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Emily A. Clark

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When To Paint Wood Furniture, When to Leave It Alone

January 28, 2015 29 Comments

One of the questions I hear a lot is whether or not to paint a specific piece of furniture. I think you have to weigh each piece individually. Does it have sentimental value? Are you ever going to really love it if you don’t paint it? Will it enhance or distract from the style of the furniture?  In other words, there’s no one right answer for all furniture.

green-dresser (A dresser I ended up painting—details here.)

 

For fun, I grabbed five current listings from (Charlotte’s) Craigslist to show you which pieces I would leave alone and which ones I would paint. Hopefully, this will help a few of you who are on the fence with a paint brush in your hand. . .

 pedestal-table image: Country Living

These oak pedestal tables always seem to pop up on Craigslist. To update the oak, I would paint it and pair it with completely different chairs.

 

 

farmhouse_tableimage source 

On the other hand, I don’t think I would ever paint a farmhouse table. If you’re going for this look, you almost have to embrace the imperfections that come along with it. That’s what makes it beautiful. You could always dress it up with some tailored chairs.

 

 

wood-armoire image: Southern Hospitality

Even if you don’t need it to house a TV, I still like the bulk of an armoire for bedroom storage. This one has a nice wood tone so I’d probably leave it alone. It would work well in a light, neutral room to add some warmth.

 

 

painted-armoire image source

I think this armoire would work well painted because it would bring out some of the detail on the doors. I also think paint would help to update the wood carving on the top. Painting it would definitely give it more of a country-cottage feel. Something to consider. . .

 

 

RATTAN-TABLES image: Design Manifest

I would hesitate before I painted any kind of rattan/bamboo/wood furniture. I always like the texture it adds when unpainted—especially when paired with glossier, lacquered furniture.


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Filed Under: painted furniture, Simple Design Ideas Tagged With: furniture, painting

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TwoPlusCute says

    January 28, 2015 at 10:24 am

    I agree concerning farmhouse tables; they have so much character, they don’t need help. (Love the green dresser btw).

    Reply
  2. classic•casual•home says

    January 28, 2015 at 10:42 am

    Great advice, Emily!!! I asked myself your question #2 and decided to paint the inside of an antique French bookcase. :) I don’t think you should paint rattan either.

    Reply
  3. Peggy says

    January 28, 2015 at 10:58 am

    This is some good advice. I have a weakness for rattan and bamboo (it’s getting noticeable in my house!), and I have one chair I’d love to strip. When I bought it, it was painted black, I think with spray paint. I’ve tried to find out about stripping paint from rattan, but can’t find much. I guess this is going in a different direction from your post, but do you know anything about it?

    Reply
    • Emily Clark says

      January 28, 2015 at 11:27 am

      Peggy–I had pinned this post a while ago and think it might help :)

      http://xolindsay.blogspot.com/2013/05/diy-refinishing-headboards.html?showComment=1382373522491#c6669460964279880579

      Reply
  4. Michiganhome says

    January 28, 2015 at 11:17 am

    What a clever and helpful post–and perfect examples of how they would look, too! Kudos, Emily!

    Reply
  5. Betsy @ Happily Ever After Etc says

    January 28, 2015 at 11:27 am

    Great advice! That farmhouse table is beautiful… I think the most important part though is where you said “will you ever truly love it if you don’t paint it” I (typically) hate wood furniture. It just bugs me… So it has to be really special or sentimental to stay wood. Some of my sentimental pieces should be painted… Like my childhood bed. It’s a light wood my mom picked out that is serving as a guest room bed right now. I love the memories but hate hate hate the wood tone, it needs to be painted if I’m ever going to truly love it in my own home!

    Reply
  6. sarah m. dorsey says

    January 28, 2015 at 12:13 pm

    Great advice!! I definitely agree with all your tips!

    Reply
  7. Kristin says

    January 28, 2015 at 12:30 pm

    I’m so glad you posted the oak table. I’ve been on the fence about mine.

    Reply
  8. Jenny B. says

    January 28, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    I agree with all of your suggestions. :) I think wood pieces that have some detail to them look best when painted. If you take a piece of wood furniture that is basically flat with no curves or carvings, it just looks even flatter when painted. The wood grain actually gives those pieces some depth, and I think they usually look better left alone. I have an oak coffee table that has seen better days, and I often think about painting it, but I know it won’t look good. It’s too plain. What would make it shine would be to sand and restain it. Painting would be easier, though! ;)

    Reply
  9. Jennifer says

    January 28, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    Great post! Love the examples. : )

    Reply
  10. elaine - visual meringue says

    January 28, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    This is great advice! I totally agree with these guidelines. Thanks so much :)

    Reply
  11. Stephanie C. says

    January 28, 2015 at 4:54 pm

    Love this topic! That first oak dining table looks exactly like the one in my home. It was not my favorite, but then I painted it white and painted the wooden chairs a gorgeous blue. It is now one of my favorite pieces in our home. (If you are interested, you can see it here: http://onemilehomestyle.blogspot.com/2013/10/dining-room-reveal.html)

    Steph

    Reply
  12. Whitney Caves says

    January 28, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    This is a good word right here. I do love painted furniture, but I really love the way just the right wood piece warms up a room. We recently got a farmhouse table and I think I like it more with each little dent and scratch we make, because that’s what makes it ours.

