DIY Faux Bois, Wood Grain Shelf

For this week’s furniture makeover I experimented with the faux bois technique…which is the imitation of painted wood grain.

When done correctly it can easily be mistaken for a printed paper.  It’s probably one of the easiest paint treatment/techniques I’ve done to date.

I started with this old wooden shelf.  The Mr. removed back panel with a crowbar being careful not to crack or damage it.

I cleaned and primed the shelf and the back panel.  Here’s a shot of the products I used for this project:

Sherwin Williams Extreme Bond Primer
DecoArt Chalky Finish Everlasting White
DecoArt Chalky Finish Yesteryear Gray
Warner Graining Tool

The shelf got a 2 coats of

I wanted the faux bois detail to peak through the back of the shelves.  I painted my primed back panel a coat of gray with a paint brush.  This does not have to be perfect by any means.  Slop it on there with a medium heavy coat.

I would only recommend painting 2 (ish) rows at a time.

Using a graining tool you simply start at the top and drag the tool down, rocking it up and back to create different grains as you’re pulling.  It really is so simple that my 9 year old made a couple of passes perfectly on his first try.  If you don’t like the pattern you’ve created on a pass, just paint over it and start again.

Between passes I stamped off the excess paint on a napkin.

Stand back and admire your work.

After everything was good and dry we added some casters to make the bookcase mobile and added the back panel with finishing nails.

Ta-da!  One of the easiest projects ever with big impact.  Everyone who has seen it asked where they can get the wood paper.  They’re shocked when I told them I painted it.

It’s all done and for sale at The Old Flamingo: $135.

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