Furniture can have more years of life if we give it another chance There are several reasons to choose to renew a piece of furniture instead of throwing it away. One is for ecology: follow the three “Rs”, recycle, repair and reuse. Also for economy, it is cheaper than buying a new one.
Also, there is a more interesting aura in an old piece of furniture, because it has a history and that gives it a contrasting energy when the rest of the decoration is new or modern. Best of all, to achieve this it is enough to paint the furniture, here we tell you how.
How to paint furniture? 8 tips to renovate them and change your home
A bookcase, a wardrobe, a dining table or a living room table, even kitchen furniture, can be renewed and adapted to any style. In most cases they don't require much more than painting and sealing, although some may require more effort.
To paint furniture, you really need few things: paint, sandpaper, sealant, brushes, degreaser to clean, and if you give free rein to creativity, fabric or tapestries. So get to work with these tips for renovating furniture and changing the design of your home.
one. Choose the new color or style
Before starting to work on the furniture, you must choose the color. A worn finish? Solid colors? A classic style? This totally depends on personal taste. But there is a tip to paint the furniture: make it stand out from the rest of the decoration.
If most of the furniture is warm colors, one idea is to paint it in cool tones. If the decor is minimalist or contemporary, a good contrast is to use lots of solid colors or a worn finish that gives it an old look. The trending colors are grey, turquoise, green or yellow and terracotta, but this is completely up to personal choice.
2. Find the ideal paint type
Another tip for painting furniture and renovating it is to choose the right paint. In the market you can get special paints for painting wood, the recommendation is to prefer these over those that are used for walls or exteriors.
This paint is acrylic, it allows the wood to breathe and gives it a uniform finish. However, to apply on doors or kitchen furniture that is exposed to grease and heat, oil paint is better, although it gives a glossy finish.
3. Sand
The first thing to do before painting furniture is to sand. For this you can use an orbital sander with a special sandpaper for wood, or do it manually with common sandpaper, which allows greater accuracy to reach small areas.
Before starting you have to clean the furniture with degreaser, you simply have to apply the product on a cloth and wipe the surface. Subsequently, sanding is done, the objective is to remove the previous paint and prepare the raw wood for the new paint.
4. Remove paint when it is too adherent
Depending on the finish on the furniture, paint can be very difficult to remove. Sometimes simple sanding is not enough for the paint to fall off. This is because some of the old furniture was painted with many layers of oil paint.
In these cases, before painting the furniture, use stripper. This product is found in any paint store and is applied directly to the furniture. What it achieves is shrinking and peeling off the paint and then easily removing it with sandpaper.
5. Prepare Cabinet Surface
It is important to apply a special product to prepare the surface before applying paint For a professional finish, you must prime. This step allows the wood to be less absorbent, thus less paint is used and the finish is homogeneous.
This product is easy to apply. With a brush, it is spread all over the furniture until it is completely covered. Let it dry for a few minutes until it no longer feels sticky to the touch. Finally, the thinnest sandpaper is used to sand very lightly.
6. Paint and wax
Once the furniture surface has been primed, it can be painted. Nothing special is needed other than brushes. It is recommended to have at least three sizes: a thick one for rough painting, a medium one for retouching and a small one for detailing.
You only have to paint evenly on one side, either from top to bottom or from left to right. Once it has been completely covered, you have to wait for it to dry and be able to apply a furniture wax and then polish it with a dry cloth.
7. Achieve different finishes
With just a few simple tips you can achieve creative and different finishes. A simple trick is to use two colors for the same piece of furniture. If it is a chest of drawers, the doors can be a different color from the rest or each one a different color.
To achieve the weathered effect, gently sand the corners or reliefs once the paint has completely dried. You can also use a final wax with a lighter color than the paint that was used, this will give you a nuanced tone that feels great.
8. Add more artistic elements
Another interesting touch after painting a piece of furniture is to add texture or shapes and figures There are stencils with various designs that just need to be placed on the surface and paint. A good idea is to do it with a contrasting color or undertone or top to keep it subtle.
You can make some freehand lines, paint lines or color bars. Another alternative is to place tapestries, vinyl or patterned fabrics, and place them on the doors, drawers or in the case of dressers and tables, on the surface above.