Designs by Marnie Perry: Distressing a Pine Cupboard

Robin's Egg Blue Distressed Cupboard

This pine cupboard was unfinished with no previous paint or varnish on it, so simply by removing the door and the hardware and giving it a quick sand to smooth out any splinters, I was ready to go. Ok, it needed a little bit of dusting too.

First I painted the entire cabinet with a deep chocolate brown (I use Benjamin Moore paints, this one was Hearthstone Brown). Don't forget the inside and the door!! Two light coats worked great.

Let the paint completely dry and cure. You can use a hairdryer to speed up the process. Once cured (tip: the paint will be cold if its not cured), lay a wax candle on the wood and rub wax all over the outside of the cabinet (I didn't paint the inside with the blue so there was no need to rub the wax all over it). This will make the process of sanding down the top coat so much easier.

You can apply your top coat right away, just brush away any loose wax. I chose a Robin's egg blue for a splash of color in my primitive kitchen. Again, apply one or two light coats.

Allow the top coat to completely cure before sanding. To sand, I used a med grit sandpaper and gently rubbed all over. The top coat came off so effortlessly.