How to add a glazed finish to painted furniture...

So have you ever painted something and wished it was a slightly different hue, or would like to give it an extra antique finish?  After I painted my bench I felt like the tan wall behind it made it look a little more country blue, rather than my desired turquoise blue. 

So I already had a quart of paint that was about 2-3 shade darker and decided to use it for a glaze on top.  I use a 1 to 1 ratio when glazing furniture.  This means I add equal amounts of glaze and paint.  You really don't need very much, just like a glob :) of each.  I then add enough water to give it a thinner consistency.  The thinner it is the easier it is to wipe off, but you don't want it so thinner that it starts to drip when you are applying it.  I had some of the BEHR faux glaze on hand, so that's what I used.  Home Depot sells this for fairly cheap and one quart goes a long way.

So then I took a brush and would work on sections.  I only apply what I know I can wipe off before it dries.

I took a smooth wet, ringed out rag, and would rub immediatly after I would apply.  You are rubbing the glaze into the wood and trying to take off most of it, but leaving hints of it on the wood.  When I work with small spaces like the slats of wood I would go with the grain.  But when I did the big space like below I would rub in a circular motion, so you can't tell I used a rag.

If you look below you can see some dark areas. ( But i don't like it to look to uniform so I left some dark spots anyways.)  If that happens take a clean wet rag and you can rub it again and even it out.

When working with creasing like around the spindles its a good look to get the paint into the creases and lines and wipe leaving the glaze in them.

So here is the bench in 3 different looks.

I found this cute rusty-iron Welcome sign from Hobby Lobby.