Create A French Vintage Inspired Garden Urn Patina on any urn or pot using this easy DIY paint technique!
Hello friends! I am really excited about my latest diy! I can finally check off ” rusty, chippy, French Vintage garden urn” from my junkin’ and thrifting wish list! Well, sort of. I didn’t find a genuine antique urn, but I did create the look of one using a store bought urn and an easy paint technique. *This post contains affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure policy for details.
French Vintage Garden Urn Inspiration
I have literally been obsessed with these types of vintage and antique urns, but I have never found any on any of my junkin’ adventures, so when I spotted a similar urn at Hobby Lobby this past spring I immediately snatched it up!
I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to various types of antique garden urns, and have dreamily pinned away many similar rusty, crusty, chippy vintage urns with handles. Even though mine is reproduction, I was so happy to finally find this style. (
I would love for you to check out my “Glorious Urns” board and follow me there for all kinds of home inspo. Warning: If you love antique urns you might hyperventilate!
Here is the urn I purchased at Hobby Lobby this past spring. It was pretty as it was, but I knew I could make it look more like a vintage french garden urn. I spent about $25 dollars on the urn and some cheap craft paint. That was a little high for me to spend on something like this, but I have looked for years for this style of French vintage garden urn and couldn’t pass it up.
These 19th Century French painted garden urns found on Chairish were my inspiration. Authentic urns of this style can range from $2000-$7000 dollars! I think I’ll just be satisfied with my $25 repro!
How to Create a Faux Vintage-Rusty Iron Patina on just about anything!
The process of creating a chippy, rusty look is rather simple. For this project, I just mixed up some folk art terra cotta acrylic paint and a little bit of raw sienna acrylic paint to create a base coat (about 3 parts to 1.)It only took about half of a styrofoam cup for this project.
*The secret ingredient in my mixture is about two tablespoons of baking soda to create chippy-rusty texture!
Up close you can see how the baking soda gives some texture. Also notice that I did not paint the pot thoroughly. I wanted to let some of the black come through as well, since some really old urns have a bit of a black rusty patina.
Not all of the vintage urns have a black in the aged patin of course. In my case it worked because my pot was already black. If you prefer this look and you are starting with a white pot, you might want to dry brush a little bit of grayish-black paint in random areas of the pot so that it will also show through when distressed.
I loved the factory distressed faux rust, so I decided to try to paint around them and try to let those areas show through.
I painted all over the pot with a craft sponge brush. I left the factory faux rust areas exposed as much as I could. Don’t worry if your pot doesn’t have rust or faux rust. The end result will be similar after distressing.
I let the terracotta paint dry for about a half an hour (acrylic paint dries fast outside on a 98 degree sunny summer day!) Then I dry brushed the whole urn with a white chalk paint with a little extra baking soda using a sponge brush.
FolkArt Home Decor Chalk Furniture & Craft Acrylic Paint 32 ounce, Cottage White
I was careful not to completely coat the urn so the orange and black areas would show through.
Here is how it looked after white washing. It would have been fine like this, but I felt like the cottage white chalk paint I used was still a little too white for my decor, with more off -white and cream tones. The stark white on the rust also made the urn look a little pinkish in some lighting too.
To make the urn look even more rustic and make it work better in my home, I decided to just swipe over the urn with some very watered down dark brown antiquing craft wax using a paper towel. After it dried I used sand paper and just scuffed all around the edges and middle of the urn using a horizontal motion. I totally forgot to photograph these last two steps, but here you can see the end result up close. By the way, I recently shared a post about this vignette and more treasures in my Mid- Summer Junkin’ Finds Round Up post.
FolkArt Home Décor acrylic paint, 2oz, Antique Wax 2 Fl Oz
Styling Up My “New” French Vintage Urn
I found this orchids arrangement at a local consignment shop just a couple of weeks ago and knew it would be perfect in the urn.
The thrifted orchids post just fit right down into the urn. I filled the negative space with plastic shopping bags, then hot glued craft moss around the top. Then I took apart a faux fern until I had the individual stems and just stuck the metal pick ends of each stem down in the moss into the plastic bags all around the urn. Lastly I “mulched” with a few faux lemons to tie in with my summer dining room.
I have to say I think I accomplished the look of an authentic vintage French garden urn!
I was struggling to find the right centerpiece for the “cubby” area in my dining room built-ins, but I think the urn is the perfect decorative accessory. I can change out the urn seasonally. I am already seeing a stack of pumpkins and a tiny tree at Christmas! What do you think?
I hope this post has inspired you to try out this easy paint technique on any item that you want to give an old world, French or European, chippy-rusty patina I also found a couple of French vintage-looking chippy urns on Amazon if you aren’t feeling crafty!
Rusty Look & Antiqued Charm Urn
Chippy Urn Planter Cream Metal French Country Shabby Chic Garden Cottage 4″
Real Touch Faux Phalaenopsis Orchid Flowers in Pot
Let me know if you have ever tried a similar technique or plan to try this out!I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Amber
2 Comments
Looks great Amber! I too, have an affinity for old cast iron urns as well and yes, they are super pricey. You created great vintage vibes. Thanks off sharing your process. XO- MaryJo
August 1, 2024 at 4:28 pm*for not off. lol
August 1, 2024 at 4:30 pm