Do you love the look of vintage artisan style vases, but hate the price tag? Don’t get me wrong, Pottery Barn has an amazing selection of old world style vases. But, I wanted to make my own vintage vase for less!
Check out how I turned this $25 white vase into a faux terracotta, high-end dupe!
This post is all about making your own DIY terracotta pots and vintage vases.
Setting up to create your vintage vase
This is a quick and easy project. The supply list is short so you can grab what you need and get started!
What you’ll need:
For this project, I used this boring white vase that I got from Target for $25. BUT, you can use any vase that you like the shape of!
If you want a shorter, wider shaped vase, this is another option, also from Target. Additionally, old vases from the thrift store can work well for this project.
Now, if your vase has a glossy finish, I would suggest quickly roughing it up with a little bit of sandpaper before you do anything else. That way, your new paint will adhere well to the surface of the vase.
Additionally, if you’re working with a vase that is a very different color than what you want the end product to be, you might want to spray paint a coat of primer on it before you begin painting.
For example, if you've got a bright blue vase and you're trying to make it look like terracotta earthenware, I would recommend a coat of primer first. This will prevent the original blue color from showing through.
The vase that I used had a textured white matte finish so it was ready for paint as it was. No sanding or priming necessary!
So let’s get started!
I wanted this vase to have a terracotta look so I chose a color that was a lovely resemblance to real terracotta and then I also used a lighter shade that was more of a mustard color.
Variation in hues is going to be your friend for the most realistic vintage vase look.
Try to use at least three different colors when deciding on your color pallet for this project. I probably wouldn't use more than five.
For this particular vase, I wanted some of the white base color to show through so I decided to count that as one color. That combined with my two acrylic paint colors meant that I was going to be working with a total of three colors.
However, in hindsight, I think that the vase would have looked even older and more authentically vintage if I had painted the entire vase a cream color that had a little more yellow in it instead of keeping the crisp white.
Once you have your colors picked out and your vase prepped with sanding and/or priming (if applicable) this project is a breeze!
Get painting
I started with the lighter color first. Squirt a little dollop of paint on to a paper plate (or whatever craft surface you like). Take your sponge and dip it into the paint.
But hold on before you take it over to your vase!
Dap off the sponge on a clean area of the plate. You want the sponge to help create a textured look and if it’s too saturated with paint, it won’t do that.
Once you’ve dapped your sponge, start blotting it onto the vase. Do not rub it! Blotting only!
WORK WITH WET PAINT
I didn’t wait for the first coat of paint to dry before I moved on to my second color. I think that when all the paint is wet, and you start applying other colors, there is an element of the paint colors blending together that makes it look much more authentic.
So once you're happy with your first color, move onto the second! I even used the same sponge.
Squirt a little bit of your new color out onto the plate. Dip your sponge in and dap off the excess before applying to your vase.
Continue this process for as many colors as you have chosen to work with.
And you're finished! Let it dry before putting it into use, but you now have a beautiful artisan style vintage vase at fraction of the price!
More ideas for this project
I did not personally utilize these techniques, but I think that they could work well and I will definitely be trying them on future projects! These ideas might interest you.
Baking soda
Adding baking soda to your acrylic paint will give the paint a more textured look. Some people use certain ratios of baking soda to paint, but I honestly think it's all personal preference.
Keep adding baking soda to your paint until you're happy with the texture and then you're ready to grab your sponge and start applying.
Chalk Paint
Chalk paint has slightly more of a matte finish than acrylic paint. If you don't have acrylic paint on hand, chalk paint will work too!
I'd love to hear about your own vintage vase makeovers! What are some of your favorite techniques to use for DIY old world vases?
Check out some of these other DIY projects: