Easy Ballard Designs Hack – How to Make Metal Furniture Look Aged
Hello, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Mine was spent poolside, with friends and family, and lots of delicious BBQ. I also managed to squeeze in a little project over the three-day weekend (I love having an extra day off from work) and I’m going to share this easy Ballard Desings hack with you and how I gave this metal side table an aged metal look.
This hack was sooooo easy, even though I initially tried to make it more complicated than necessary! I had picked up this little Threshold end table at Target a few months ago after eyeing it on the shelf for awhile.
It reminded me of this table from Ballard Designs, which I have pinned to my “My Family Room” inspiration board on Pinterest. Not quite as detailed, but still very similar!
I loved the stamped metal top and the industrial look of my Target find, but I didn’t care so much for the brassy-gold color.
When the table went on clearance for $24, I knew that, with a small investment of time and a few dollars in paint, it would work as a stand- in until I could finish saving my pennies for the Ballard table. So I bought it, brought it home, and put it in my den/office (where it sat collecting dust) while I researched how to “age metal” on the interwebs. I found all kinds of paint kits that promised me the look I was after. My local home improvement store even sold kits that came with several different products that you use in combination to give your item an aged look. This project was starting to get complicated. On closer inspection of the Ballard table, it looked like the base color was silver with black paint dry brushed on top, then sanded off on the detailed areas, revealing the silver color underneath. Um, I could do that for a lot less money than buying one of those kits.
I decided to leave the base coat gold, then I took some regular ol’ black acrylic craft paint and dry brushed it right on top. Once that dried, I took some fine grit sandpaper and sanded the black paint off around the detailed areas, then I sanded a few random spots, to give the finish a more cohesive look.
Don’t worry if you accidentally take off too much paint, just go back over those areas using your black paint and dry brushing technique until you get the desired look.
When I was satisfied with the amount of distressing, I wiped my table down using a barely damp rag, then I sprayed the whole table with a matte finish clear coat (Valspar) for durability. And that, my friends, is all there is to it. Wasn’t that the easiest aging technique ever?
I love how this table turned out! In fact, it looks so good next to my sofa, I may not want that beautiful Ballard table, after all!
What do you think of my easy Ballard hack? Have you used a similar technique on metal furniture? I’d love to hear about your experience!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
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I love the new color- looks great!
Thank you Stephanie!
I love this. Ballard Designs has so many nice things. You end product looks like it would fit right in.
I agree, Patti – I could just move right into one of my Ballard catalogs and be perfectly happy! Thank you so much for visiting!
thanks for this post. great idea. I’ve been thinking this might work on the silver feet of my Toledo Stools from Restoration Hardware, but was afraid to start something that might not work out. you’ve inspired me to try.
It certainly couldn’t hurt (too much!) to try… I would love to see how it turns out.
Thanks for stopping by!
I adore this table, I love how it turned out. Also the light on it is gorgeous too! Thank you so much for sharing at the Friday Favorites link party!
Thank you, Emily! It was such a fun and easy project!
Amy this is an awesome transformation – the table looks terrific! I will be featuring your post in this week’s Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy
Thank you, Kathy! I’m honored to be featured!
Looks great.
Sherry
Thank you!
I love it, what a great little table and I love the makeover too. Super cute. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me.
I like yours much better than the one from Ballard!
I am tempted to try it too…
Thank you, Viv! It certainly couldn’t hurt to try! I’d love to see pics, if you do…
I just wanted to say that, I too, like your table better than the original! I wouldn’t even think about replacing it with the more expensive one!!! Great job!!
Thank you, Tess, that is so sweet of you! So happy you came to visit!
Wow, it’s amazing the difference the color made in that table. You nailed it Amy!
Thanks so much, Staci! Anything to save a buck…