Faking a rich mahogany look with Chalk Paint® and Wax

I’ve seen a lot of projects around recently where the surface on a piece of furniture remains natural, and is contrasted by legs, or a bottom section, painted in colour. It’s a popular look and gives a classic yet contemporary flair. Often the natural wood is treated with a stain, to age it a little, add patina – or even change the type of wood altogether, from orange pine to rich mahogany! I couldn’t wait to try and achieve this using my paint, Chalk Paint® and my Dark Soft Wax. This is how I did it.

For this project, a beaten up old kitchen cabinet, I wanted a really deep, rich coloured wood to set off the coolness of the Old White I used to paint the rest of the piece.

To achieve a similar look, take these simple steps:

1. Have a good look at your surface – if there is any wax or varnish, roughly sand it off. You’re using paint to stain here, so it’s important that the colour pigments seep into the grain of the wood.

2. I’ve mixed up a purple colour by using Aubusson Blue with Burgundy (but you could also use Primer Red) to get a rather sumptuous aubergine colour. 

3. Brush the paint on, fairly liberally.

4. Use a wet cloth to wipe back the paint, revealing the grain.

5. Run a dry cloth over it to make sure there is no dampness left before applying the wax.

6. Using a small Annie Sloan Wax Brush, apply a generous amount of Dark Wax, working the brush in different directions as you go, to really make sure it is absorbed into the wood. You may want to do a second coat, but don’t forget to wait until the first coat has dried. Once dry, you can buff it to create a beautiful sheen

7. Paint the bottom section with Chalk Paint®.




If you love this look, I've also just created a video tutorial for you showing you each step in detail. You can watch this here or on my YouTube channel.

The beauty of creating this look yourself is that you can create any colour you like – whatever works best for you! Here are some examples of other colours from the Chalk Paint® palette finished with my Dark Wax to create different effects – I’m rather taken with Greek Blue, which will you choose?

Yours, Annie