But it’s too much white! I was in the middle of renovating our kids bathroom when I realized it was going to be too much white. I made a vision board and all. It didn’t look like it was going to be too much white, until I started to see it come to life. The walls were color drenched in a neutral non-white color, but once the white subway tile in the shower and the white hexagon tile on the floor went it, I knew keeping the vanity white was out of the question. The only option left was to do a little DIY and give it a makeover.

After 5 failed paint samples later, I knew what needed to be done. It needed to be wood. And the only way to get it to be wood is to paint it with Retique It liquid wood. This project is very beginner DIYer friendly! Here is how to DIY anything to make it look like wood!

Materials

• Sandpaper - I used 120, 180 and 220 grit

• Primer

• Graining Tools

• Retique It Gel Glaze - Pecan

• Polycrylic Topcoat - Matte finish

• Antique Brass Knobs

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Prep

The Retique It directions say that you don’t need to do any prep work, but I always do just for good measure. The last thing you want is to do all that work for it to not adhere properly. Especially since this is from IKEA {if you have every painted something from IKEA, you know it needs extra prep!}, I want to make extra sure it is prepped well. Every piece of furniture is different in the prep work it may or may not need. My rule of thumb is to always start with a lower grit like 120 grit and then work my way up, finishing it off with a 220 grit sandpaper.

Prime

The primer contains over 60% wood fibers which is what helps give the real wood look. It is crazy how it works. The directions say to do 2 coats, but this is my third time using this and have found that 3 generous coats work best, allowing 2 hours for it to fully dry between coats.

Wood Grain

This step has a learning curve to it. But the great thing about it, if you don’t like it, you just redo it. If you know right away that you don’t like how they grain looks, you simply brush over it and redo the grain. If you don’t decide until after you stain (the next step), just re-prime and start over. Both of these happened to me and it was really easy to fix.

Back to the grain. Using the gel glaze stain {the directions say to not use the gel glaze for this part…I think because it is more liquidy…but I tried it on the vanity and it worked just fine}, brush it over the vanity in small sections {you need it to be wet}. Then take the grain tool and go over the stain, wobbling your hand back and forth. It might take a few times to get it right, there’s a lot of pressure when you are the one creating the grain! If I didn’t like it right away, I would take the brush and start over. Once you get that section how you want it, move to the next one.

It all depends on the look you are going for, but in the end, I didn’t do as much grain as I originally thought I was going to. When you are going over with the grain tool, your instinct is to grain it like crazy. However, because the primer contains wood fibers, there is a already a natural grain that will occur when you do the stain on top. My first go around, I added so much grain on the top and it was so busy {and grainy} when I added the stain on top.

Stain

Where it all comes together. This step is simple and way less stressful than the graining step. I use the gel glaze stain in the color Pecan and the application is easy, using a brush to apply on top of the grain, in one smooth swoop. The more coats you do, the darker it come out. I did 2 coats to achieve this look, letting it dry 2 hours between each coat.

Seal

My favorite thing to use to seal is Polycrylic in a matte finish. It really gives it extra durability and a nice smooth finish with a top coat. Applying the topcoat correctly has it’s own learning curve {I’m thinking of all the times I botched it in the past that I now want to fix 😅}. Anyway! I applied 3 coats of the topcoat, allowing 2 hours between each coat and sanding lightly with a 220 grit in between each coat.

And the final finishing touch! These Antique Brass Knobs have become a favorite of mine and pair very well with the Pecan stain.

And there you have it. This product is awesome! I was very impressed and already have plans on using it again.

Do you have a piece you would like to try this on? Let me know!

with love, andi

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