Create the Restoration Hardware Look for Less
I have always been fond of the gorgeous home furnishings offered at Restoration Hardware. And by fond I mean I like to look but don’t touch, because if I happen to break something and have to pay for it I will have to get a second mortgage on my house or sell one of my kids to do so. So today I am going to show you how you can create the Restoration Hardware look on your furniture for less. (This blog uses affiliate links, and I am an Amazon affiliate. I earn a small commission on purchases made through my links.)
This dresser is one of those that found me. A friend called and was helping a friend of hers move and she had a couple of matching pieces and they were going to trash them because they were missing hardware but maybe I would like to see them first? And my friend wanted to bring them to my house to show me? Um, that was a no brainer! She arrived and they were two beautiful oak pieces. This simple dresser was otherwise headed for the trash because as you can see it was missing hardware…
And yes that is my awesome shadow… before shots don’t need to be too pretty, do they? Anyhow, it was gorgeous, with beautiful wood graining, but was very golden brown.
I am going to break this down into easy to follow steps for you, but this process really is quite simple.
Materials needed
You’ll need:
- 180-200 grit sandpaper
- General Finishes Winter White Glaze
- Paint brush (quality does not matter so much with this finish)
- Disposable cup filled with room temperature water
- Two clean rags
- Finishing wax
- Hardware (I used these)
Instructions
1. Remove any existing hardware and sand your piece. I used an orbital sander, but if you don’t have one you could certainly sand by hand. Give your piece a light sanding, just enough so that your new finish will adhere. Wipe off or shop vac off any dust.
This is what my piece looked like post-sanding…. as you can see the stain was still in tact, just very lightly sanded.
2. Working in very small sections at a time, use your paint brush to apply your glaze in the direction of the wood grain. You do not need to apply it all over the area you are working on. As you can see below, I applied just one brush stroke.
Working quickly, use a damp rag to wipe off the glaze you’ve applied in the direction of the grain as well. Your cup of water is to replenish your rag as needed. Once you wipe off, it will look like this…
Continue working like this until you’ve covered your entire piece.
Note: On the areas that have a larger surface area, dip your brush in water before dipping it into the glaze. Watering it down a bit will make it easier to work with.
3. Once you have finished the piece, use a clean rag to apply a finishing wax. I like to use General Finishes satin finishing wax, which rubs on very easily. Once your wax has dried (usually it only takes about 10 minutes or so) buff your piece with a clean portion of your wax rag.
That’s really all there is to creating this look! Of course, as you can see I went for a rustic glam look on this piece. A couple years ago I created a similar look on a taller dresser and it was one of my all time favorites. I love the look of pretty glass or crystal against worn washed wood.
I selected 3″ glass pulls to give this piece a touch of glam as well.
Because this piece is oak, the glaze settled beautifully into the wood grain crevices.
The top of this dresser had existing blemishes and I worked them into the finish as I felt they went along with the style.
This piece has been hanging out in my dining room since its photo shoot as Chris has been busy with work and hasn’t had time to help me move it. But I love how it looks with my gallery wall.
But soon it is headed over to Sweet Clover for our August sale! Hopefully it will take up residence in someone else’s home at that time! 🙂 Have a great Monday!