Painting is an easy and inexpensive way to spruce up furniture
Are you bored with the same old furniture? Or maybe you want to change a room's décor style but your current furniture just doesn't match the theme. You don't have to buy a brand new furniture set to change the look of your room. Painting wood furniture gives it a fresh new look at a pretty low cost.
Prep Work
Before beginning any painting project on a piece of furniture, you will have to prepare it. Remove any stain, varnish or paint by sanding it off or using a chemical furniture stripper. Clean the furniture so that it is free of dust, dirt and oils and let it dry thoroughly. If the furniture you are painting is not wood, but is a veneer over top of particle board, just sand it to roughen up the surface and then apply a primer.
Solid Color Painting
The most obvious option is to use a solid color to paint the furniture. It sounds simple, but sometimes this is the best option and provides the most striking results. Painting a dark wood table stark white can change the whole look of a room, brightening it and opening it up. Painting a blond wood television stand black may make the style seem more sophisticated and rich. After all of the previous finish is removed from the piece of furniture and it is thoroughly cleaned, apply a coat of primer and let it dry completely. This will prevent any of the old stain from seeping through and will let you use fewer coats of paint to cover the piece. Then apply several thin coats of paint, allowing each coat to dry completely.
Faux Wood
If you are painting cheaper furniture, which may be made of particle board with a veneer on it, you can paint it to look like wood. There are several different ways to paint a faux wood finish, including using a special tool that stamps on a wood grain pattern. A simpler way of doing this is to use three different colors. First, paint a base layer onto the furniture that will be the main color of the wood. Allow it to dry most of the way. Then, dip just the tip of a dry brush into a highlight color that will be slightly lighter than the base color. Wipe off the end of the brush so there is no excess pain. Then use light strokes to paint on a streaky texture to mimic the wood grain. Then do the same with the darker color.
Glazing
Another technique to add texture to a paint job is to use a glaze wash. Just prepare, prime and paint the furniture as you would if you were doing a regular solid paint job. Allow the paint to dry. Then make a mixture of glaze and a second paint color. You can use a brush, sponge or cloth to wipe the wash on. Experiment with different materials and strokes to determine what look you are going for.
