Hints on Painting Furniture

Hints on Painting Furniture

Please note that you might also like to view my Painted Furniture page here, updated 2016, after reading this original post with its hints on painting furniture using various types of paints.

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post!

It is interesting and gratifying to see I am Not Alone when it comes to husbands/partners and painted furniture! They just don't understand the yearnings some of us have for those wonderful pale painted French and Scandinavian interiors we drool over in the magazines!

Several people have asked how to go about  painting their furniture, and although I am no expert by any means, I have over the last few decades painted many pieces of furniture and learnt by my mistakes and seeing what differing results you get using different methods.

So I am more than happy to pass on what I have learnt, but there is no one right way and everyone does things differently, but I hope this helps.

Generally speaking, the method you use will depend on what type of furniture you are painting, the condition and finish of it, and what end result you are after.

For heavy wear items such as chairs, tables etc, I always use a satinwood paint as this is more durable.

For lighter use items such as occasional use tables or smaller items, you can use emulsion and then wax or varnish after.

Unless an item has layers of badly painted paint and you want a really smooth fresh finish, there is usually no need to use stripper - a light sanding is usually sufficient for most pieces, and I have found that thoroughly sanding even old fashioned heavily varnished furniture is sufficient to provide a sound base for painting, but do use a mask and goggles in a well - ventilated area or do it outside as its messy!

Having said all that, there are no rules so you can do as you please!

Edited 2012 - 2016     

Having discovered chalk paints since writing this post, in particular Annie Sloan Chalk Paints ( as I went on an Annie Sloan Chalk painting course at Dovetails Vintage in Sevenoaks, Kent )  I may never need or want to try any other paint for transforming my furniture!

Below are just some of the projects I have completed in my home since 2012 using AS Chalk Paints. I get my paints from a great stockist of AS paints, waxes, stencils and brushes, called Dovetails Vintage, run by Perry and Sue and their talented team, and who also run Annie Sloan painting courses. Best of all, they do mail order!

With AS Chalk Paint there is............

No sanding!

No priming or undercoating!

Just whack the paint on - go grab that brush now!

(Please note that I have received no renumeration in any form for this post and I have no links or affiliation to either AS Chalk Paints or to Dovetails Vintage - this post purely represents my own views and experiences on trying various paints and painting techniques over 30 years)

See the links at the end of this post for links to posts on painted furniture using Annie Sloan Chalk Paints.

Now on with my Hints on Painting Furniture using emulsion, satin wood and other paints.

The chest of drawers in my previous post was a pine chest which had been stained with antique pine stain with a light matt varnish finish, and this is what I did for a relatively quick and basic refurb.

Removed drawers and placed chest and drawer fronts facing upright on dust sheet.

Sanded all surfaces to be painted using a medium or fine sandpaper, to remove surface varnish* and provide a key for painting.

Wiped thoroughly with a wet cloth to remove all dust.

Painted one coat of satinwood paint and allowed to dry

Painted second coat of satinwood and allowed to dry.

Sanded corners and edges randomly using a fine grade sandpaper.

Wipe down after sanding to remove dust.

Finished!!

I could have painted the unpainted wood with a combined primer/undercoat after sanding and wiping, as you would if you were decorating, but I find it more difficult to achieve the shabby worn look of knocked about furniture if I do that.

But if you were after a smooth, non-shabbied end result then I would recommend using primer/undercoat first as the item will look unsullied for longer!

I picked up this little two drawer chest above at the charity shop last year. It was that  heavily brown varnished 40s/50s type, but had lovely shaped legs and detailing, with the original ornate handles, and was well made with dovetailed joints and a brass plaque with the makers name inside.





I updated this using Homebase emulsion matchpots in two shades of grey, so it probably only cost me a couple of pounds! For this, I roughly followed the instructions given in a Homes and Antiques magazine using emulsion and wax.



For this chest I did the following:

Masked and goggled, with front door open, and the chest on a dust sheet, I sanded using medium grade paper - loads of nasty brown dust!! 

Wiped with wet cloth and allowed to dry.

Painted two coats of Homebase Sanctuary "Shadow" matt emulsion from a tester pot, allwoing each coat to dry inbetween

Then painted one coat of "pebble grey"

When dry, I sanded all over to achieve a smooth, softly blended finish, sanding more along the edges and detailing back to bare wood or to the colour underneath.

Wipe down with wet cloth and allowed to dry.

Using soft cloth, I wiped Briwax antique pine wax all over - this instantly gave it a deeper colour and it bought out the different tones. It has a soft sheen and a time worn aged look to the surface. This feels beautiful to the touch as it is sanded all over before waxing.

