DIY Gray Wash on Wood Technique

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Learn how to create a gray wash effect on raw wood with a simple paint mixture. It’s a quick 5 step process!

You may or may not remember the DIY planters I made a little while ago, but they were only halfway finished. And I’ll share a little secret – I only finished one of them to take the photo and halfway finished the other one until last week when I decided it was time to finally complete them. #reallifeconfessions

Cozy fall home tour with simple decor ideas for anyone on any budget! Hydrangea wreath, tall evergreen topiaries, fall-elujah doormat.

And I wanted to showcase them both in my fall home tour, so it was a good deadline for me to have to finish them. I’m a natural procrastinator, so a deadline helps me out a lot!

I’ve always wanted some greenery on my front stoop, so getting them in place was on my to-do list. But it took me a while to figure out how I wanted to finish them. Did I want to leave them natural and just put a protective coat on them? Or did I want to paint them or stain them? What color?

In the end I did a combination of both paint and stain to achieve a gray wash look. I love how it turned out, so I thought I’d share this super easy technique.

Gray washed wood technique on DIY wooden planters for the front door!

What You’ll Need for DIY Gray Wash Wood Technique

  • Dark stain (like Minwax’s Dark Walnut)
  • White paint (I used some Benjamin Moore Simply White latex paint I had leftover from the girls’ bathroom makeover)
  • Paint brush for paint (these are my favorite paint brushes)
  • Sponge brush or brush for stain
  • Lint-free rags (to wipe off paint)
  • Outdoor sealer (if your piece will be outdoors)
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How to Apply DIY Gray Wash Wood

Honestly this “technique” is so simple, it feels silly to make steps for it. But I know sometimes the most simple tutorials are the most helpful!

Step 1. Stain your wooden piece.

Dark stains work best since we’ll be covering them up with a paint mixture, so I chose Minwax’s Dark Walnut.

Step 2. Let the stain dry per the instructions on the can of stain.

Step 3. Make paint wash mixture.

Mix 50% white paint and 50% water together in a bowl or my favorite paint pail. Stir until completely combined. You can add more water depending on your paint coverage preference, but I found the 50% combination to be just right!

Super easy gray washed wood technique! - Stain, then paint with the paint/water mixture

Step 4. Brush the paint mixture over the stain.

Working this in small spots a little at a time.

Step 5. Wipe off paint mixture after about 30 seconds with a lint-free rag.

You don’t want the paint to sit on the stain too long or you won’t get the grayed effect you’re going for.

Super easy gray washed wood technique! - wipe off excess paint mixture after a few seconds

Step 6. Continue painting and wiping over the whole piece until it’s covered and looks gray washed!

Super easy gray washed wood technique!

You’ll now have a beautifully gray washed piece to enjoy! If you’re going to put your piece of furniture outside, like mine, you’ll want to seal it with an outdoor wood sealer, like this.

I ended up painting the X’s on my planters with the water/paint mixture, but I didn’t wipe it off. I had filled the nail holes on the X’s before I knew what finish I would be using. I thought I would just paint them, so it wouldn’t matter.

Gray washed wood technique on DIY wooden planters for the front door!

But when I wiped the white paint mixture off the X’s, the filled nail holes showed up too much. But I kind of like how the X’s now stand out more. Anyway, the rest of the planters have the “gray washed” effect … and I love how they turned out!

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12 Comments

  1. So Pretty! I love the x design on the planters and the two tone look, really nice! Funny story about faux greenery, I purchased some faux shrubs that look like boxwoods to put in planters by my front door. We just had some professional landscaping done around our porch (which included real boxwoods) and while visiting with the landscaper, I mentioned my fake shrubs on the porch, and he said he had seen them earlier and thought they were real ones we had found to add to the yard, lol! They definitely make some good quality fake greenery and flowers nowadays. He said he has used faux forsythia from Hobby Lobby for his booth at the Home and Garden show and had someone ask where he found forsythia blooms in winter!

  2. Love all your tips and ideas, with paint and different techniques. Also, the fall printables you sent out a few days ago are so cute. Thank you so much.

  3. The planters look great! I have a sofa frame in my classroom that is already a dark wood. Do you think I could just try to watered down paint technique, without staining it first? It definitely needs an update.
    Thanks!

    1. Hi Jenny! I’d try it out in an inconspicuous spot first and see how it does. It might not adhere very well if the stained wood is sealed. So, you might end up having to sand the sealer off first, but that sounds like a big job to me. I’d just try it in a little spot and go from there! Thanks for reading!! xo, Laura

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