The Easiest Way to get a Restoration Hardware Finish

This tutorial will show you how easy it is to get that Restoration Hardware, raw wood finish using just paint and wax!

Do you love the soft, raw look of the wood furniture at Restoration Hardware? It's so quintessentially farmhouse. I'm a sucker for the look, but not the price tag! But I found a super easy way to replicate that look and all it takes is paint and wax! Keep reading for the easy tutorial.

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Welcome to the July edition of Thrifty Style Team! We are a group of thrifty loving DIY and home decor bloggers who come together once a month to share our ideas with you! We know you'll be inspired. You'll find links to all the posts at the end of my tutorial.

Vintage Wood

I recently found a vintage wood vase at the thrift store for $1.99. I brought it home, planning to sand the shiny orange finish down to the raw wood. However, sanding did not produce the results I was hopeful for. You can see the original vase as well as how it looked after an initial sanding below.

Weird grain and differing wood tones led me to try another way to get that natural wood finish that I was longing for.

How to get that Restoration Hardware finish using paint

When we gave our bedroom an update a few years ago, I painted our oak dressers using the same method that I'll be sharing today. The weathered wood look I gave our dressers was so much better than the orangey oak, but it still wasn't quite what I wanted. I found the secret to achieving that gorgeous gray wash look that RH is known for and it is SO easy!

You might also want to check out how I gave a bleached wood look to dollar store chargers as it's very similar. You can watch the video here.

First I painted my wood vase with 2 light coats of this chalk paint. This color is super popular and sells out fast, but you might find it at Home Depot or the craft store. I like using chalk paint because it dries so quickly, and the dried finish is matte.

You can see that my coats were light, allowing some of the grain to show through. For your finish to look like authentic raw wood, you don't want a heavy coat of paint.

The true magic happens in the next step, rubbing on dark wax directly to the painted finish. Now, if you're cautious about doing this because you can't correct mistakes or you're afraid you'll get it too dark, read on for my best tips.

What if I'm too afraid to use dark wax directly on a painted surface?

Apply a light coat of white or clear wax first, in small sections. While it's still wet, rub on the dark wax. The clear coat will allow you to easily manipulate the strength of the dark wax, removing it in areas that look too dark.
Another suggestion is to use mineral spirits on areas that appear too dark. Rubbing on a little mineral spirits will effectively erase the wax.

A few years ago I splurged and purchased Annie Sloan dark paste wax. I love how soft and creamy it is; a little goes a long way! But I've also read good things about this less expensive wax, and I've used this budget brand of dark wax for years. I have a pile of old t-shirts that I rip into rags to use specifically for wax.

close up after applying dark furniture paste wax

The dark wax gets into any grooves, scratches and the grain itself to give such a beautiful, soft finish. I always apply the wax in small sections, working it well into the painted piece in the direction of the grain. It's so fast and easy, this whole project took me less than 30 minutes! There is no need to add a protective top coat as the wax IS the top coat! It will feel slightly damp to the touch until it cures, which takes just a couple weeks.

I especially love how I was able to perfectly match the wood candlesticks I already own, with this easy paint technique.

vintage chippy door with Restoration Hardware vase and candlesticks

A couple things to note about this paint technique:

Your finished product will depend largely on the color of paint you use as a base. You can compare this wood vase to the painted dressers I did and see the difference. I much prefer this lighter finish... darn, now I'm wanting to redo our dressers! I'm excited to try this with white chalk paint to see what finish I can achieve!
The finished look will also depend on how much dark wax you use. If you apply it with a heavy hand, or do several coats, the finish will be darker
You aren't limited to wood! Believe it or not, you can achieve a faux raw wood finish on other surfaces as well. Here's a sneak peek at a silver tray that I just finished using the exact same products.

I am so happy with this easy painted finish and now want to repaint everything in my home so it looks like I got everything from Restoration Hardware, HA! Obviously that's not very realistic, but I love the possibilities! Any piece of furniture you find that isn't the finish you like, can be transformed with this super easy technique!