I love the look and finish of this piece, it feels good and looks a lovely aged grey/blue.

I did something similar to the large pine mirror picked up for £7 in a charity shop, only I distressed this a bit more and used more of the lighter grey paint (due to family pressure- I preferred it darker grey!

Here's a few other examples of furniture I have painted.

 my dressing table

I found this in the garden of a good friend 10 years ago - it was waiting to be taken to the tip - between us we managed to squeeze it into the back of the little ford escort hatchback I had at the time!

Mr G removed and replaced the warped and damaged desk top, then I sanded off the old varnish and gave it a few coats of a creamy white satinwood, then lightly distressed the edges. 

 I replaced the old knobs with antiqued brass handles and I still use it as a dressing table now.

See, theres Logie sitting in front of it this morning!

This old Ikea coffee table had its legs painted with a couple of coats of off white emulsion, then they were lightly sanded to distress them

This hardwoord chair was one of four purchased recently off eBay for £10. They are excellent heavy quality, and I am in the process (ha!) of painting them in a Farrow and Ball eggshell paint - Wimbourne White I think.

As I don't want to distress them, I have sanded, used an primer/undercoat and then 3 coats of paint to create a solid soft sheen effect.

So if you haven't already had a go and making over your old 80s pine furniture, I hope this might have inspired you to have a go!

It's not difficult, just a bit messy and time consuming, but the difference that a few coats of paint can make are amazing!

And don't feel you have to stick to whites and creams!

I am seeing and loving bright pinks and turquoise painted furniture (see my May 5th birthday post, 51 Kisses) and also darker painted furniture in magazines now.

The other day I was lucky enough to come across this lovely old painted mahogany glass fronted china cabinet already painted a beautiful subtle petrol blue/green, a very Shaker type colour I feel.

The inside was less beautiful, a dark maroon, but I painted this with a couple of coats of my favourite Dulux jade white (a lovely palest duck egg blue ) and now it offsets my vintage china beautifully.

A Few Tips

So really, in response to your questions, it shouldn't involve endless sanding, but you need to provide a smooth dust free surface to paint.

 I never bother stripping off previous varnish or paint if I'm repainting, just a quick but thorough sand (medium or fine grade)by hand should prepare a good surface, then wipe down with a wet cloth to remove dust.Then paint.

If you want a solid undistressed lasting finish, use a combined primer/undercoat for bare wood or wood previously varnished or stained (after sanding), or just go straight for painting if previously painted.

Use satinwood for a harder wearing finish (no need to varnish or wax)which you can subtly distress the edges and corners but is difficult to sand or distress anywhere else.

If you want to achieve a more shabby look then a few coats of emulsion instead of satinwood will allow you to distress the wood as much as you want, maybe using different shades of paint to achieve depth and interest, and you can achieve a lovely smooth finish all over too if you gently sand all over afterwards using fine or between layers sandpaper. If you've used emulsion you will then need to either wax (something like briwax antique gives a darker more aged look) or use clear matt varnish.

You can use brushes, pads, rollers or spray the paint on. I have tried them all and they all have their merits and downsides. I personally don't like the look achieved with rollers, but pads can be quite good for large areas. Spray paints I find expensive and wasteful but the results are very smooth. Having tried them all I have come back to the good old fashioned paintbrush, and I personally think it is worth paying a bit more for good quality brushes that you use and re-use rather than the the cheap "use it once and throw it away" types, as the end results are much superior.

* a note on sanding -  Use a face mask and goggles and have window/door open - this is particularly important if sanding old furniture with layers of thick, heavy varnish, and older varnished furniture will require more diligent sanding and maybe a coarser sandpaper first. You may decide in this case to use a proprietary chemical stripper. The same applies with old, heavily painted furniture - unless you are happy with a less than perfect shabby look, you may want to strip it first.

And never forget, if it goes wrong or you dont like it you can simply sand and re-paint!

Have fun!!!!

Oh - and don't forget to wear old clothes (yes Mum!) and check the mirror before you leave for the school run for those smears on your face and white tipped hairs (!!!!)

Just leave you with a few inspiring images that will have you reaching for your paintbrushes....

images from Vintage Home

.For more posts on Painted Furniture, especially those using Annie Sloan Chalk Paints, please click on the links below.......

Painted Kitchen Dresser in AS Old Ochre

Painted Bureau in AS Country Grey and AS Original

Painted Coffee Table in AS Country Grey and AS Original

Painted Chest of Drawers in AS Antoinette

Painted small table

Painted shabby chic flower pots as above


and other painted furniture projects here