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