How to blend just a couple colors of paint is a question I get often. It looks like a simple task, but sometimes when you try it for yourself you get stuck. I’m telling you from experience that every painter has been there! If you could only see some of my first pieces!

I’m going to show you the most recent set I blended. I did 2 live videos with a couple different ways of blending on this piece. I will provide links here for you. I’m also going to run you through a quick list of tips that will inspire you to put your phone down and go get a brush in your hand!

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any more from ordering from these links but I earn a small commission so I can continue to bring you more fun projects! They also allow me to show you exactly what I use so you know what I’m referring to!

Material List:

• Chalk Mineral Paint one dark color and one light color
• Synthetic Mini Brush
• Large Flat Round Brush
• Spray Mister

Now if you’ve been here for a hot minute you know I’m going to say it’s important to start out with a good prep job. If you’ve never prepped furniture before, you can learn how to do it here.

The first step to achieving a nice blend is to start out with the right type of paint. My choice paint for blending is Dixie Belle Paint. It is a chalk mineral paint that is self leveling which makes it easy to get a goreoges smooth finish. When you blend, you’ll want to choose contrasting colors. One light and another color that is a few shades darker than your other color. For this project I choose In the Navy and Manatee Gray.

I start with applying a base coat of my darker color. Cover the entire piece. Let it dry. 

The first way I’m going totally about is a more traditional way. I use basic brushes such as my DB Mini synthetic. I start by adding the darker color around the edges. Then I use a different brush to apply the lighter color. After this its kind of all how I feel the paint is looking. I usually use the lighter colored brush to spread out the paint on the piece. I want to keep the edges dark. For this set, I actually took all the drawers out and blended them off the piece. Then I made sure I had a solid color on the shell of the piece. You can see the video on how to blend like this here.

Here are some helpful notables for blending paint together:

• Keep your brush clean and don’t have too much paint on it. I use old T-shirts my kids have grown out of to wipe my paint on. Then I toss it when I’m done. 
• Water is your BFF! I use this spray mister every-time I paint. It keeps your paint just wet enough to work. 
• If it doesn’t look right, do it again! Sometimes it takes more than one try. In fact if it’s your first time blending it likely will.
• Your first application won’t look great. It’s all about getting the colors placed corecctly and deciding how much light you want in the middle. Your second- however many applications it takes you is where the magic happens!
• Use as many brushes as you need to get that perfect blend! This still from my live video cracks me up. I want to caption it “I got 99 brushes, and I’m using every one of them.” 

The second way I like to blend is with a flat round brush. I find this way to be a bit easier. I use this natural hair brush from Prima. I apply the paint in relitively the same fashion as I did the first type of blending, but this time I rub my flat round brush over it to get the color to blend together. It’s super easy! You can see how to do it here.

These are the final results! If you’re just starting out, don’t give up! It takes time and practice. I’m not shy to say that when I began I would reblend a piece 7 times or more to get it right. Also, don’t go for absolute perfection. This is a hand painted piece. Give yourself some grace and let yourself learn. Let go and have some fun!