Techniques

How to: Create an Ombre Paint Effect

Learn how to create an ombre effect with Chalk Paint™

Ombre effects aren’t just for fashion and beauty, you can achieve stunning colour blending on furniture and walls, too. Ombre – the subtle transition from one colour into another – might look a little daunting at first, but if you follow these simple steps, you’ll see just how straightforward and satisfying it can be. We suggest starting with a smaller project first – why not paint chair legs or how about coffee table legs? Once you’re feeling more confident, you can graduate to larger furniture or even walls!

When you’re trying to create an ombre effect with paint, the first step is to choose your colours. You’ll want one pale colour and one dark colour. Experiment first by blending Chalk Paint™ colour combinations on your Annie Sloan MixMat. Will you choose a sunset palette of dusky oranges and pinks or mermaid tones of blues and greens?

Step by step guide to smooth colour blending for an ombre paint effect

  1. Start with the darkest colour at the base of your furniture, for example the feet of your table or chair legs.
  2. Mix a little of your second colour into your first colour to lighten the latter.
  3. Apply the paler colour above your first colour, using a clean brush to feather the paint while it’s still wet. This light feathering will blend each colour into the next.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you reach your palest colour at the top of the piece of furniture.
  5. Seal in your paint with Clear Chalk Paint™ Wax.
  6. At this stage, you can also darken the colour at the bottom of your piece of furniture using Dark or Black Chalk Paint™ Wax. This is also the stage when you can distress your piece of furniture, if you want to, using sanding paper, before re-applying Clear Wax.

Ombre coffee table painted with Chalk Paint® furniture paint by Annie Sloan in Provence and Florence

Creating an ombre effect with paint is a great way to create a contemporary look on furniture and walls. The secret is in finding the colour combination that suits your style – but the good news is you can have so much fun experimenting with mixing different Chalk Paint™ colours. Speak to your local Annie Sloan Stockist for advice on colour mixing and colour combinations that work. You can also find a great guide to ombre in Annie Sloan Paints Everything published by CICO Books 2016 (photography by Christopher Drake © CICO Books).

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