Color washing - this is how you do it:

Sometimes it can be appropriate to just lighten the yellowed wood surface, in the furniture or on the wall. This technique leaves the grain of the wood visible and only a little paint is used! You can implement this technique with any color, but white or light shades of cream and sand are most commonly used. What would a color wash made with black look like?! Try and test first.

Color washing gets its name from when the furniture or surface is 'washed' with a diluted paint/water mixture and the excess is wiped away.

Color washing is suitable, for example, for furniture, panel walls, log surfaces and ceilings.

Let's get started

First, protect the floor from under the furniture. The thinned paint in this technique is runny and splashes can occur. Prepare lint-free rags for wiping, a paint mixing bowl and a stirring stick or whisk and protect the floor surface under the furniture.

Thin the paint in a separate container quite a bit. The milky texture is good. Brush/wash the surface of the furniture with the mixture and wipe off the excess mixture that has not been absorbed into the surface of the furniture. Start with 50% water and 50% paint. Brush the thinned paint onto the surface with a brush.

Repeat to achieve desired finish and tone. Each repetition increases the amount of shade and smoothes the end result, and you can also influence the absorption of the color by extending the time between brushing and wiping. Allow each layer to absorb for 15-30 minutes before wiping and the next layer.

This technique is best for a clean or sanded wooden surface, where the diluted paint mixture can be absorbed into the wooden surface of the furniture. The surface often becomes alive with this technique, because the paint mixture is absorbed into the wood in different ways and to different depths, depending on the density of the wood grain.

Remember, however, that an old, dark wooden surface cannot be made pure white without careful sanding of the surface.

With this technique, the wood grain remains beautifully visible.

Try these light shades:

• off-white Creme de la Creme , from the Lazy Range series
• pure white Whiter than White , from the wall paint series for lightening large wall and panel surfaces
• sand-toned Salt of The Earth , from the Lazy Range series

There are no rules in this technique either - you can apply it creatively with the colors and furniture you want - the end result is a wonderful effect surface.

Tip: If you want to lighten, for example, a sanded kitchen table top that is hard-wearing in everyday life, it is preferable to do it with the 'White Wash' color washing technique rather than with white wax. You can add white wax on top of the color wash at the end.

You don't thin the paint in the paint container! Thinned paint does not last long.