Antiqued Gold Frame Made Easy

Old frames are hard to pass up. Odds are, I will never turn down a pile of vintage wood frames. It’s one of those things that you can always use for something. Though sometimes (often, really) they are pretty beat up/bent out of shape and they don’t necessarily fit the look I’m trying to achieve. The same goes for new frames! I’ll check out the clearance frame section for cheap ornate pieces but they are usually in a color or material that isn’t really my style. What’s a hopped-up-on-caffeine-and-sleep-deprived mama to do?? What if I told you that you could nab that beautifully classic antiqued gold look no matter the frame? You can, indeed! Follow along for my antiqued gold frame made easy and be AMAZED (or, pleased, at the very least).

Antiqued Gold Frame Made Easy: Choosing Your Frame

Round, square, rectangle, wood, plastic, metal — it matters not! With a little elbow grease and the right materials, you can transform any frame into a perfectly aged piece of vintage-lookalike treasure. For this tutorial, I used an ornate wood frame that I found in the clearance section at a local craft shop.

My goal was to create a gallery wall with several large frames that I had on hand. But I wanted to intermix my simple wood frames with a couple ornate frames. Hunting down large, vintage ornate frames can be super spendy (heck, frames in general can be spendy!) and I wasn’t looking to invest much for this project. I loved the details in this wood frame and new it would be fun to paint, buff, and distress.

Choose a Metallic Spray Paint as a Base

The frame I found was already painted white — so I knew I would need to give it a base coat of metallic paint as a foundation. I prefer using a spray paint for projects like this because it’s quick, dries fast, and can reach into all those fine little nooks and crannies. Those ornate details can be difficult to paint by hand. I don’t have a preferred spray paint brand but do use Krylon quite a lot – choose a spray paint that is meant to bond to everything (wood, plastic, metal, etc.) for best results.

Boop-she-boop! One coat did the trick for this fab lady. It could take a couple coats for a frame in natural wood or painted a different color — but a white base was easy to cover in a single coat. I let this frame sit overnight but it would have been ready for the next step after about an hour of dry time.

Antiqued Gold Frame Made Easy: Buff It, Buff It Real Good!

I like to use a few different products together to achieve the aged look that I love. I start with a thin layer of Rub n Buff wax in Antique Gold applied with a fine tipped paint brush to reach into those small spaces. This adds some variation in the color which is something I think is important when you’re trying to mimic actual vintage wear and tear. I rub in in with a cloth (or one of Derek’s old socks – the ones with the holes that he refuses to throw away EVEN though he has plenty of in-tact socks — he does this with underwear too *sigh*) to add a little more sheen.

Throw It Back A Few Years…

After rubbin’ and buffin’ until my hand begins to cramp, I add two varieties of dark antiquing wax. This is what really adds age to the piece. Start by using a creme wax. Using a liquid wax provides a nice initial cover and fills in the subtle details easily. Again, I use Derek’s old sock to apply the creme wax, let it sit for 10-15 minutes, then wipe off any excess. Next, I use a solid wax in the areas that I want to accentuate and add contrast. Depending on how “old” you want your piece to look, keep alternating the two waxes until you achieve that perfect vintage vibe.

I posted this gallery wall up on Instagram and immediately had a lot of questions – “where can I find gorgeous old frames like that?!” It’s always a delight to tell folks that you can create this look on your own without spending big bucks…though I will warn you that your hand will probably cramp. So. Tread carefully.

Mom Jeans and Old World Charm

Jude often asks me why I try to make “stuff look old.” I bought a few pairs of new jeans after Molly was born (that fifth kid really inflated my mama rump and I’m embracing it). They were the distressed kind — you know, holes in the knees with the frayed edges because I’m a “cool” mom. Jude was perplexed – “why would you buy new jeans with holes, mom” (because. I’m. A. Cool. Mom. Son.)? It seems so odd, I’m sure. I wonder what people would think, a few generations back, if they could see the effort we put into “making stuff look old.” To me, it’s about bringing back a feeling of old world charm and reviving an appreciation of a timeworn look. I’m not so sure the same can be said about mom jeans, though.

Whether you embrace the frayed jeans trend or love a good piece of vintage treasure, admiring the weathered look is just the cool thing to do. As my dear friend Justin Timberlake would say, we’re bringing sexy back. I hope you give this a try and when you do, let me know! Until then, peace, love, & light.