~ Rust Love .... Faux Real

Rust hasn't always been embraced for its beauty. But you might love rusty old things. Rust is just such a beautiful thing, except when it appears some place where it's truly not wanted. You might have had your own adventures with navel jelly and sanding and painting to get a perfect finish on a metal piece or two. I have as well. But in the last few years, I've fallen more and more in love with the simple yet complex beauty of rust.

After

The wrought iron table in the entry was last painted black, and it was a lovely verdigris green previous to that. I'm trying to remember back 20 years or so wondering if it was white when I first found it. It was a garden piece way back then. But as I was searching for an iron table that wasn't way too expensive for the entry, I realized it was perfect for the entry area. And it's been there ever since.

This time I painted it an aged white, and did a little distressing (sanding) and faux rust with paint. I was not looking for a very distressed, totally chipping look. I painted it from my stash of white paints and not the chalk paint at first, but did touch it up with the "old white" Sloan chalk paint after painting the plant stand with that one.

After

The "plant stand" was really, really rusty. Quite a bit too much for bringing indoors. It has been outside acquiring its patina for a very long time, probably about 10 years. What got me started with using it in a more rusty state was another iron table that is on the front deck. It was in such bad shape of totally peeling, chipping and rusting, that it was set aside to go in the garbage when we could figure out how to get it there. Then suddenly, you know how those things hit you, I realized it could be saved for its next incarnation. That table was slightly dry brushed with white paint with its purpose to be very, very old looking. It worked! And it led to this planter coming in the house and having a new life of its own.

This time I wanted it to look older and more aged. So when I dry brushed the chalk paint on it, it was with a light hand so that the rust would show in the spots I wanted. In order to keep it from becoming too white, it was a little slower process. Just so you can stand back, take a look and then decide if you want more white or less rust or if you might be done.

To create the faux rust look, you will notice that rust has many layers of colors and it is not really just one color. It ranges from a very dark, almost black, brown to shades of burnt sienna. So all you really need is a dark brown, and the burnt sienna with a beige or light brown to make a few different colors.

For the planter I used the chalk paint (old white) because it had the exact look of old paint that I want. You can of course use any white paint of your choosing.

See Y'All Soon~
Donna