Do you have a furniture piece that is the perfect size and shape for an area- but the color is just…wrong? Maybe it’s a dated stain, or finish. Maybe it’s just the wrong tone for the space. Or maybe you’ve redone a room in a new style, and it just clashes- but it’s still a very useful piece. Well, you’re in luck! I have done A LOT of painting over the years, including the cabinets in two kitchens, a bookcases, cabinets, and even helped paint a whole house! While I don’t believe in painting ALL furniture, especially special antique or vintage pieces that maybe should be left alone or re-stained, certain pieces of furniture honestly will actually look better painted, and can breathe new life into a space. Yet, most painting tutorials leave out a lot of details to the process- details and tips that I have learned from experience. Today I'm going to let you in on Every. Last. Detail. Let's dig in.
This cabinet has been around a bit. Kids, life and age have taken it’s toll. However, it’s solid wood and is the perfect size for narrow spaces. It’s not easy to find a closed door cabinet with this much space that is only 11” deep. The the size of it worked perfectly in our living room, and the storage it offered was perfect for our needs.
While it isn’t a difficult piece to restain as far as staining projects go, this area needed something light and bright. My plan was to unite this area of the room to our eat in kitchen, with our creamy white kitchen set. Our kitchen set was one of the few things we brought from our old home and was relatively new. By painting this cabinet in a similar tone as the dining set, I could create a cohesion in this open living/kitchen space. That, and a white piece of furniture would prevent this area from feeling too dark and heavy.
So those were my intentions. I pulled out the stack of paint chips from Sherwin Williams, and held all of my whites up to my dining set. I wasn’t looking for a perfect match- but something very close and in
the same cream tone. I found that the color Steamed Milk was almost an exact match.
But before I dive into the step by step process, including my best tips for coverage, let me share the list of everything you will need to paint a similar sized piece of furniture. This is not a sponsored post and everything I share are items that I have found to work the best over the years and have personally purchased for this project- mostly on Amazon. I’ll be sure to provide links to everything I can and will mark affiliate links with an asterisk.
What You’ll Need:
Simple Clean Insustrial Degreaser*- it’s the only one I use now
Tac Cloth* or Damp Paper Towel
A small angled paint brush- this one’s my all time favorite *
Paint tray*, or thick paper plates(only use paper plates for a small project like this)
Primer- this one is my favorite *
Paint- I used Sherwin Williams Emerald trim paint in Steamed Milk New Antique Brass Knobs
Thumbnails of products used for this project. Sherwin Williams Paint: Steamed Milk
These are my tried and true steps and tips, including the nitty gritty details to get the best finish.
Step 1: Determine what outcome you are going for. In the past, I have really gone in and sanded down flaws, filled cracks and nail holes, and gone that extra mile for a perfect factory finish. It’s a process I highly recommend for kitchen cabinets- but it isn’t always the look you want on a piece of furniture. If you want that factory perfect look, I definitely recommend getting some good wood putty,* and sanding it thoroughly, working from medium to fine grit. For this project I’m working on, I knew I wanted to maintain that rustic feel, and the wear and tear on this piece, alongside the exposed nail holes were characteristics I wanted to keep.
You also want to determine how much of the piece you're painting. In our old house, I had a large custom cabinet with exposed shelves. I knew I had to paint every bit of it. For this project, it’s an entirely closed cabinet, so doing the interior is optional. Taking doors off is also usually good practice, but having a lot of experience under my belt, and knowing it was very old hardware that might not come off easily, I decided to leave them on. These decisions are going to determine how much paint you'll need, how much prep you'll do, and if you need to set up outside for any of these steps.
Step 2: Time to clean and degrease! This step makes a huge difference in the quality of your final product. The Simple Green Industrial Degreaser came highly recommended to me years ago at my local hardware store. If your piece is particularly dusty or dirty, go over first with a non-waxy all purpose cleaner(Something like Method All Purpose Cleaner- not a greasy wood cleaner), or even a wet cloth with Dawn detergent. Then go in with the Simple Green. Be sure you wear some rubber work gloves when using this stuff- it is strong! You will literally watch not only the grime, but the gloss come off of your furniture. This is an important step before sanding, and cuts back on the amount of sanding effort you’ll need to put in.
Step 3: Scuff it up! The degreaser helped get rid of grime and the gloss quite a bit, but that isn't enough for a quality paint prep. Think about painting your nails. Often, nails will be buffed before painting. But they are buffed first with a medium grit, then a finer grit, but you stop there. A super fine or a buffing step will add shine, but if you're painting, it doesn't give anything for the paint to "grip" to. Well, it's the same with painting any surface. The idea is to scuff it up and get rid of enough leftover gloss, and dig in slightly into the surface, so that the paint can get in and bond. If you are going for a smooth, "factory finish", and are
looking to really remove any dings or flaws, you'll want to take your furniture, if possible, outside for this step. A large custom cabinet I painted when we lived in CT wasn't able to be taken outside, but I did take out shelves and doors to sandpaper outside to keep the dust down. Once I got through the layers of gloss/minor flaws, I scuffed it up with a finer grit. This is where Tac Cloth will really come in handy. For this project I'm showing you, I decided to keep it really simple, not removing doors, not painting the interior, and working with the rustic look of my piece. I went over it with the medium grit followed by a quick go-over with the fine grit sand paper, and used a damp paper towel since it wasn't a huge job. Tip: If you're sanding inside, work in small sections, following your sanding with your damp cloth or tac cloth. Be sure you've already set up your drop cloth underneath. For larger jobs, cover nearby furniture and carpets with additional drop cloths. Tape drop cloths in place with painters tape when needed.
