Glaze Craze - Tips for Glazing Furniture

A few weeks ago when I shared my recently re-finished Coco dresser and master bedroom preview, I promised I'd pass along my tips for getting that glazed (dark or light) look for all your projects...

Glazing isn't anything new to the furniture re-finishing world, but I find it my go-to technique for most of my furniture. Between my parents and I, we've been doing the "glaze craze" for several years now.  The Coco dresser was actually inspired by their bathroom vanity...

I've always loved that lime-washed or pickled look on antique furniture and it's a very simple technique that adds tons of character to furniture and accessories and is best for highlighting details of a piece.  You can achieve the look many different ways including a simple watered-down paint wash, tinted wax, or glazing medium.  While they all have their benefits, I generally find myself turning to the glazing medium before anything else because I feel like the drying time is a little longer and allows me more time to play with the paint and get the finish I want and is less expensive than other options.  Glazing medium is very thin and translucent and is often used for faux-finishing walls, but is a great tool for furniture too.

You can find glazing medium virtually anywhere as most major paint retailers carry some form of it.  I just happened to have a can of Martha Stewart's Faux Finishing Glaze from Home Depot in my stash.  The ratio for mixing paint with glaze medium is generally 1 part paint to 4 parts glaze, but each product is different...just check the can.  Since I wanted an off-white glaze for my dresser, I simply used some Behr "Creamy White" in a flat finish.  Those little sample pots of paint work well for this! It doesn't take much product to mix up small batches for furniture and a can will last quite a while.  You can use any color you want including a dark brown for darker glazes...

After mixing up the glazing medium and paint, simply apply with a small brush into the the areas that you want to highlight and wipe off any excess with a wet rag or damp paper towel.  I love using those blue shop towels for furniture projects as they are disposable, but thick like a cloth rag.  The glaze is easy to re-apply if you wipe too much off and stays workable allowing you to get the look that you want. You will want to seal any heavily-used surfaces like tabletops if you decide to use glaze though.

To make glazing even simpler, pre-mixed glaze products are also available to take the guess-work out of color choices and measuring. General Finishes has many pre-mixed color glaze options.  I always have a can of the "Van Dyke Brown" around for darker glazing like my daughter's bed (picture above) or my desk...

You also don't have to stick to just furniture if you want that glazed look on other items around the house...

I bought this pair of resin lamps at a yard sale several years ago for $3, spray-painted them chocolate brown and simply added the white glaze to the details...

 as well as a $4 pair of buffet wicker lampshades that I picked up a discount store a while back .

The possibilities are endless and the finish is easily painted over if you change your look in the future!  How about you?  Have you tried glazing yet and how do you compare it to tinted wax and other color wash treatments?

Kristen

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