After I got done sanding the boards I tested the stain on a scrap piece of board and realized that it was a little bit too dark for the look I was going for. I ended up mixing 50/50 stain and water.
This really made a big difference and the color was exactly what I was looking for. I used a brush and brushed on the stain to all of the boards.
I let the stain dry over night. The next day, I used some of my favorite Annie Sloan, Pure White Chalk Paint to add a white wash.
To make the white wash I added about 1-2 Tablespoon of paint to 1 cup of water. It really doesn’t take that much paint. I brushed each board with the white wash and then I took a paper towel and wiped off some. The more paint you leave on the more white washed it looks.
glue.
Other barn wood projects:
Barn Wood Jewelry Holder
Barn Wood Coat Rack and Shelf
Hawthorne & Main is all about finding your style for your space! It should be a reflection of you! 
That's amazing….thanks so much for sharing! Real barn wood can sometimes be tricky to find AND have a down side, like rot, bugs, etc…this is fantastic!
Thanks Heather!! I have recently tried the real deal and it can be tricky.
This is fabulous! I love the wood look and it looks perfect on your mantel!
Thanks Breanna!! I really like how it turned out too!
HI Shonee,
Your mantle looks so fresh and fun.. Great job! Thank you for sharing your technique for barn wood. It looks very authentic.
Blessings,
Tamara
Thanks a bunch Tamara!! I am really loving this new/old wood!! 🙂
Thank you so much for this post. I've had two frames that I wanted to use as headboards for my boys and didn't want to use thick wood. I think this will be perfect!
This will work great!! This wood is seriously very light, and cheap!!
Hi Shonee.
What kind of wood did you use ? And was it old organisatie New wood?
Greats from holland
ERIC
she probably used poplar. At least that’s what it looks like.
I am not sure what type of wood it is. I got it at home depot. I just looked at their website and the only benderboard that even list is made out of redwood. I am not sure what wood mine is made out of, sorry.
Hey Eric! It is called bender board. I got mine at my local home depot. It is typically used in landscaping. The reason why I liked this wood is because it is light and very thin. Good luck!
Hi Shonee, I love this! I am attempting this on my (currently) hideous dresser using Minewax Slate stain and Minwax Whitewash Pickling stain – no Annie Sloan for this girl 🙁 I’m having some trouble achieving what I’ve envisioned, and I see now that I need to water down the Slate stain, but my question is this: is the Minwax whitewash pickling stain TOO watery to achieve this or is there something that I’m doing wrong? My boyfriend said – and I quote- “it just looks like you painted over gray with a light white.” This is my first time attempting anything like this and I have taken just about every measure possible to make this work, but I’m just not getting the whitewash look you have here. Help me pleaseeee!! 🙂
Amanda we will get this figured out for you! A few questions. Is your dresser real wood? If it is I would give it a quick sand to get ride of some of the stain… unless you are ok with the current color. I mention that because I used a mixture of 50/50 stain and water because I felt like it was a little bit too dark. Then what I would do is go to home depot and pick out a flat white paint sample. They are very inexpensive. Make sure it is FLAT. Take that home and mix a couple tablespoons of the paint in about 1/2-1 cup water, give or take. Then stir it up real good to mix it. To apply the whitewash I just used a paper towel and dipped it into the white paint and water mixture. Then I generously coated the wood. I let it sit for just a minute before I took a dry paper towel to gently wipe it off some of the paint. If you wipe too hard all the white will come off. If I wanted more white washed look them I reapplied the paint. I am not familiar with the whitewash pickling stain so I cannot speak about that. I am just telling you what I would do if I didn’t have any chalk paint. I hope my ramblings make sense!! Please let me know if you have any more questions!
Can you tell me if I could do this on vinyl kitchen cabinets and how would I proceed? They are a dark brown now. I would love to have old barn look and have not been able to find the vinyl to re-do them.
thank you
Hey Tina, great question. This product is technically a wood stain. But, since it is water based it is also like a paint. Since I have never tried this on vinyl cabinets before, I don’t know the right answer, but let me tell you what I would do. Find a spot on your cabinets that is inconspicuous and won’t be seen, maybe by the fridge or stove. Do a trial spot at see if it will take. I might also recommend doing a coat of primer first. Again, I have not done this and I have no idea how it will work out on the vinyl. Proceed with caution, haha. I would love to know if you do give it a try and how it works out. Good luck!
Love it! Now I’m going to have to go look for bender board!
Yes! I love this piece, it is still on my wall.