Step 4: Prime Time! As much as these prepping steps are critical for a decent final product, I cannot stress enough the importance of using quality primer and paint. I have tried many primers over the years, and found the Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer to be excellent. It
gives a good grippy finish and helps to block out stains. Tip: Tough stains MAY need a second coat of primer. Now, it claims you can use it without having to sand...all I can say is DO NOT skip the cleaning and sanding steps. This primer is good- but no primer is THAT good.
You'll want to cut in on any trim or indented areas with a quality paint brush (I always use the Wooster Shortcut * for cutting in- even on larger projects). As for the larger flat areas of your piece, I highly recommend a high density small foam roller with no nap, like this FoamPRO 164 Fine Finish Roller*. Just be sure you get enough replacements for your project!
You'll notice that primer goes on...well..pretty uneven looking. Don't worry! This is one of those projects that can look worse before it gets better. And just wait until your first coat of paint if you think this looks rough!
You'll want to give this about an hour to dry. Again, like a good manicure, drying between coats is key.
Step 5: Finally time to paint! Except, we're still in the "ugly" phase of painting...so brace yourself. First we prep the paint. If it's not freshly shaken, you'll want to get in your upper body workout for the day and shake
your unopened can for a good few minutes. Poorly shaken paint will give an uneven finish and color distribution. It's always good to go in with a paint stirrer after you've opened it, even if it was recently shaken at the store.
Next, you'll want to pour out a small amount of your paint into a paint tray. Use your brush to wipe up any drips on the can. Tip: For small jobs like this (and when you forgot to get your paint tray like I did. Whoops.) a heavy duty paper plate doubled up will do the trick. But don't do this for larger pieces that require more paint. That's a tip that only works well for small jobs.
I usually give my former paint brush from priming a good washing after a small job like this. For large jobs, you may want to start fresh with a brand new paint brush. I do find that the Wooster holds up really well to washing and reusing, however, compared to lesser quality brands, and if properly cleaned with water and a touch of dish detergent for water-based paints, it should be able to be used over and over.
I worked top-down with this piece. If you've taken the doors and shelves out, I recommend staging an area outside with drop cloths/vinyl table cloths, or set up shop on a dining table. I like to paint the base first, and then work on the doors/shelves.
After I finished the first coat on the top surface, I cut in on the top trim, and worked down the sides. Then I cut in on the trim on the doors and worked on the front. Cutting in is always done with the brush, then you go over with the roller for a smooth finish.
As you can see, it doesn't look pretty. The coverage at this point is often streaky. This is one of those "trust the process" moments. Furniture and cabinets can take two, possibly three coats for proper coverage. But that second coat is really where things come together...
After you've let your first coat dry for a minimum of 4 hours, or even overnight, you can start in on your second coat. Tip: I recommend after washing your paint brush, to put in in a zip lock bag, it doesn't have to be close up, but enough to keep the bristles from drying out. Your brush should be good to go for round 2.
As particular as you were with the first coat, we're going to be even fussier with the second. A quality paint, like the Sherwin Williams Emerald, does have a nice self-leveling to it, which is what gives it such a good finish. Poor quality paints will not do this, and will show every brush stroke and roller mark. However, this is hand painting, so expect some level of texture, no matter how good the quality your paint is. But knowing that you followed all the prep steps, you've already set yourself up for a smooth end result...
With this second coat, I recommend a few extra tips. I like to "cross hatch" my large surfaces with my roller. That means I go one way, usually the short way, first, and then go over it the long way, adding paint to my roller as needed. We're working in thin, even coats, not gibbing on thick coats, or barely putting any paint on.
Another tip I have is for the edges of shelves and doors. For some reason, these areas tend to not take paint as evenly, and often look patchy. I like to roll my paint onto these for my first coat, then go over with the paint brush in one direction short strokes for the second coat.
You will see the brush strokes at first, but I find that the paint will level out nicely, as I had mentioned earlier.
Step 5: Time to let it dry. I like to let my piece dry overnight and then reassess in the morning if it needs a third coat or any touch ups. I saw a few minor areas that I would have touched up if I was going for that "factory finish"- but again, as I was going for a more rustic look with nail holes and scars, I left it to add to the look I was going for.
Ultimately, it will take about a week of dry time before you should put any items on your newly painted furniture. Even then, the paint will continue to cure over the next month. Understand that high humidity could lengthen this process, and I have noticed that in extreme humidity, a paint job may never full dry and may always have a tacky feeling to it, so be considerate of your conditions when taking on a project like this.
For this project, I did keep the original hinges, as I mentioned, but I got rid of the old wooden knobs and replaced them with these gorgeous Antiqued Brass Knobs I found on Amazon.* They we’re a fantastic price and give a high end look to this newly revived cabinet.
All in all, this is a rather affordable and easy way to breath new life into an old piece of furniture. Wether it's a piece you've had for awhile, or something you found online or in a resale store, try to think of shape, size and purpose. For me, knowing my decor style is Transitional/Rustic/Glam, pieces with a traditional shape with classic moulding are always something I can make use of. For more information on finding your decor style, check out my Decor Style Post HERE.
Hope you found this tutorial helpful- and please leave comments or questions down below. And tag me on Instagram if you follow these steps to makeover your own furniture for your space!
Happy Painting!
xo Jill