How To Paint Furniture

How To Paint Furniture

February 13, 2022

Whether your style is bold and bright or soft and subtle, a freshly painted dresser, chair or table will revive your interiors and introduce a splash of your favourite hues to your home.

We’ve gathered a few of our favourite ways of adding colour to our furniture, plus a step-by-step guide to upcycling with our hardwearing Modern Eggshell Paint Finish .

Stand Out

If you’ve got a neutral space that you’d like to liven up, upcycling an old piece of furniture with a bright colour will refresh your room in no time. Using an earthy shade, such as Bancha No.298 or Treron No.292 , is a great way to bring some of the outdoors in, while brighter shades, like Arsenic No.214 , add an injection of colour that’s hard to forget.

Left: Bancha No.298 Photo by @LittleGreenShed, Right: Arsenic No.214  

Children's Furniture

Painting furniture is the easiest way to introduce interest in a child’s room. Upcycle an old chest of drawers by painting each drawer in a different colour or bring a stylish twist to their toys. It also allows for more versatility, it’s much easier to update the colours of their furniture against neutral walls than repainting the entire space.

Our robust finishes meet even the most stringent Toy Safety Standards, giving you the freedom, and the peace of mind, to transform everything from doors and floors to furniture and toys.

Left - Woodwork: Treron No.292 in Modern Eggshell, Kitchen: Sulking Room Pink No.295 and De Nimes No.299  in Modern Eggshell
Right - Cot: Pink Ground No.202 in Modern Eggshell. Photo by @Home__Stead

Blending In

We don’t always want our furniture to stand out, especially when in a smaller room. To stop things feeling cluttered and to create the illusion of more space, paint your cabinets in the same colour as the walls and watch them disappear.

This colourful bedroom features Hague Blue No.30 on both the walls and the drawers to create a luxurious, cohesive look. The same applies in this pale kitchen, where Teresa's Green No.236  has been used in Modern Emulsion and Modern Eggshell across the walls and cupboards.

Left - Dresser: Beverly in Modern Eggshell, Walls: Whirlybird  in Modern Emulsion 
Right -  Walls: Teresa's Green in Modern Emulsion, Dresser: Teresa's Green  in Modern Eggshell

Take it outside

Whether your garden is a large landscaped plot, a single window box bursting with blooms, or anything in between, colour is a wonderful way to ensure it feels connected to your indoor space.

Left – Fence: Titmouse Blue in Exterior Eggshell; Bench: Dutch Orange in Exterior Eggshell; Watering Can: Crimson Red  in Exterior Eggshell

It’s easy to breathe new life into furniture with our hardwearing paint. Here are our step-by-step guides to painting furniture with our toughest interior finish – the mid-sheen, easy-to-clean Modern Eggshell.

  • Ensure all surfaces are in good condition, free from grease, clean and dry.

  • Lightly sand the surface to help the paint stick better. If the piece has been painted before remove old, flaky paint as much as possible by scraping and sanding, aiming to crease a smooth finish by sanding and ‘feathering’ the edges of any non-removable paint. Carefully sand back any varnish or top layers so they aren’t shiny.

  • New wood can have knots which produce a sticky resin. If the knots are resinous, scrape off any excess and clean with methylated or white spirit. Allow the area to dry then prime the patches treated with Farrow & Ball Wood Primer & Undercoat.

  • Apply 1 coat of Farrow & Ball Wood Primer & Undercoat in the shade to complement your chosen colour top coat. Allow a minimum of 4 hours drying time between coats and before applying your top coat.

  • Finish your piece off with two coats of Modern Eggshell. Allowing 4 hours between coats. For best results use a quality fine-tipped synthetic bristled paintbrush (e.g. Farrow & Ball 1˝, 1½˝ or 2˝ Paint Brush).

For all other surfaces and finishes including Full Gloss, Estate Eggshell, and Exterior Eggshell, please refer to our Product Advice Sheets.