Some of the most popular decor styles out there right now involve highlighting worn items. I have to admit, I’m a fan. My personal style is a combination of rustic, repurposed and cozy farmhouse with a touch of modern. I love the lived in, cottage look that is so “in”. What is arguably the most popular element to all these styles? Barnwood. Anything labeled “barnwood” or “pallet” seems to be a hit these days, but authentic barnwood comes with a pretty price!
Imagine my excitement when I found “painted barnwood effect” paint finishes at Joanns last week! It comes as a set of two bottles, one is the “barnwood tint” and the other is “barnwood wax”. It’s a very simple two-step process and it turns brand new wood into something aged and beautiful!
The project options are endless here, but I needed to focus and find something to try this on. I have a couple of canvas prints that look so bare on my walls, and I had originally planned on framing them. Luckily, during that same trip to Joanns I found these pallet pieces.
Bingo. I decided to attach the pallets together and treat them with the barnwood finish to make a “frame” for one of my too-small-for-the-wall canvases.
What you need
- wood (this is what I used)
- paint brush
- Plaid painted barnwood effect
- rag
- popsicle stick
- 2 sawtooth picture hangers
- small nails or tacks
- hammer
- two 1/4 in thick 2in wide poplar boards
Aging the wood
- paint the wood with the “Barnwood tint”
- wipe away excess with clean rag
- let dry for 4 hours
- paint the tinted wood with the “barnwood wax”
- wipe away excess with clean rag
- scrape surface of wood with popsicle stick to give a weathered effect
- let dry overnight
Attaching the pallets
- space pallet boards evenly
- place poplar sticks on back and nail in place. I nailed 2 1/2in nails per board and two on each end to make it very secure.
- attach your sawtooth picture hangers to the back of the pallet using the same 1/2in nails
- center canvas and hang on pallet just as if you were hanging it on a wall
That’s it, and it only took me one evening to paint and wax the boards and less than 30 minutes the next morning to attach the pallets and hang on the wall. I’m really happy with the way the mounted canvas fills out the wall!
