DIY Furniture Makeover

Hello friends!


I have always loved fixing up furniture when I get the chance. This summer I have a little more time on my hands and so I have been doing it more in hopes of having a sale toward the end of the summer. So far I have more or less completed two simple chairs.

Here is the product and the steps I used to get there. Disclaimer: I am all about saving and using supplies I already have. So if you are that type of person I hope this is helpful for you! Also, I mainly work with wood furniture because my forte is painting.

Here are the two finished chairs (I may add more to the second one):

Here is the before look and the after look for the first chair.

You will most likely want to use acrylic paint or any kind of wall paint. I would not suggest using oil based paints unless your furniture is for outdoors and you know how to clean up from using oil paints. (water and soap will not clean it off brushes) If you are using acrylic paint from the art store try to get paint that is in the middle range of pigment. Too little pigment and your color will be see through, too much and you will be paying a lot of money for that paint. I showed the brushes I used and those can be found at the art or paint store.

Step #1: Sand down the surface to get rid of any finish that is on it. The shiny surface that finish creates is not ideal for painting on because the paint will not stick as well. You do not need to be over zealous about the sanding, just a good rubbing over the entire thing. This is the sandpaper I used.

Step #2: Wipe down with a slightly damp rag. You do not want the paint you apply to get mixed with any dust left on the chair from sanding it.

Step #3: Create your new "finish." For these chairs I wanted to create a darker "finish" than what was originally there. I do not have stain in the colors I would like so I used paint. I wanted a sort of black, mahogany color, so I mixed a little blue and red with a larger amount of black. Then I added water to make it much thinner. Do not add too much water though, or it will result in the top left picture below.

Step #4: Come up with a design. A couple of tips: Come up with a final design (if you are using one) before you begin to paint. This may include drawing it out in detail to make sure it will look good. Don't cheat and go too quickly. I did this with the first chair I painted (checkered pattern) and I was not happy with the results. You can see that my yellow paint was not too thick, so I would suggest if you are using a lighter color with less pigment to put on two coats. I got the stencil for my second chair here

Step #5: Apply a clear coat of finish on the chair to seal it. I don't think this is a mandatory step. I have painted other things with acrylic and it has not chipped anymore than it would have with finish. The only reason I mention it is if you want to have a way to make the fake stain color created look finished. I do not know much in the realm of stains and finishes so I am not sure what to use for this. I will do some research though soon.

Leave any questions or comments you have below.

Have fun DIYing your furniture!

Sarah