Painting*

Painting old furniture or not so old for that matter is a great way to repurpose and get a much different look to what has been. With painting the first thing to get right is the preparation. Prepare the right way first and the job will go so much smoother.

You need to remove any hardware that is on the piece first. These you may want to use again so they will need prepping too. There are many different techniques.

• If the piece is stained, some people like to remove the old stain, others will say to use the base that stops the stain bleeding through the finished coat.
• If you wish to re-stain the piece then sanding and removing the old stain is a must.
• If you use a paint stripper, this is essential if the previous cover was a shellac which can be very hard to remove without stripping.
• If it is a normal stain then sanding is the way to get back to the original wood.
• If the stain is very dark and you may want to use something lighter, then this will require a great effort to get back to the original timber.

So paint may be the best option.

You can get the shabby chic look by distressing the finished paint coat and this can be a great look, fits in with whatever look is the latest. It has a time of its own…Now!

There are several styles it fits in with very well, French country, Danish, Classic, Modern. there is always a place in most homes for this look.

You may only want to do a bedroom and this is a great way to repurpose items of furniture that you have not wanted to part with. The painting option will be the best way to do this.

Painting the furniture – What you need to do.

The three steps you need to do.

• Prep
• Paint
• Protect

Of course, choosing the paint and the colour. I will always favour white over colours but let�s not get ahead of ourselves.

The Paint –

 

Chalk Paint – This is not the paint you use for blackboards with, although you can use it for blackboards if you wish.

No, this is paint I found several years ago and was not available in Australia at that time, so I files it away.

Now not only can you purchase chalk paint in Australia, the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (only available through selected outlets) but there are many websites set up by really helpful people who have researched and made their own recipe for chalk paint.

So here I will share the recipes with you and help you find that ingredient that has worked best for me.

Read more here on what you can paint with chalk paint and the benefits.