How to create a faux reclaimed wood look on a solid painted wood table top using just a circular saw and paint.


But, it was looking very vanilla along with the beige sofas and beige carpet in our living room. I lurv me some neutrals, but even THAT neutral I can’t deal with. She needed some personality. And I wanted a reclaimed planked wood top, but nailing wood planks on top would have made the toy storage capability completely useless.
And I couldn’t strip the trunk down to bare wood because it is made of veneered MDF.
Thanks to my good ol’ buddy Pinterest, I stumbled upon two wonderful tutorials that set me on the path the achieve the look I wanted without having to buy a single piece of wood.
Here are the two I used:
DIY Faux Planked Desk by Maison de Pax

Then chalk lined where I wanted to make my cuts.


Using a circular saw set at 1/8 of an inch deep, my super sweet hubby cut the lines on the top and sides. (One of these days I’m hoping he’ll trust me with power tools, but for now since he still takes on my odd carpentry jobs without complaints, I’ll take it.)

To give the cut lines more definition and to make them look more aged, I worked Annie Sloan Dark Wax into the grooves and wiped away the excess.


To provide a nice base for the grain, I painted on a base coat. After the base was dry, I used a mixture of glaze and a slightly darker paint to brush a light coat on top, leaving some of the base coat showing.




Once the darker paint glaze is dry, brush on a light glaze randomly on top of the grain.

The gel stain has almost a pudding-like texture, so it’s really easy to work with and doesn’t drip easily. I just swiped it on one plank at a time, wiped it up with a rag, and that was it.

Can you tell the difference? It’s subtle but richer.

Make sure to stain the sides too. (See that sneaky peek of the trunk color? I’m super excited about it, but you’ll see that later.)

There ya go. A faux reclaimed wood table top. There were a lot of steps, I’ll admit, but the end result was well worth it.






The tabletop turned out beautiful. It really looks like old wood. I found you at Project Inspired and love your sweet blog! Have a great week!
Deborah
Thanks, Deborah! Hope you have a great week too. 🙂
lauren that is gorgeous love it and wish we had the storage,we have 2 toddlers ages 1 and 2 yikes xx
Thanks! It is a LIFESAVER for the toddler chaos in our house. Yikes indeed.
Wonderful! I Love it and you did a fantastic job!
Thank you!
This is a great tutorial! It really does look like reclaimed wood. Pinned!! -Amy
Thanks for the pin! So glad it helped!
Wow! I never would have guessed that this wasn’t real reclaimed wood. It goes so perfectly with the color of the coffee table. You do a phenomenal job transforming furniture.
Thanks so much, Jamie!
Amazing job – you’d never believe that wasn’t perfectly reclaimed wood !!!
Thanks for sharing
xxx
Thanks, Suzan! I’m so happy with how it turned out.
Wow! I’m so impressed by this technique and how great your table looks. Great tutorial!
Thank you, Laurel!
There was no problem with the MDF after being cut? It looks incredible!
Nope. Nothing wrong with it. It’s still very sturdy. My toddler even climbs on top of it. 🙂
What! no way! this is amazing! I could totally do this on some furniture in my house. Never would have thought of it.
Rebekah @ Charming Imperfections
So sneaky, right? Haha I’ve been looking for pieces to try it on again.
Hello Frndz…
Great Information! Nice post,it is really very helpful for me.One of the few articles I’ve read today.I’m saying thanks
Reclaimed Wood
Lauren, your toy chest came out beautiful! I love the changes you made and am pinning this for future ideas! Thanks for the link 😉 xxxooo
Thanks for your inspiring tutorial to get me started, Brittany! And sorry about the delayed pingback. This is my new site that just got setup today, so it’s all wacky at the moment. 🙂 Appreciate you taking the time to leave me some love!
What if you don’t have a hubby to do things. Would be nice for a tutorial on hubby stuff.
Then, you rev up that power tool and tackle that job like a lady boss. 😉
Great job! Question regarding coverage of materials. Looking to do something similar on our dining room table top. How much paint do you think I’ll need? Will the sample jars be enough? The table is 42″ wide by 8′ (42″x60″ with 2, 18″ leaves).
Thanks!
Hi Mark. I really like Fusion Mineral Paint the best, and usually 1 500mL jar does the trick.
I love it! Great job. But what do you do if you don’t own a circle saw? ?
Hi, Alma! Great question. When cutting wood, any saw will work. The circular saw is just a little faster and can cut through multiple types of material. You should be able to use the type of saw you are already familiar with in woodworking.
Love this look! Do you think I could do this same technique on ceiling beams? We have real wood beams that were painted white by the previous owner and I think sanding them would be wayyy too much trouble but I want them to look like wood again! Would I be crazy to try this on 14 beams? 🙈
Hi, Gina! Instead of trying it on all 14 beams, I suggest testing a small hidden spot to see if it is going to work and test the actual process. If you love the color and outcome of the tested spot then complete the entire project. Let me know how it all turns out.
Exactly what I was looking for! My coffee table has suffered a few too many knives attacks and is ready for a little bit of refurbishing. It’s a plain table top but I wanted a “planks” look. I just need to find one of these circular saws!No way I’m letting the fun of using it to the hubby though ^^.