Want a quick (we’re talkin’ lightning quick) project that can take an item from dated to high-end? For this speedy project, you will need only a few things:

Paint color of your choice. I used some leftover Farrow & Ball (color matched using Behr paint) Pigeon

White paint

Baking soda

Paintbrush

An old vase 

That’s it! Maybe I am super late to this “concrete” game but I have been staring this vase in the eyes for months now. Every time I drive in and out of my garage I hear its lonely cries as it watches us carry on with our lives without giving it a second thought. I saw a similar tutorial using a specific product that you mix with paint to get that gritty look and thought, “nah….we can do better than that!” Well, maybe not better, but we can certainly MATCH that effect with an everyday product, such as B A K I N G  S O D A! 

I was doing a science experiment with my kids using baking soda….or was it an art project??? Hm….we may never know. But kids and learning were involved either way. I added baking soda to what I was mixing over the stove and started noticing how gritty and cement-y it was making our stuff. I tucked that little morsel in the back of my mind…until the other day! The neglected (and free) vase finally caught my attention! I am gathering goods for staging a surface in our master bedroom makeover (check out Phase 1 here) and kept thinking I wanted to tie in a very specific color in one area of the room….but it couldn’t be the color in bold true form or it would be too match-y for my taste. The concrete vases/planters I’ve seen lately have caught my eye with a certain sophistication and that is what we are trying to create in our room so, like a scene from Dr. Strange (or maybe Sherlock Holmes?) all of my abstract thoughts connected and a beautiful *and simple* plan was created!

Start by thoroughly cleaning your vase! make sure it is completely dry. While the vase finishing drying up, grab your paint and pour an amount close to what you think you will be using into a little bowl or paint pale. I wish I could write something like, “use exactly 5 TBSP of paint and 3 tsp baking soda,” but the truth is, I totally eyeballed it. So, since I don’t have exact measurements for you but love the way mine turned out I will recommend what I did, not to mention every project will be different so my quantities might not work for you! I poured the amount of paint I thought I would be using. I didn’t want to do too little because if I had to remake the mixture, I could be in trouble if the textures didn’t match! From there, I started adding baking soda. I poured in about a 1/4 ratio of the baking soda and started mixing. I got a nice greek yogurt-ish consistency but could easily see the grit so I knew I had arrived at my intended (or should I say “cemented” mwah-ha-ha!) destination. 

I played around with different paint strokes but quickly realized I just needed to get the vase covered. As it began to dry, I could then manipulate the mixture a little better to create that concrete look. I let it dry for about 30 minutes then added a few touch up spots where the paint looked a little thin. I didn’t do a full second coat because I didn’t want to risk heavy layers that would peel! Look at that beautiful texture! It’s definitely the raw look I was hoping for! 

Things still didn’t seem quite complete. I needed to add some dimension to the coloring. I found some old white paint from a past project and mixed it in with my Pigeon color. I love my children for many, many reasons but one of them is having their paint/art supplies at my command. I grabbed a paintbrush with fairly stiff bristles and dabbed the new paint mixture ever-so-lightly around the vase. This needs to be spontaneous and sporadic dabbing. Throw all uniformity from your mind or it won’t look real…obviously. 

What do ya think? Can you believe this is the same vase?! I’m pretty pleased with the turn out! Can’t wait to stage this baby in our upcoming projects but for now, it will beautifully house these hygrangeas!

Follow us on Instagram @homewithq for more ideas and fun little snippets of our processes! We are cranking out projects right and left so check back again soon!