Easy Way to Update an Old Piece of Furniture -

One thing that Cameron and I have in common is our mutual appreciation for a good, solid piece of furniture. And what’s even better is if you can find a piece for an amazing price that may need a little (or a lot) of TLC and turn it into custom furniture for your home.

I have refinished many furniture items over the years and one of the easiest ways to do this is by using paint. There are a lot of different ways to paint furniture–some right ways and some wrong ways. But I’m going to tell you the way that I like to do it in order to ensure a lasting finish.

One of my more recent projects was a buffet table for my dining room to replace a small china cabinet. The cabinet seemed so tiny compared to the room and I had a vision for a large art piece hanging on the wall. I knew what I had in mind and new options online and locally were over $1,200 for the style that I was going for. I decided to save a little money (or a lot $$$) and create the perfect piece myself.

It is so easy to give an item a quick face lift and give it new life in as little as one weekend! You, too, can paint any piece of furniture if you follow these easy steps:

Find your piece. As I always say, solid wood is the best option. If you can find a piece that you love that maybe isn’t the right finish or the right color for your room, a solid wood base is always the best canvas. You CAN paint MDF and wood veneers as well but sometimes those have a very slick surface that paint doesn’t adhere to well. BUT it can be done!

I happened across this gorgeous, solid wood buffet table that is so heavy that it is on wheels. This piece had been well loved for over 50 years. The person selling it told me it was a cherished piece that she grew up with and was selling it because her mother had passed and no one in the family could take it. She was devastated to get rid of it but I assured her that it would be well loved and she asked me to send her a picture of it once I was finished refinishing it. It had some scratches on it and the finish was not my ideal color but I knew that I would be painting this one so none of that mattered to me. I loved the design of the trim and the placement of the door pulls. It is a timeless, traditional piece that can make a statement in any room.

The next few steps are CRITICAL for good primer and paint adherence. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN! Wipe off the dust, get the cobwebs off. Clean the surface of all of the areas that you will be painting. Now, if there is a thicker protective coating on the furniture, I will typically use a Clorox wipe to clean the surface because I use Clorox wipes to clean everything (you can even see my trusty can of Clorox wipes in the photo below). But a wood polish/wood cleaner would work great as well. Make sure that all of the surfaces have dried.

Here is where others may do some things different than what I like to do. You may have heard of Chalk Paint by now. Supposedly, you can paint that right onto anything without sanding first. I have not personally tried this so I cannot attest to it. Maybe some of you have and can convince me to give it a try! BUT my go to method is a touch more time consuming but I know the final product will be worth it and it’s proven method can withstand bangs from vacuum cleaners and normal wear and tear without chipping.

With that said, the next step is to SAND. You need to buff the surface ever so lightly in order to remove any shiny protective top coats it may have. This will allow your primer to adhere really well and create the perfect foundation for your paint. Usually I take the doors off and try to sand in any of the grooves and on the trim. I personally think this is the most important step (and it’s also the part that I like the least because it is so time consuming). BUT you want it done right and well, right?? I use my trusty orbital sander with an 100/120-grit sandpaper and a sanding block to get some of the harder to reach areas. You don’t have to sand off all of the existing paint or finish, just enough to create a slightly rough surface. However, if it does have paint on it and it is flaking off, you will need to remove any part of the flaking paint. Once this has been done, you can take a tack cloth and wipe all of the dust away. Note: make sure that there are no visibly rough places where you can see the texture on your piece. This will show through the paint (I made this mistake on this buffet table).

Next, prime your item. I personally love to use Kilz primer. Sometimes if the piece has a slight odor to it, the Kilz primer can mask that smell or cover any oil spots or water spots that you might be able to see. I also love it because it can go on most any surface. Prime away! I would also recommend using a more expensive brush (other than the cheapest brush at the store). With the less expensive brushes, the bristles tend to fall out and get stuck in the paint which is going to really irritate you if you don’t see them until then end. This has happened to me and I no longer use the cheapest brushes I can find. Also, with a nicer brush, you will have less brush strokes which is key to a smooth paint surface. (Don’t be like me–you can see below that I used a foam brush which was a mistake.) Let this dry. I like to wait until the primer has hardened enough and I lightly scrape a fingernail along the surface to see how well the primer has adhered. I usually wait to apply paint until the primer does not scrape off.

If you are painting your item white or lighter colored and you still are seeing a darker wood though the first coat of primer, feel free to repeat step 4 and paint another coat of primer. This will just allow for less coats of paint and allow your paint to get better coverage. I don’t know if there is a right or wrong way to do it but I typically like to go with one extra coat of primer if I know I don’t have a lot of paint for extra coats.

Finally, to my favorite step. Paint! For this project, I chose Sherwin-Williams Black Magic. It’s a deep grey black that I have used on several pieces of furniture and even some bathroom cabinets. Paint can get expensive so I love their option to buy a small sample jar of paint. These sample jars are around $9-10 at any local Sherwin-Williams store. I love these because they are usually more than enough paint for my project and the leftover paint can be used for anything else! I have about 15 of these in my garage right now, all are different colors. They are great to keep around in case you do happen to chip a small area. You can just cover it back up. Again, I can’t stress this enough. Use a good brush! You will thank me later. Paint however many desired coats that you would like to achieve your desired finish. I needed 3 coats of black to get a seamless, dark, deep coat on my buffet table. For the inside of the cabinet and drawers, I wanted to use a fresh white color. I had some paint leftover from when I painted my kitchen cabinets (Sherwin-Williams Extra White) so I used that for the inside.

Lastly, grab your favorite Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish sheen and follow the direction on the can. I used the Matte finish but I have recently discovered the Clear Ultra-Flat finish which is what I have used on other natural wood projects. The Matte finish did actually give it a bit of a shine which I don’t love. So test out an area and let it dry before you are stuck with a shiny cabinet like mine (unless you like that look, then go for it!). I have said this before in my How to Refinish a Piece of Wood Furniture post, I do not sand in between layers of the polycrylic. This is because I can never get a smooth, clear finish after I sand. As I have stated before as well, this is most likely user error so please let me know if you have any tips for me! It is critical that you wipe down the piece with a tack cloth after each coat dries before applying the next layer to make sure that there are no dust particles getting in there so that you have a smooth surface. Having a good quality brush is probably the most important for this step because you will be able to see brush strokes in the clear finish and if you overbrush the polycrylic, it will get gummy and rough and bubble up and you will have to sand it down and refinish. It is best to have a good brush to give you a smooth brushstroke to ensure proper application.

Let it dry, and you are good to go!!

The last steps that I had to finish my buffet table were to reattach the doors, add the drawers back in, and attach the new door pulls that I ordered. The old pulls were super loose and I loved the look of these!

Can you believe the difference one piece of furniture makes in the room!? What do you think? Have you refinished a piece of furniture and want to share? Comment below!