DIY Vinage Nautical Wall Art

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on the boys’ bedroom makeover, if you missed it click here. I promised I’d share how I made the DIY Vintage Nautical Wall Art today. You won’t believe how easy this tutorial is!!!!

Back in the winter Luke and I met up with Amy Chalmers (Maison Decor) and her husband for brunch and some antiquing. We went to her son’s shop, Pioneer Goods, which since has closed, so sad because his shop was amazing. I bought the vintage nautical pennants on that trip knowing that I wanted to somehow incorporate them it he boys’ bedroom makeover.

I just didn’t realize that it was going to be hard to find frames the right size. Until I found these at HomeGoods:

They were the right dimensions and everything, BUT the color wasn’t really what I wanted. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE distressed white but I wanted a more vintage look for the kids’ room. Soooo this is how to get that vintage look!

DIY Vintage Nautical Wall Art

Materials

• Saltwash
• Two Contrasting Paint Colors (I used General Finishes)
• Paint Brush
• Sandpaper
• Frame or Shadow Box
• Nautical Pennants

Saltwash is a great paint additive that contains sea salt and can instantly give any piece of furniture or frame a coastal look when added to paint. I knew when I saw these frames at HomeGoods that I could make them look old. Saltwash can be used on any paintable surface too! I’m excited to try some new surfaces this fall (stay tuned for that)!

Step 1 – Prepare surface. I scuff sanded these frames because they weren’t real wood and I wanted to give the surface some “tooth” so the paint and saltwash could stick. Clean surface off with cloth.

Step 2  – Mix together Saltwash with desired paint. I used Driftwood Milk Paint by General Finishes and I LOVE this color. It is the color of driftwood and is perfect on furniture or under paint to give the look of a coastal wood. When mixing Saltwash you want to have the consistency of thick frosting. You can see the consistency below. Oh, also tape off the glass. I used Frogtape as that’s what I had in the basement.

Step 3 – Apply Saltwash / paint mixture. To apply you want to stab it on with the end of the brush which will create stiff peeks. Before the paint dries go back over with the edge of the brush to knock down any high peeks. This layer will create the texture. Allow to dry.

Step 4 – Apply second color (top coat color) this will be the color that is most apparent. I used General Finishes Black  Pepper. This is a lovely historic looking black. Allow to dry.

Step 5  – Once dry use medium grit sandpaper on the surface and sand back to create texture and a coastal finish. I did this very lightly because I didn’t want to go all the way back to the super white surface. If you’re working on a piece of furniture you may want to use a palm sander.

Step 6 – Since these are frames I didn’t apply a top coat. I even left some of the sanding dust on there as I liked the effect 😉

Step 7 – Take your nautical pennants, vintage look more authentic if you can find some, and align them in the center of your shadow box. Pin in place.

Step 8 – Hang on the wall and admire your work!

Here you can see the texture a bit better. It was hard to capture it on the wall with the glare on the frames. This is when we were hanging them up!

Conor actually helped me paint these and he loved doing it!

You can see how great they look hanging in their room:

They make such a cool statement over the union flag dresser!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also enjoy my eBook which I released at the beginning of the summer! It is full of great tutorials and step by step advice.

Click here to learn more & get your own book!

If you enjoyed this project with Saltwash you might like some others I’ve done:

A Coastal Trunk

Coastal Tray

Abstract Art

Will you try this at home? Let me know if you do!

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