How to Paint Furniture in 4 Easy Steps!

There are a ton of different techniques you can use to paint furniture.  I painted this gray and white dresser using just a few simple steps. 

I found this at a garage sale and it was pretty scuffed up, but looked like it had some potential.  I loved the fact that it was very solid wood. Let me tell you...this dresser was a piece of work! 

Here's what I did to fix it up a bit....

I first took out all of the drawers and sanded them lightly  with my electric sander, just enough to rough it up. You can also sand it by hand, but an electric sander speeds up the process. After sanding, take a rag and wipe down everything really well. Sometimes if there are pieces of dirt or old sticker residue, it can show up after you paint.  I chose to not prime this dresser because I'm going for a more distressed look.  Sometimes i do it, and sometimes I don't depending on what type of look I want for my furniture.

Now you're ready to paint! Apply a coat of paint onto the wood and let it dry for at least an hour. After the first coat dries, apply another. For these drawers I painted the front white with gray edges. I used a semi-gloss finish for both colors. You can actually buy paint samples at lowes for $3, which  I do all of the time when I'm trying out new colors. It allows me to test out a wide variety of paint for super cheap.

 

While waiting for my drawers to dry, I spray painted my hardware yellow.

 Now it's time to distress it! I love to use stain to distress my furniture, however there are so many other ways to distress as well. After letting your paint dry for at least an hour, you can add a layer of dark stain. I either use dark walnut or Ebony Black Miniwax stain. I would recommend buying the small sized stain so you try it to see if you like it. After applying the stain evenly over your surface, immediately take a wet rag or old t shirt and wipe as little or as much stain off as you would like.  In the process, some of your paint may come off, which will give a more shabby and distressed look. It's best to not let the stain sit for very long, or it will soak into the wood and will be harder to get off.  I also took a piece of sandpaper and roughed up a few of the edges.

 Now you'll want to allow everything to dry for at least 24 hours before applying a coat of polycrylic to protect your piece of furniture.

 This is how it turned out when I finished...or when I thought I was finished.   When I bought it, I knew I would be needing new tracks for 2 of the drawers, but what I didn't know was that nobody carries 15 inch tracks.  So after trying 3 different sizes I finally gave up and decided to get rid of the drawers make shelves instead.

I added a couple of baskets, and this was my end result! 

 Before

 After


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Turquoise and White Striped Cabinet

 I found this cabinet on craigslist and had a hard time deciding what to do with it.  It sat in my garage for about 2 months before I finally got around to fixing it up. 

 BEFORE

Since turquoise happens to be one of my favorite colors, I decided to paint it turquoise and white.  I love how it turned out!

AFTER

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Yellow and Gray Chair Makeover

Redoing chairs is one of my favorite projects. 

I found this ugly old chair at a flea market for $15 and was excited to get home and see what I could do with it. 

 BEFORE

The first thing I did was unscrew the seat from the chair.  I spray painted white primer all over the entire thing. (This step is optional)

I then gave it two coats of mustard yellow

 After letting it dry about 20 minutes, I lightly distressed it with sandpaper.

I found this cute gray upholstery fabric at Hancock Fabrics and thought that it would go really good with the yellow!

I screwed my seat back on, and this is how it turned out! Very simple and inexpensive!

AFTER




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DIY Scrapbook Paper Frame

A friend of mine taught me how to make these adorable frames!  They are super easy and fun to make. 

You will need a piece of 24" x 24" plywood (about 1/2 inch thick).  You will also need a minimum of 4 large pieces of scrapbook paper (12x12), a 11x13 frame, mod podge, paint, magnetic clip, wood glue, a door handle knob,a small thin piece of scrap wood, and letter stencils.

The first thing you will do is paint the back and sides of the board your desired color.  I decided to do black for mine.  While letting the paint dry, I got 4 large pieces of scrapbook paper and cut them each into 4 equal pieces so that you have 16 squares of paper. Next I layed my squares out on the board to make my pattern.  After laying my pieces out, I picked each one up one by one and applied the mod podge underneath the paper onto the board, and then placed the paper on top.  I then smoothed it out with my fingers until there were no bubbles.  I repeated until all squares were glued down.  I then applied a layer of mod podge over the top of the entire thing and let it dry.

I then painted my 11x13 frame black and attached it to my board using wood glue.  I also hammered nails through the back to fasten it more securely onto the board.  I then used wood glue to attach the magnetic clip.  I attached the door handle knob(from hobby lobby) by screwing it in through the back.

 And finally, i found a small piece of scrap wood, mod podged some scrapbook paper onto it, and stenciled the word family onto it. I glued it on my large piece of wood using gorilla wood glue. If you have a circuit machine, it would probably be easiest to just put vinyl letters straight onto your frame.

 

Now just add a cute picture, and you're done!  And it only cost about $15.

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Stenciled Yellow and White table

Before

 I found this table while thrift shopping and thought it was pretty cute.

I've been loving mustard yellow lately, and found a color at lowes called Amber Wheat and decided to try it out.  I didn't do any sanding, but I did prime the entire thing white with valspar spray paint primer.  After priming, I put on two coats of my paint. 

 After letting my paint dry for about an hour, I stenciled all over the top using white paint. 

I think I will be using these colors in more of my projects!

 After

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Rain Gutter Bookshelves

I got this cute idea from my mentor teacher when I student taught third grade several years back. I loved it, and decided to do the same thing in my son's room.

For materials, you will need 6 washers and 6 screws.

You also need 6 end caps and rain gutters (can purchase at any Home Depot or Lowes). 

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When you purchase your rain gutters, they only come in large pieces. You will need to cut them using a hacksaw or backsaw to your desired length.  Mine are 34 inches long.

Decide generally where you want to put your first shelf.  You will need a studfinder to find a good place to put your screw. 

Once you find your stud, mark it and screw in one side of your rain gutter to the wall.  Use a level to make sure it's straight and fasten the other side to the wall.  Repeat the process for the other shelves and add end caps to each side. 

Such a cheap and easy way to display your books!

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"His" and "Hers" King Headboard

I found this king size headboard for $15 at Goodwill. Such a deal! I'm bummed that I forgot to take before pictures.

I decided to paint it eggshell blue and distress it. I sell my furniture an adorable store called The Bees Knees.  I put this in the store, and it just sat there. The store owner had the idea to repaint it and put the words "His" and "Hers" at the top. Genuis idea! I went home, and decided to repaint the inside white and the rest black.  I stenciled the letters on with black paint.  Then I added a coat of black stain on top.  I wiped most of the stain off, let it all dry, and this is what I ended up with! 

I put in the store again, and this time it sold right away. I definetely spent some time on it since I had to repaint, but it was worth the effort. I love how it turned out!

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