Paul has been playing around with creating wood looks lately. People find it amazing when they flip over this sample board in our shop and discover that these wood planks are actually a solid piece of lumber.
The Wood Plank Look has become such a popular technique that we started offering workshops in our store where participants have a hands-on opportunity to learn the technique.
So, Paul decided that this top is the perfect candidate for the wood plank look...and I had to agree!
The plan was to tape out the center rectangle to mimic the detail that was already on the raw top and create a border to frame out the 'planks' he would create in the middle.
Creating a wood plank look isn’t complicated, it just takes a little planning and patience.
The only special skill you’ll need to know is how to do a Color Wash.
Before beginning, Paul sketched out his design for the border and 5 ‘planks.’
He wanted a deep, elegant look so he selected Graphite with a Coco wash for the border. For the ‘planks’ he decided to use base colors of Coco, French Linen, and Paris Grey all would have a Graphite wash.
Here's Paul's Plan...
...and here's the order in which he did the painting
From here on out, you’ll be working on groups of boards. The ‘plank’ numbers listed below correspond to the numbers on Paul's schematic above.
Now that the entire top is painted, you’ll notice that the Color Wash paint technique highlighted all the imperfections and roughness of the wood top and there’s a little ridge between each ‘plank,’ all of this adds to the authentic look and feel, it not only looks like individual planks of wood, it feels like it, too.
Paul wanted this piece to be a media cabinet, where a TV could sit on top or hang over it on the wall so he removed the bottom drawer and modified it to create a shelf for components, he painted the interior of the shelf Graphite and drilled a whole in the back for cords.
The exterior was painted in Duck Egg Blue and was finished with White Chalk Paint® Wax (instead of Clear Wax) to create a softer, more coastal feel.
Have fun playing around with different neutrals for this look, and you might just get hooked and find that you want to paint everything with a plank top look!
We're Paul and Johanna and we write about our life in the furniture business. The things we love, the places we go, and the treasures we find along the way.