    Reply
  13. Nadia @ IotWorks says

    January 29, 2015 at 5:01 am

    Love your makeovers awesome woman!

    Reply
  14. Crista says

    January 29, 2015 at 7:57 am

    This is one of those posts that is well timed! I just bought that exact same armoire from a thrift store that you recommend painting! My plan is to use it for craft, sewing, wrapping storage, etc. I was going to paint it but really don’t want it to look country cottage. If I do a high gloss would that help? Thinking of blue-green sea glass color. Other option would be for me to replace the knobs on the outside and paint only the inside… I will be ripping out the tv stand stuff and putting in 2 shelves.

    Reply
  15. Rachel Schultz says

    January 29, 2015 at 10:20 am

    Emily,

    I found your website through a comment someone left on Emily Henderson’s blog. You have quickly become one of my favorite bloggers! I love your consistency and frequency in writing and all your posts are really useful. I think some bloggers feel the temptation to throw something together just to have posted everyday, and the quality can suffer.
    I have yet to read a post by you that I did not leave with a fresh idea or good piece of information. Looking forward to continuing reading your work.

    Rachel

    Reply
    • Emily Clark says

      January 29, 2015 at 10:51 am

      Thanks, Rachel! I love hearing that :) Nice to “meet” you.

      Reply
  16. Gwen, The Makerista says

    January 30, 2015 at 1:44 pm

    Love this! And i’m glad things are leaning away from being painted every time. It totally appropriate on some pieces, especially when the finish is in bad shape, but sometimes I cringe at what people paint over!

    Reply
    • Lisa H. says

      January 30, 2015 at 11:56 pm

      Couldn’t agree more!

      Reply
  17. Deb says

    January 30, 2015 at 6:05 pm

    Hi Emily,

    Great post! I am having this problem right now with a buffet I bought almost a year ago. I decided not to paint it since the wood is so gorgeous, but then we built a rustic table and it no longer matches with the decor. I added it to craigslist and just took it off after multiple offers because I can not part with it. I think I have decided to put a lot of work into and strip it and re-stain…hoping this will make it work in this space. What are your thoughts with a rustic table and a “french provincial” buffet? paint, stain, or get rid of?

    Deb

    Reply
  18. Lisa H. says

    January 30, 2015 at 11:55 pm

    My dad is a woodworker, so I have been indoctrinated to never paint wood furniture–but I agree with all your decisions here. I would add this: if an antique piece has a finish that’s in good shape, leave it. If you don’t like it in that state, respect the piece and leave it for someone who does. And when I say antique, I mean specifically pieces that have unique value, not just any piece of old furniture. ;)

    Reply
  19. Heidi says

    January 31, 2015 at 7:50 am

    I actually have the armoire with the wood carving that you have last in your post! My husband and I tried to sell it on Craigslist but no one wanted it, so last summer we painted it a lovely cream color. Now it’s in our kitchen and we are using it for a bar. We have more updates planned to make better use of all of the space inside and I can’t believe how much I love it now.

    Reply
    • Emily Clark says

      January 31, 2015 at 9:11 am

      I tried to sell the armoire in our bedroom on CL, too and eventually painted it navy. So glad nobody bought our stuff :)

      Reply
  20. ROK says

    March 4, 2015 at 10:46 pm

    You should read The Furniture Bible. Pretty cheap on Amazon, and full of the most amazing information on refinishing furniture by a frenchman who has an atelier in Brooklyn.

    Sorry for the late comment–I’m catching up after changing jobs with different computer blocks :)

    Reply
  21. Natalie Darcy says

    July 24, 2015 at 12:49 pm

    I have been considering painting the furniture in my room. My color scheme has changed since I first decorated it, but I didn’t know how difficult the process would be. I really appreciate your tips on furniture like this and how to know when to pain it and when it would be easier to rearrange something. Thank you for such an informative article, I feel much more confident about my decision with your direction!

    Reply
  22. Max Jones says

    October 9, 2017 at 10:42 am

    My wife really likes solid wood bedroom furniture, and I think that being able to know what we should and shouldn’t paint in the future would be helpful information for us. I’m glad that you talked about being able to update oak through painting, which I think would be good for us to keep in mind. I’m sure that my wife would like to paint our wood bedroom furniture within a few years, so being able to look for oak would be good for us!

    Reply
  23. Avi says

    February 24, 2018 at 2:27 am

    Totally agree. Your site is one of my valuable finds.It is interesting to explore this website as i have learnt so much from this. :)

    Reply
  24. Adam Smith says

    February 27, 2018 at 4:39 am

    Yes, the fact is farmhouse table does not need a finishing touch as it is the trademark of hard labor, and it looks impressive in its natural form.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Friday Eye Candy | A Little of Everything says:
    April 30, 2015 at 11:31 am

    […] Love this post on tips for when you should paint wood and when you should leave it alone. I thought Emily was spot on with her advice. It’s always a tough call on whether a wood piece should be left […]

    Reply

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