I made a lovely rustic gray metallic faux window...by shopping my home!!

When you're trying to redo a space, do you shop your home first? I try to do that just to save money. For example, I have a fake window that I redid a while back to be a deep blue.


I loved it at the time! It was way better than the original look...wow:



But now that I'm redoing my living room and kitchen, I wanted to make this window look more rustic. The deep blue was too glossy for the piece, I think.

So first, I roughed it up just a little with fine grit sandpaper, and then I painted it with Americana Decor Chalky paint in Relic (a dark gray).


I only did one coat, so some of the blue shows through a little. Since I am trying for an antiqued metallic look, the blue tinge is an advantage.

After the gray paint dries, I put a coat of clear wax on. This gives the paint a nice sheen, even without buffing. Once the clear wax is dried, apply brown wax in the grooves and crannies. This is a more artistic step. I would apply some with a brush and then wipe off a lot of it.

It was starting to look antiqued, but it still didn't have the patina that I wanted. So once all the wax was completely dry, I applied some light blue paint (Sweet Retreat by Clark & Kensington) on the high points. I applied it much as I did the brown wax--I dry brushed some on, then wiped most of it off with a rag. You almost have to layer it on.


But now, I am so excited with how it looks! The rustic look definitely fits with the shape and style of the piece, don't you think?