Welcome to The Nest Eclectic

The Nest Eclectic

Friday, March 25, 2011

Pottery Barn Look Alike Tutorial

I fell in love with this Pottery Barn horse when I saw it at Nydia's blog, Evolution of Home. You should take a visit to her blog if you haven't been there and see her knock off version and instructions. She does some great projects. Thanks to her inspiration I tried making one of my own.

Pottery Barn's horse wall art


Here is my version and this is how I did it.
I found some inexpensive lightweight plank paneling at Lowe's. It fits together kind of like wood flooring but is very light.


 I  used 9 boards and cut them 25 inches long, so my background ended up being 22.5 inches wide and 25 inches tall. I then fit the boards together.


I cut 2 1x2 boards and used Liquid Nails to glue on the back across the planks about 2 inches from each side securing the boards together. Be safe, use your protective gear!



 I added some weight to make sure the boards had good contact, and waited until the next day to move on to the next step.


Now to the fun part! I used Minwax Pre-Stain wood conditioner first, it helps soft wood absorb stain more uniformly.


Then I applied Minwax stain in English Chestnut. Be sure to allow recommended dry time before beginning the next step.


I had drawn a horse and taken it to Kinko's where they enlarged it for me. I think horses are one of the most difficult animals to draw and get the proportions right. The drawing I took to Kinko's was cut in several places where I decided I needed adjustment, and all taped together. The lady looked at me like I was kind of kooky. I transferred my pattern to contact paper which I then secured to my stained board.


Make sure the contact paper is securely pressed down to avoid paint seeping under. 
Brush from the top of the contact paper out toward the edges to reduce the chances
of seeping.


I used some latex enamel paint I had on hand and lightly brushed over the entire piece. It is better to do several thin coats with dry time in between. You can  leave as much wood grain showing as you like. After it dried I sanded the edges and did some distressing. A coat of paste wax and that's it!


   Here he is, my version.

Have a great weekend
Jodie

I am joining in on these parties
Show and Tell Friday at Cindy's My Romantic Home
Fridays Unfoldedat Stuff and Nonsense
Flaunt it Fridays at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Inspiration Friday At the Picket Fence
Newbie Party at Debbie Doo's Blogging and Blabbing
<br><br><br><b>Join us every Friday...</b>link up every friday!Chic on a Shoestring DecoratingDebbiedoo's blogging and blabbing

24 comments:

  1. I'm in LOVE with this piece!! I really think I may try to duplicate it using a large initial or something like that. Love it as a mantel piece, too. I need a new one!! Fabulous job!! Thanks so much for sharing. I'm your newest follower and found you through Chic on a Shoestring.

    {{HUGS}},
    Kristi

    ReplyDelete
  2. Also....may I ask how much the paneling cost? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a great idea to keep the horse stained instead of painting it brown. I didn't even realize the 2 pictures were of different signs until I read your post. Amazing job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You did an amazing job! I also thought the 2nd pic was just a different view of the 1st one. Perfect replication. Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. this is beautiful! you did a wonderful job interpreting this artwork in your own way...i am so glad you linked it to fridays unfolded.

    blessings,

    alison
    stuff and nonsense

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is great! Yours looks better than the PB original! Way to go! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm off to read more of yours! Following back!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh wow Jodie! That looks absolutely fabulous and I am super impressed. :-) Thanks so much for sharing this at Inspiration Friday this week!
    Vanessa

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's amazing Jodie! Following you and going no to see more of your blog!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Honestly, yours came out even better than the PB one. I have been a follower for a while. Hope you will stop by and follow me back.

    ReplyDelete
  10. hiya , i'm maggie and i am visiting from debbies newbie party and i am your newest follower x i just love your knockoff version of this piece and to be honest i would pick your one for its originality x tfs and hope to see you at mine sometime
    xmaggiex

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like your version even better! Great job. I love your blog - found you at the Newbie party.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You rock girl! I really love this project. Way better than PB, and a fraction of the cost. KUDOS! Thanks for joining my newbie party.

    ReplyDelete
  13. that looks AMAZING!!!!
    Im your newest follower!!!
    Tana

    ReplyDelete
  14. So fantastic - love what you came up with here! love pb, but love when you can take an idea and make it your own! xoxo, tracie

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Jodie, thank you so much for popping by and visiting my blog, I'm so pleased I now get to discover yours too! As a horse lover this project is right up my street, the finished result looks fabulous!

    Jem xXx

    P.S - Scout is making me doggy broody! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Super job!! This project could be interpreted in so many ways!! Thanks for the inspiration!!

    Saw you over at Debbie Doos!!

    Hugs ~~ Suz

    www.inspiringcreativeness.blogspot

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is so great, Jodie! LOVE it!
    I think I need one of these at my house. :)

    I just gave you a little Stylish Blogger Award over on my blog last evening.
    You can collect it and share it whenever!
    xx
    Alison

    ReplyDelete
  18. I had to come back to this post!! So glad I was able to find you again (and I pinned it this time so I won't lose it)! Seriously thinking about trying it out. You need to link this up to the knock-off party at the 733 blog. It would be PERFECT!
    {HUGS},
    kristi

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi, what a wonderful blog this is! Thank´s for sharing great ideas like this one. Must post a link to this tutorial from my own (swedish) blog hellandglory.blogspot.com right away. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. I made my version this weekend but with reclaimed wood and a more realistic horse outline stencil. Here is my version. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/gbrown/image.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  21. I had trouble with the paint leaking under the contact paper. I pressed it firmly down with a credit card, but it still leaked under. I ended up repainting the horse without the contact paper. Did anyone else have this problem? If so, how did you fix it?

    ReplyDelete
  22. I am sorry to hear you had trouble with the paint getting under the contact paper. I didn't experience that problem. I did use a small amount of paint on the brush at a time since I wanted the grain of the wood to show through. Maybe try brushing from the top of the contact paper out towards the edges, I think that would decrease the chance of it seeping under.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting. I would love to hear from you.