Painted Furniture

Goodwill has some amazing deals! There were 2 solid wood end tables in a chunky, rustic style that were only $15 each, so I snatched them up and stored them in the basement for a few months. When we closed, it was finally time to decide how and where to use them. The command decision is that they are going in the loft bedroom, and will be painted a rich, espresso brown. The 1970's brass pulls will be changed out for faux antler pulls that I bought on ebay. My friend from high school sold me a chest of drawers for just a few dollars. It will also get a minor repair and some fresh paint.

Painting is the easy part. The preparation is the hard part, but VERY important. Here are the steps to a successful paint job: 

1. Make any necessary repairs to the surface of the piece, such as filling any holes or cracks with wood filler, or replacing any missing pieces of trim. Notice that the leg on the left was missing it's decorative trim. My son popped off the right trim, traced in on a new piece of wood, cut it out, and I sanded it and attached it with hot glue and a couple of trim nails.

Chest of Drawers with missing trim replaced.

2. Sand the surface of the wood. You don't have to remove all the finish, but make sure that it's nicely roughed up so that the paint will stick and not peel off.  I used a small palm sander, which makes it a much easier and faster job! And don't forget to wear a mask so that you don't breathe in all that dust!

3. Wipe down the surface with a tack cloth to remove all the dust. You don't want gritty paint!  

4. Paint the piece with a good quality primer. 

5. Lightly sand, and wipe down again. 

6. Paint 2 coats of paint, sanding lightly and wiping down in between coats.  

Drawers to the Chest and End Tables with a fresh coat of paint.

Goodwill End Table freshly painted.

7. If you want to distress the paint, lightly sand the edges of the piece, and wipe down again.

8. At this point, it's your choice if you want to take a q-tip and color the distressed places with your choice of stain. I skipped this step, as my paint was nearly black, and I wanted the contrast with the lighter color wood showing through.

9. Finish with a polyurethane coat to protect the paint.

Chest of Drawers Drawer (LOL) with hand pull.

Especially exciting was the hand pulls on the Chest of Drawers. They are shaped like a canoe, and by a stroke of good luck we have canoes on the bedding. Aren't you excited by this? I know you are!