A Good Brown

I have been trying to come up with a way to paint a chair brown without it looking flat. I have a beautiful mahogany railing in my house that served as my inspiration. I actually had to make some pieces to complete the rail and I didn't have any mahogany so I used poplar and my milk paint to make a solid approximation. Here is a photo of the latest chair stretcher that I painted this way.



It is a three coat recipe. The first coat is mustard yellow, that's right yellow, bear with me. The next coat is 2 parts barn red and 1 part mustard. The third coat, mixed very thin is 4 parts federal blue, 1 part barn red, 2 parts mustard, and 3 parts black. It is importand to let the coats dry thoroughly. The last coat should be applied thin like a stain. If it looks too thin, just plan to apply a second coat. It may take some experimentation, but the payoff is worth it. I highly recommend making samples before jumping onto a chair, and if you change the recipe for the better, let me know!