love how simple your glazing trick is, Cindy! I pinned several photos to my Perfect Paint and Decorating boards. Thank you for the tutorial. 🙂
Barb 🙂
That’s wonderful, Barb! Thank you so much!
Oh I’m sorry…the bottle says pint not tint. Oy!
I’m wondering about the product you used. Does the bottle say acrylic tint? If so that is a different medium than paint. Tint is a dye or a pigment and I assume added to water will glaze richer than regular paint. Can you clarify if this is paint or tint please? Thank you so much. Lovely chairs!
It’s paint!
What a lovely result! Those chairs look great in the final photos of your dining room with the end chairs and everything else. That this is so easy to do is even better – assuming you are super careful not to drip or to cover to protect the upholstery first.
Gotta get me some of that Burnt Umber. I feel exactly the way you do about dark wax. I really don’t like it much, or its stickiness. You’re supposed to use clear first, but even so, still don’t really care for it. I love the ease of this recipe.
I’m right there with you, Florence! This recipe is quick and easy and if you get too much, it just removed with water. Thanks for commenting!
Cindy, you are a delight! I love all your projects. You continually inspire me. God bless you (and hubby!).
Thank you, Sherri! Your sweet comment means so much to me! Blessings to you and yours!
Beautiful Cindy. You kn ow I choose glaze over waxing on larger pieces of furniture I paint
Cindy
Oh, yes, the glaze is so much easier to work with isn’t it?!? I will never use dark wax again!
I love to read your blog and what you are up to. Thanks for sharing some of the easy things to do,as well as some more complicated ones. I have found i can ignore those ads pretty well….lol 🙂 I know that you need to make a living also. There are other ones in blogland that are way more annoying., believe me! Thanks for letting me put in my two cents!
Thank you, Melinda! You are too sweet, and I appreciate your kind words so much! Yes, ads are a necessary evil, and they are what “keep the lights on”. We’re working on finding a balance with them with the new theme, but they are here to stay. Your two cents is very much appreciated!! Thanks for commenting and being so supportive!
You did a great job staining those chairs. Your works are amazing! I wish I could attempt things like you.
Thank you, Nancy! You can do it! Trust me, I have many failures on some of my projects!
I love your blog and have been an avid follower for the past few years. I feel I need to be honest with you about how annoying the increasing amount of advertising occurring between your photos is. I can feel myself slowly pulling back from opening your blog because of this. There needs to be a better balance of content to the amount of ads. The worst part is it’s the same ad showing up.
Hi Ann, thank you for your feedback. We’ve been working on a new theme and new look, and we are still tweaking a lot of things, including the amount of ads. I wish I could completely do away with them, but like all online pages, the ads are a necessary evil in order to stay up and running. I’m working with my ad network to find the right balance, and to disable some of the repetitive ads as well as the quantity. Unfortunately, it takes at least 24 hrs for those changes to take place, so they may not be seen immediately. Ads are everywhere, tv, magazines, websites, newspapers, etc. I know they are annoying and I try not to have any pop up ads that are hard to exit out of. Please know that we are working to find a better balance on this.
Absolutely perfect Cindy! Thank you as always for sharing, ….. you truly are so inspirational.
You’re so sweet, thank you so much, Nancy!