How To Whitewash Wood For A Distressed Rustic Chic Style

Hey Friends, you know I love old chippy paint and wooden pieces that have a vintage feel. However, many of my projects involve working with new wood. The tongue-and-groove wood ceiling in our new farmhouse was a challenge. I wanted a distressed rustic whitewash appearance to contrast with the pure white shiplap walls. I developed this two-step DIY whitewashed wood tutorial to achieve the appearance of old, distressed wood when working with new lumber. When you follow these instructions, the paint will appear to have worn off slowly over time. This technique can also be used for any new wood project to achieve an aged, distressed appearance.

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How To Whitewash New Wood For An Aged Appearance

One of the most asked questions about our farmhouse is, “How did we get our kitchen ceiling to look like reclaimed wood?” Here’s the answer.

First, I recommend creating a sample board to determine your desired appearance. If you want to begin on something other than the ceiling, a sample board or two will allow you to get your technique down pat.

Use a piece of the same wood as your project or ceiling. Then, allow your sample to dry completely before determining if you’ve achieved the desired look.

Materials Needed to Whitewash Wood

The ceilings in the farmhouse are made of new pine wood beaded board, which will look slightly pinkish with a thin coat of white paint. Therefore, begin with a gray stain to achieve a distressed, whitewashed look. This will give the new wood an aged rustic chic look.

• Classic Grey Stain
• White Paint Color of your choice – I used Benjamin Moore White Dove
• Rags are used to apply stain and wipe excess paint.
• Paint Brush
• Protective Gloves

This technique works well with any new wood project, such as this Easy Made Farmhouse Table Riser.

How to Whitewash Wood?

Today, I’m sharing a sample board just like the one I shared with my painting contractor to demonstrate how the whitewashed ceiling should look. Fortunately, he was willing to duplicate this technique on the ceiling.

How To Make New Pine Wood Look Old – Sample Board

To make new pine wood look old, begin with the gray penetrating stain. Using a soft cloth, gently wash the stain over the entire surface of the wood, following the grain of the wood as you apply it.

Once dry, the gray stain will cause the wood to appear to be aged or old.

If you whitewash a new pine board without adding the stain, the wood has a pinkish or pickled appearance instead of gray.

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How To Whitewash Pine Wood?

Next, it’s time to add whitewash to your stained pine wood.

To achieve a distressed, whitewashed appearance, you must wipe the excess paint from your brush before applying it to your wood. This dry brush technique leaves a thin coat of paint over the surface.

Insider note: For this example, I used chalk paint instead of investing in the interior latex paint applied to my ceiling. For the record, the ceiling paint was White Dove by Benjamin Moore, the same color used on the shiplap walls.

Begin by applying a small amount of white paint to your brush. Then, remove excess paint from the brush using a rag cloth or paper towel. Next, lightly swipe the paintbrush over the surface of the wood without completely covering the wood and the stain.

Once again, follow the wood grain while applying the paint. You should see random areas of exposed stain, and the paint should appear to be worn and faded due to age.

Below is the sample board for whitewashing pine wood. You want to achieve this look.

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This is the same technique used for our Address Sign above the front doors. To learn more about using chalk paint, see the How to Use Chalk Paint Tutorial.

The Whitewash on the Wood Ceiling

Here is a good view of the whitewash-on-wood technique underneath the stairs.

To ensure that the paint colors work well together, we used the same White Dove paint as was used on the shiplap walls.

In addition, the DIY Island countertop was aged to look like old barn wood using a similar technique. Prints of the original painting Grace are available in my Shop.

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In addition to the kitchen ceiling, the vaulted ceiling in the living room and loft also received the kitchen ceiling idea and technique.

As you can see, the high ceilings are a focal point of the farmhouse. I was so thankful for a painter willing to attempt my crazy idea while standing on a 20-foot scaffold.

To see a tour of the loft area, check out – Best Modern Farmhouse Tips & Tour.

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Watch Video Tutorial

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Thank you so much for stopping by today. I look forward to sharing my next adventure with you.

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