How to make a faux pottery vase

This easy diy will show you, step by step, how to make any vase, lamp or vessel look like rustic pottery.

When we first moved into our home I was on the lookout for beautiful items to furnish our home. At the thrift store I came across a large lamp. It was brown and boring so I decided to give it a makeover. I used a very similar technique to this faux pottery diy and it has since been one of my favorite methods to makeover glass and ceramic vases, lamps or planters (and if you have a lampshade that needs a makeover, check out my gathered lampshade tutorial).

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

This diy checks all the boxes: simple, quick and cute. It also complements a variety of aesthetics including minimalist, earthy, eclectic, cottage, modern, and boho (really, I think you could make this look good with any style).

Below is an example of a planter that I used this exact method on. It is made of terracotta and normally I wouldn’t have painted it, but someone else already had and it needed a makeover. I’m really pleased with the way this one turned out! It makes me happy each time I look at it.

Clay planter with a vine inside on a blue stool next to a chair and chalkboard

Let’s get started!

Materials and Tools Needed

Vase, lamp, planter or whatever vessel you’d like to transform into faux pottery

Acrylic Paint in a stone color of your preference – I prefer chalk craft paint for an extra matte look, but any paint will do

Baking Soda

Wide Paintbrush (mine is 3/4 inch and works great for a variety of projects – it’s similar to the one in this set)

Paper plate for mixing paint

Food scale (totally optional, but may be helpful)

Glass vase on table next to paintbrush, craft paint and baking soda

Instructions

Prep and Apply Base Coat

First, make sure the vessel is clean and dry. Next, apply a base coat of the paint and let dry. Don’t forget to cover the top rim as well.

Create Faux Clay Mixture

The size of the vessel will determine how much “clay” mixture you will need. The ratios below were enough to cover the vase I have pictured which is 6 inches tall.

Place paper plate (or whatever container you want to mix the paint in/on) onto the scale and zero it. Add 25 grams of paint (if you don’t have a scale, you can eye this – it’s about 2 tablespoons of paint).

Next, add 2 Tablespoons of baking soda and mix thoroughly with the paint. I just used my paintbrush to mix it. It will be quite thick. The final result should be similar to a creamy, thick peanut butter. You can always add a little extra paint if needed. You can see in the photo below that when scooped up, the clay mixture holds its shape fairly well.

Hand mixing paint and baking soda with a paintbrush

Paint Vessel

Using a wide craft paint brush, apply clay mixture to the vessel. I chose to do a side to side brush stroke, but you can play around with different methods (circles, top to bottom, etc) depending on what look you’re going for. You could also play around with the type of paintbrush you use as well.

Some spots may need a second coat – that’s completely fine (the rim is usually one of those tricky spots). Cover your paint mixture tightly and let the first coat dry. Once dried, you can either apply a full second coat or just patch spots as needed.