I’ve fallen in love with furniture that has a “driftwood” appearance in color. The aged and worn look just appeals to me although most of the pieces I see for sale in the major stores are not actual driftwood but wood that’s made to look weathered, usually with painting techniques. So I began a quest to find out how I could get that same look at home. After all, I was experienced at refinishing furniture, painting, staining and distressing – why not try my hand at this driftwood finish look.
And there’s nothing more satisfying than finding a beautiful piece of furniture in a thrift store that someone else has discarded – no longer useful to them. I’m one of those that can see its possibilities and I’m quick to snap it up, take it home and give it a whole new life.
I found myself a gem of a side table at one local thrift store. It was perfect. I stripped off the old stain and finish and had initially decided that I wanted a distressed white look. After about four months of this distressed white table, I decided I wanted it to look more like a driftwood finish. I was seeing driftwood tables, beds and lamps, etc. everywhere and I wanted it.
An indepth search on the Internet revealed some very interesting processes that others were using to achieve that driftwood finish. Some with paint (which I also did and it came out great and you can read that post – Creating a Driftwood Finish With Paint), others with concoctions of vinegar and steel wood and still others using baking soda, tea and coffee.
Along the way, I discovered my own mixture, which I call Driftwood Weathered Wood Finish, and to my surprise, it worked beautifully on that little white table once I had stripped and sanded it again. But I still wanted to test the other methods I came across so below you will see a video of the five different methods I used on 3 different types of wood – oak, pine and birch. I will show the initial application and the outcome 24 hours later.
The five methods I use to achieve a weathered wood driftwood finish are:
#1 – Tea – Steeped green tea in 1/2 water for several hours.
#2 – Coffee – Steeped coffee grounds in 1/2 cup water for several hours.
#3 – Vinegar & Steel Wool (3 Cups White Vinegar and 1 steel wool pad – soaked for 45 days, although you really only need to soak it for 24 hours – I just happen to still have a mixture still around from another project);
#4 – Baking Soda & Water (1/4 Cup water to 1/8 Cup baking soda); and
#5 – Driftwood Weathered Wood Finish – which you can now buy on Amazon
