HOW TO MIX OMBRE PAINT

I love seeing creatively painted furniture and an ombre effect is no exception!  Especially when it is a color that I love, being able to see the shades is very eye-catching.

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When I came across these chairs I knew that I would attempt an ombre paint effect on them.  Now, this was quite simple since I was creating the effect on four different chairs, rather than on one piece.  A good place to start, don’t you think?

The chairs they were in OK shape when I found them. As you can tell there is a bit of water damage on a couple of seats.  Also, they were a weird pink-ish color.

I cleaned them up with some vinegar and water and then I started painting.

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The paint I chose was Stormy Seas by Dixie Belle. I have used it before and I absolutely love the gray-ish blue color! I also used Cotton as the color to lighten things up.

How To Mix Ombre Paint

Since I had used the color before, the container was about half empty. You do need room to mix your paint, so if your paint container is full, pour some out and store for later.

Mixing your paint for an ombre effect is something that you will need to play around with. I ended up having to paint a couple of chairs twice since the color variation was not enough for me. Part of this had to do with the lighting in my living room not being bright enough to really be able to see well. Lesson learned!

I found that when I started with approximately one cup of colored paint, it worked very well to add one-half cup of white (cotton) and mix well.  That ratio created a good variation that was easy to see.  Depending on what you want your finished project to look like you might want to add a little more.

Something that I will do next time is to brush the paint colors on a small piece of wood prior to painting on my actual piece.  This will help me to tell if the mixed color is light enough to really be noticeable.  This will save the hassle of needing to paint an entire chair because the color is not light enough!

I will let you in on a little secret:  I am unable to sell this set of chairs because I applied the clear coat in my living room (remember the bad lighting???) and ended up with a lot of drips.  So they will be used in my backyard as flower pot holders and extra seating!

Clearly, I learned a big lesson on working in bright lighting!

Not bad, if you ask me!

Happy DIYing, friends!

Check out all the other great projects from my Furniture Flipping friends!

1. Repainting Furniture with the Best Furniture Paint that Will Save You Time by Just the Woods
2. How to Bring Old Furniture Back to a Natural Wood Finish by Refresh Living
3. Farmhouse Dresser with Old Fashioned Milk Paint by Lovely Etc.
4. How to Mix Ombre Paint by A Fresh Squeezed Life

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