Modern French Floral Print Goes from Damaged to Vintage

Modern decor with a twist! 

Today I'm sharing how I updated a modern-day print to give it a vintage look.

Before

This floral print is affixed to a composite wood frame. The border on the edges is a printed faux wood frame. It's a charming print, but if you look closer you'll see that it is scratched and torn. It cost me a whopping $3 .

Before

But I don't always let a bit of damage deter me. It's important to view the potential in a project.

Here's another look at the damage near the top. The border is scratched and there are gouge marks below it.

Using 220 grit sandpaper I gently rubbed over the entire print to soften and fade the print.

I brushed away the sanding debris and now the printed areas have a worn look.

To further blend in the scratched and torn areas, I first used a slightly damp wash cloth to remove the remaining sanding dust. While the area still had some moisture to it (not wet, just a touch of moisture) I used a sanding sponge that had left over sanding dust from a previous project (probably black and grey). I rubbed the sponge gently over the print and the dust clung to the rough areas.

For the printed border, I painted it in Old Ochre and then added some spots of Coco.

I sanded the border to give it a distressed look. I sealed the entire project with a light coat of clear wax.

And here's a close up of the after.