5 Easy Ways to DIY Stoneware Decor
/How to Make Your Own Stoneware Decor
If you’ve seen any pictures in the last several years featuring interior design, I’m sure you’ve seen an aged-looking vase, bowl, lamp, or planter somewhere in the photo. You may have not even realized it because it fit in so well, but I bet it was there.
While these decor items (essentials, even?) are gorgeous, who wants to pay full price for them? Not me! Except that I already did when I came across this beaut from Studio McGee and this bowl from Hearth & Hand with Magnolia. And as much as I love them, I still can’t believe that cheap little old me paid full price, especially after I realized I could easily make my own!
Yep, that’s right. And I’m gonna show you just how to do it. In fact, in this tutorial, I’ll show you 5 different ways to create the stoneware look for less! Here we go…
Getting Started - what types of vases and bowls to look for
I was intrigued by this project because I wanted to add more earthy elements to my décor. I've noticed my aesthetic can lean towards the geometric side of things. To soften things up, I figured more natural-looking/feeling elements would suit. Of course, I didn't want to spend a ton buying loads of décor, so, I figured DIY was the way to go! And since I didn't know which method would have the best final product, I tried just about every method I could find and documented it for you lovely people. So off I went to gather my materials!
I started by heading to my local thrift store. There's always a ton of glassware at thrift stores. Until now, I've never given it a second thought. But MAN was there a lot to choose from! I ended up coming home with $30 worth of various shapes and sizes of vases and bowls. Big shoutout to the checkout girl who wrapped everything in newspaper for me!
The trick here is to look for items with interesting lines within the glass and/or an overall interesting silhouette. It's easy to get caught up in the ugly of some of these pieces, but if you squint a little and cock your head to the side, you just might be able to see their true potential.
Once I had my glassware, I took a look at it all together and broke them into groupings of how I thought they might work as sets. This helped me think through the materials I'd need to buy to try a bunch of different methods. Then off I was to the hardware store!
From here, I'll break down how I created each stoneware look.
One quick note: I didn't prime any of my pieces beforehand (bad, Erika). I'm not sure if it would have made a difference, but I would recommend doing so just in case.
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Latex (or Acrylic) Paint + Baking Soda
Materials
- Paint - I grabbed a couple of samples from the hardware store (Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze and Curling Willow in Valspar), but I've seen other tutorials where acrylic paint was used instead
- Baking Soda
- Paint Brush
- Container you don't mind ruining
- Stirring utensil you don't mind ruining
Process
This is just about as easy as it gets. Pour a little bit of your paint into a container and add baking soda. I wish I had measurements to give you, but honestly, it's kind of a guessing game. You kinda just add a little at a time, stir, and see how you like the consistency. Then keep adding more baking soda until you feel good about it.
Then paint it on! I tried a couple of different methods here.
On the tall vase, I chose to apply my paint horizontally to try to make it look like a real piece of spun pottery. Since the opening is so large, I also applied paint inside of the vase to the point that it narrows.
This is after two coats of paint
On the big bowl, I used a random pattern of paint strokes. Also, I plan on using this bowl for a planter, so I taped off the inside a couple of inches down. I wanted to make sure that the actual glass wasn't showing, thus ruining the illusion of a stoneware bowl. But I also didn't think it was necessary, or good for the plant, if I painted the entire inside of the bowl (which honestly would probably just come off over time anyway).
My 5-year-old got in on the action and painted the other bowl and the bubbly-looking vase. I actually love the texture she came up with by globbing the paint on. The bubbly vase didn't end up making it down the line (it just didn’t look right with this method), but the bowl is one of my favorite pieces!
Tips for this method:
You'll need to apply several coats of paint. Mine took 3 to completely cover the glass.
Give plenty of drying time between coats and don't overwork it. A couple of times I jumped the gun a little and started applying another coat too soon and reactivated the initial coat of paint.
Finishing Work
For these vases/bowls, I used a mixture of dry brushing and wiping the paint on with paper towels. I used matte white paint (just plain old ceiling paint) and the two paint samples I bought to get the look.
For the dry brushing technique, dip your brush in a little bit of paint and then brush some of it off a scrap piece of paper or cardboard. Then gently brush it on your vase or bowl, trying to blend the beginning and end of your brushstrokes.
I used a mixture of dry and damp paper towels to help smear the paint and help create a layered look.
To create more layers, you can even do one method and let it dry and come back with the other method. You can do this as many times as you like to create more depth! Just experiment. If you don’t like the look of it, you can always paint over it!
Somehow I forgot to take pictures of the finished larger bowl! I’ll have to add some later - it’s lovely!
Spray Paint
I had a blast experimenting with different methods and types of spray paint on some of my vases. The next 3 methods are all various ways you can use spray paint for this project.
Textured Spray Paint
Textured spray paint was a really easy method to get the stoneware look without any brush strokes.
For these vases, I used Krylon Textured Finish in Textured Sandstone. I really love the color, but I will warn you that the textured spray paint runs out a lot faster than regular spray paint. It took two cans to fully cover these three vases. It's also imperative that you shake the bajeesus out of the paint before you start to get good coverage and avoid drips! (lesson learned)
Somehow I can’t find a link to the spray paint above online, but there are other options that could also result in some beautiful vases, like this Krylon Coarse Stone Texture Spray Paint or this Krylon Fine Stone Texture Spray Paint, neither of which I saw at the hardware store.
For each of the spray-painted vases, I made sure to spray the visible inside area of the vase too as I worked my way around.
I considered going back and dry brushing some paint on these vases too, but decided to just live with them as-is for a little bit.
Matte Spray Paint
I came across another tutorial where the blogger used matte spray paint, so I figured I'd give it a whirl too. I grabbed a can of Krylon in Mink.
These vases turned out okay, though they’re not my favorite look. It could be the style of vase I chose or maybe I just don’t like the finished product itself. Plus, I’m not sure what caused it (likely user error), but I ended up with little bubbles in some areas. But that’s why we experiment, right!?
It might also be fun to try out some other natural, flat colors like Misty Gray, Anvil Gray, or Slate to see how they turn out.
Glossy/Textured Spray Paint Combo
I stumbled upon this image of these pretty vases on Pinterest and really liked the look.
But being from West Elm, I figured they would be pricey. So I did what I do and tried my hand at making them - and I think they turned out to be pretty convincing!
Once that dried (I gave it a couple of days), I used painter’s tape and GENTLY wrapped the tape around the vases at an angle, being sure to avoid making any creases where the tape meets the vase. This isn’t as hard as it sounds, but you do want to try to get it right on the first try to avoid having to pull it off and restick, therefore increasing your chance of peeling some of your paint off (ask me how I know!). You can practice on your vases before painting on the base coat.
Then, I wrapped any area I didn’t want painted with my second color with Press’n Seal, which left a little bit of a sticky residue. Saran wrap would probably work just fine.
Once everything was protected, I applied a couple of layers of my textured spray paint - Rust-oleum Multicolor Textured.
Shortly after the final layer of paint was applied (maybe 30 minutes), I unwrapped everything. I was nervous if I let it sit for too long that I’d have trouble pulling the tape off. In a couple of tiny areas it pulled the white paint off with it, but if I display the vases strategically, no one will know the difference!
Joint Compound
Materials
Process
After I tried all the other methods, I wanted to see what something with a ton of texture looked like. To achieve this look, I used a terra-cotta pot and joint compound. I chose a terra-cotta pot because I figured the joint compound would adhere to that texture better than glass. And I specifically chose a pot without a rim around the top (like most terra-cotta pots have) to help camouflage it a little more.
Really all you need to do here is slap globs of joint compound on and smooth it around to your liking. I flipped my pot upside down and put one of my hands inside the pot as I turned it and applied joint compound. Since I applied some slightly around the bottom edge of the pot, I propped it up on a bowl to dry.
As with the large bowl in the first method, I applied the joint compound a couple of inches down on the inside of the pot. Now that it’s filled with a plant, you can’t even tell that this isn't the natural texture of the pot.
Finishing Work
Once the joint compound is dry (I recommend at least 24 hours) you can start painting!
I was less gentle with painting this pot than I was with the first method I tried. I first painted the whole pot a mid-tone base color. Once that was dry, I went back with damp paper towels and wiped on white paint, followed by darker tones. I went back and forth with this method until I felt like I achieved the look I was going for.
Final Thoughts
I had a blast experimenting with all these methods and hope this post helps you figure out which method will create the end result you’re looking for. I’d love to see your finished products created by using one of the methods above so send them my way! But if you love the look but don’t want to do the work, here are a few pretty stoneware vases you can buy:
