Reinvent old furniture cheerful colors
Learn how со transform less - than - perfect pieces into fresh - looking furnishings for your home. All it cakes is paint and a bit of "distressing" to create fun and functional furniture that youll be proud to display.
Sooner or later, most of us end up with some odd pieces of old furniture. They might be hand - me - downs that you couldnt refuse or yard - sale bargains that you couldnt resist. However you acquire old furniture, the dilemma is usually the same: How can I make these tired - looking pieces with totally different finishes work in my decor?
The answer, it turns out, is surprisingly simple: Just add paint.
Faint Problem Solver. Painting vintage furniture is budget friendly and design savvy. It allows you to reinvent what you already have, or customize inexpensive pieces from auctions and thrift stores with colorful new looks that suit your personal decorating style.
Find Your Furniture. Painting furniture also makes it possible to resurrect pieces that may be far less than perfect. Believe it or not, the great - looking rocker and chest that fit this casual porch so nicely started out as the mismatched misfits in the Before Photo. We bought both on Craigslist for a mere $90.
Sure, the small chest had been "antiqued" sometime in the 70s, and the rocker showed signs of multiple repairs. But like a lot of old furniture youll find, both were still sturdy and had great style.
Dont Stress - Distress. Old furniture like this isnt suited for restoration, but its ripe for reinventing with a timeworn look. This style is incredibly popular thanks to its casual, lived - in look thats at once cozy and inviting.
To create the look, you simply need to "distress" the furniture to mimic natural wear. Thats done by adding nicks and dents, applying color, and then "wearing away" some of the paint. The next few pages show you exactly how.
To create the look, add cool colors & accessories
Choosing the perfect color can be the most challenging part of any painting project. To make it easier, do what designers recommend and base your color choice on items that youll use to accessorize. Its a lot easier to get paint tinted to match an item than it is to buy something that perfectly matches the paint youve already picked.
Match and Mix. Part of the fun of this project is that it allows you to get creative with color. Thats exactly what we did when we matched our furniture to a colorful pillow and throw.
You dont have to stick with one color to create a cohesive look, either. We used the fabrics blue color on both of our pieces and then added interest by painting the drawers of our chest green.
Before those colors went on, we applied a black base coat. The pieces we painted were mismatched, and we wanted a consistent hue to show through when we sanded to distress the paint.
Hardware Heads - up. If you plan to swap out any hardware, purchase it before you start painting. Thats because you may have to drill new mounting holes. If so, just fill the old holes with wood filler, let it dry, and then sand it smooth. After that, mark and drill your new holes.
With that done, youre ready to prep the pieces, distress them, and then paint.
The Right Paint
Selecting the right type of paint is just as important as choosing the correct colors. Use paint with a high acrylic content. Acrylic latex is easy со apply scands up to the rigors of the distressing process, and lasts a long time.
Start with good prep
For great results
Any piece of old furniture you choose is bound to be dirty, so the first step in reinventing your piece should be a good cleaning. You need to get rid of grime and grease that could prevent the paint from sticking. Then youll sand to give the new paint something to grip.
Clear the Dirt. TSP Substitute is made specifically for this type of cleaning. Use it to scrub all of the surfaces thoroughly. Then let the piece dry completely.
Prepare the Surface. After the piece dries, sand it to roughen the surface. Sweep off any large pieces of residue, and then use a tack cloth to get the surfaces completely clean.
Get clean
Wipe the piece using a rag soaked in TSP Substitute. Dont be afraid to get the wood wet or to scrub hard. Rinse the rag often as you work.
Sand the surface
Lightly sand all surfaces that have previously been painted or varnished with 150 - grit sandpaper to improve the paints adhesion.
Prepare for paint
Wipe off all sanding residue wich a tack cloth These sticky cloths remove specks of dust that regular rags leave behind.
Add style with distressed surfaces
Distressing is a great way to add timeworn charm to a piece of vintage furniture. The goal is to create the look of natural wear.
Dents and Dings. To accomplish this, begin by adding random dents with a homemade distressing tool. Start with a few dings, and then add more to create the amount of "damage" you desire - Sand to Soften. Now you can sand to soften sharp edges and corners that wear down over time.
Paint, Sand, Protect. Finally, youre ready to paint. Youll actually add two colors: a base coat and then a top coat.
To add the final distressed look, sand through the paint in areas that would normally show wear.
When youre happy with the look, protect it with a coat or two of polyurethane finish.
Create dents
Give your piece an interesting aged personality by using a homemade distressing tool to add dents and dings. To make one, insert screws with various head sizes and shapes into a board.
Next, hit che piece in areas where dents would be likely. Stop to gauge the effect to avoid overdoing it. For deeper dents, just hit harder.
After that, use sandpaper to round over edges, create scratches, and mimic wear.
Brush on paint
Now apply a base coat: of acrylic latex paint over the encire piece Theres no need to worry about getting a perfect paint job. Most of this coat will get covered by che гор coat, so imperfections are just fine
The goal of the base coat is to cover up any old pain: or finish on the piece and create a uniform "background" for the top coat Usually, a dark color works best We chose black.
After the base coat dries, you can add the top coat. If youre using light colors over a dark base, you may need to apply cwo coats. On our chest we used one color for che body and anocher complementary tone on the drawers. Allow this paint to dry thoroughly before moving on to the next steps.
Sand and finish
To distress the pamc, use a sanding block wich 400 - grit sandpaper to remove the top coat in some places until the black layer shows through. Hit the areas that would naturally receive wear, like edges, and dont worry if a little bare wood shows through. When youre happy wich che appearance, wipe the piece with a tack cloth, and then apply clear polyurerhane for protection.
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