Funky Flowers and a Rainbow of Saltwash Texture

I love to decoupage furniture with pretty paper napkins!

Decoupaging is a fun way to add colorful design details to my furniture makeovers.

This Funky Flower Dresser and Mirror was a lot of fun to create. Here’s how I did it.

• The white is Fluff from [affiliate link]  Dixie Belle Paint, the no-VOC chalk-mineral paint we sell at our store All Things New Again in Leesburg, VA
• The crazy hot pink and orange flowers are paper napkins I decoupaged onto the drawers. Read my tips for decoupaging napkins onto furniture here. [UPDATE: We now carry pretty decoupage papers in our online store. They are not as fragile as paper napkins and come in a variety of designs.]
• The colorful texture is Saltwash.

Wait. What texture?

This awesome texture I added to the top!

Saltwash is a powder made from real sea salt you add to the base coat of paint to create wonderful texture.

My tutorial on how to mix and apply Saltwash is posted here.

I did something a little bit different on this piece. I usually add Saltwash to one color for the base coat, then add a second color on top and sand it.

The flower power napkins on this dresser were rocking so many pretty colors, I couldn’t decide which one to use for the base coat.

So I used all of them.

Saltwash is mixed into paint in a 1:1 ratio. I usually recommend starting with a 1/4 cup of paint because that is about the same size as the scoop that comes in the large tin of Saltwash. For this project I did not need that much of each color so I just used plastic spoons to measure instead. I added two spoonfuls of Saltwash to two spoonfuls of paint for all four colors (in separate containers) and stirred until it was the consistency of cake frosting. It worked out perfectly.

I started with the yellow, pouncing it onto the top of the dresser, in random patches.

Then I overlapped a little pink.

I created a patchwork quilt of paint across the entire top of the dresser using all four colors. Here’s what it looked like when I was finished.

After all of those crazy colors dried, I painted white over everything.

Then I sanded to reveal the rainbow of colors underneath.

I’m really happy with how it turned out!

Here’s the Funky Flower Dresser again.

Saltwash is famous for that timeworn beachy look, but it is a versatile product that can be used with many decorating styles from farmhouse to funky. You just need to experiment a little—and that is always part of the fun.

<3 Courtney

We’re linking this post up with Friday’s Furniture Fix #64!

Check out some of the best furniture makeovers on the Internet!

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Learn How to Paint Furniture! (It’s easy and fun.)

Painted furniture is a popular look right now and is an easy and inexpensive way to update your home. You can do it … we will teach you how! We host a monthly Learn How to Paint Furniture class at All Things New Again in Leesburg, Virginia. You practice several techniques (including how to create texture with Saltwash) and go home with mad skills to start painting everything in sight!  Click here for class details.