DIY: How to Get the Weathered Wood Look on New Wood

I'm excited to share this post today. About a week ago, we delivered a custom farmhouse table that Jeff handcrafted from an old door. The new owners, Stephan and Samantha, stopped by our shop back in February and just happened to be looking for a dining room table. Jeff talked with them at-length during their first visit and we were so happy when they emailed us soon after saying they wanted a table.

Picking the perfect door was easy...the hardest part was getting the color just right. We knew generally the finish they were looking for: the weathered Restoration Hardware look. I'm loving this look right now. Here's the inspiration:

To start off, we mocked up 6 different examples for S&S to choose from. We used a variety of techniques on a cast-off piece of their door. From milk paint stain to white wax to just orange wax.

Once they picked the finish, we then had to replicate it on the rest of the wood that was used on their table (Douglas Fir and Pine). Getting it all to match wasn't easy! We tested and/or used 6 different stains before we found the right mix. Here's what we did: 

Custom Farmhouse Table

For the door, we used Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Curio as a stain (we mixed the milk paint and water at a 3:1 ratio). It gave us the look we needed on the door, but didn't have the same effect on the newer wood. (you can see below what we were going for and what the trim around the table looked like).

For the base of the table, I needed a stain to knock down the yellow tone of the wood. Rust-Oleum makes some great weathered stains and we settled on the Weathered Gray (they also have a Driftwood that we tested out).

Next up, I put on a coat of Minwax's Provincial.

As you can see below, it was a pretty good match. However, it had just a very light purple tinge.

I went over all of it again with a coat of Minwax's Special Walnut and that did it...a nearly perfect match!

Here's a grainy iPhone shot before the glass was on:

And, here it is delivered!

It looks gorgeous in their new home and I can't wait to see the chairs S&S pair with it! (My photos don't do it justice!)