I really like the rustic look. It is so much fun to create on projects around my house. The technique used to create this rustic-looking frame has the additional benefit of being very forgiving. The perfect DIY project for a beginner.
After I made the bamboo accent wall in my bathroom, I found the bronze frames on my picture and mirror were too dark to do the room justice. I really wanted to change them and make them lighter.
Originally, the frames had been gold but I painted them bronze to work better for my, at that time, yellow bathroom. Any dark color will do as the second color but I really like a shiny metallic for the base color since it shows through better with the layering. I then chose a soft sage as the top color to add to it. Flat paint tends to work better for this technique. Paint all your desired colors on thinly and allow each layer to dry between coats.
A frame that has a lot of decoration will be better for this next step. At this point, you will want to lightly sand the whole frame.
The edges and raised decorations should have some additional layers removed until gold shows through. Be sure you don’t pull off all the paint, just in these raised areas. This gives it a kind of weathered look.
If your frame doesn’t have as much decoration you could pull more layers off varied areas around the surface. The key to a rustic look is not to make it too perfect.
That is all there is to it. It is a super-easy way to change the feel of your frames and conversely the feel of your room.
