Wood furniture was built to last, but the surface doesn’t always look its best after years of service. Finishes fade, paint chips, wood can be scratched, but the furniture itself is still good. If you know how to upcycle, you can refurbish some amazing furniture from your family’s old pieces, garage sale finds, thrift stores, and even furniture you find on the side of the road. Any solid wood or quality hardboard piece can be repainted and made new again.
The key is to know how to upcycle with flair. If you can apply a high-quality new coat of paint and reinvent the furniture with a flattering color scheme, there’s no end to the stylish wood furniture you can recreate from old pieces. Let’s dive into a few pro tips for painting wood furniture so you can fill your home with beautifully refinished furniture.
Clean and Sand for a Fresh Surface
Start by preparing the surface of your wood furniture piece. First, wash away any dirt, grime, or stains. Use a rough sponge and cleaning liquid. There’s no need to be gentle, because we’ll be roughing up the surface as soon as the cobwebs and dust are removed.
Next, grab some sandpaper or an electric power sander and gently buff the surface of your wood. The goal is to create a smooth surface. You can remove all the old paint or, if it’s quite durable, you can leave the old color as long as the surface is smooth and ready to be painted. Sanding is an important step, especially for older pieces. Chipping paint and scratches can all be removed just by sanding off the top layer of your wood furniture.
Use Epoxy Wood Filler to Repair Deep Scratches
Once you’re done sanding, don’t worry if there are still some visible scratches or scuffs. You can repair them with a little wood filler epoxy before you paint. Epoxy is a malleable filler that will harden to help complete your smooth surface. Simply fill the scratches and wait for it to cure. Once the epoxy cures, re-sand the surface so that it’s all smooth at the same level. Now you have a perfect surface that is ready to paint.
Choose a Bold New Color that Accentuates the Features
It’s important to take time to consider your choice of paint color and finish. Paint color can make a piece of furniture look bold, beautiful, or tacky depending on how it suits the furniture itself. Look for a style that will flatter the contours of the piece, accentuating its natural style. Stately pieces may look better in more somber colors like charcoal or navy blue, while playful pieces of furniture may look better in bright and cheerful colors. It’s up to you and your paint choice whether you want to use a primer.
Experiment with color and visualize what the piece will look like when you’re done in your search for the right hue. Finish will also matter. Matte finishes tend to be more absorbent and tougher to clean, but look softer. Glossier finishes are easier to clean, but reflect light in a distinct way. Consider the right choice not just for each piece, but also for how the upcycled furniture might mesh with your home’s style as well.
Try a Primary and Accent Color Combination
You don’t have to choose just one color when upcycling wood furniture. Accent colors often make the beautifully carved features of a piece of furniture really pop. Bold contrast, subtle contours, or even a regal metallic finish can bring out the beauty in the pieces that you upcycle.
In most cases, you will want to paint the entire piece with the base color, let it dry, then add your accent color. But if you have a clear vision and don’t want to overcome a dark base color, you can mark off the accent spaces and paint them separately. Look for ways to bring out the natural features in the carvings and trim of each piece of furniture or create your own contours with a unique accent paint design.
Use Painter’s Tape for Clean Lines
Painters tape is a great way to improve the quality of your upcycling paint job. Start by using painter’s tape to define clean lines, especially when doing anything other than your base coat. This way, even if your paintbrush, spray, or roller is not precise, the lines will still be perfect.
One upcycler’s hack is also to use painter’s tape to create details that weren’t there before. Chevrons, zig-zags, and even custom geometric styles are fun to create and can make your upcycled piece unique.
Stencil On Beautiful New Details
Along the same vein, stencils are an amazing way to breathe new life and style into an old piece of furniture. Stencil lovely flowers onto a white-painted dresser for an elegant classic look. Or stencil dinosaurs and rocket ships onto a children’s bookshelf to make it more delightful for the child who will enjoy it as part of their bedroom. Stencils make it possible to add fun details to any painting project whether or not you are an artist.
Free-Hand Original Artistic Detail
Of course, if you’re an artist with a paintbrush (or aspiring to be), you can always try free-handing a few new designs of your own. Paint your own flowers, sketch the Eiffel Tower, or dab a starry sky to make your upcycled wood furniture truly special. Original art can ensure that your furniture is one of a kind and uniquely suited to your personal style – or the style of someone else if you’re upcycling the piece as a gift.
If your art is satisfactory, you’ll love seeing it every day. And just remember, this is paint so any mistakes can easily be recoated for another try.
Refit Upcycled Wood Furniture with New Knobs & Pulls
One of the cleverest ways to breathe new life into repainted wood furniture is to replace the hardware. Cabinet knobs and drawer pulls give furniture personality and can even serve to define the era and style reflected in the carved features. New fixtures are low-cost, you can find many different styles and finishes at your local hardware store or you can find something fun and custom-made from local or online artists.
Consider Ways to Repurpose the Design
Old furniture doesn’t have to be upcycled into a renewed version of what it was before; it can become something entirely new. You can take off broken cabinet doors for open storage. You can turn a sidebar into an entertainment center, an armoire into a display shelf, a chest into a garden planter, and so many more options. Get creative and try to see new potential in old designs.
Sealcoat the Final Result
If you want to keep your beautiful upcycling work safe, a final sealcoat is a good idea. A sealcoat is a clear, protective layer of paint that will make your repainted wood furniture more durable and easier to clean. It is also an opportunity to tailor your final finish texture and shine.
Upcycle Old Furniture with Help from Builders
If you own or love seeking out old furniture to upcycle, Builders can help you find the perfect shade, finish for repainting, and even new hardware to update any piece of furniture for a stunning second time around. Decorating your home, restoring furniture for friends, or expressing your artistic potential through sustainable projects, upcycling is a wonderful skill to develop as you unlock the potential in every piece of old wood furniture.
If you enjoyed this blog, read this one about how to paint an interior wall.
