DIY: Painting Old Furniture

January 27, 2020

Do you have an old desk that needs a face lift?  Found some inexpensive chairs at a garage sale that have serious potential? There is nothing easier than taking a piece of furniture and painting it. You can use vibrant colors … or any color to match your current apartment decor! There are many options for paint. Here are some of the (water based) paints that are commonly used on furniture:

Standard Latex Paint – With standard latex paint, you have a decent amount of durability with the paint and usually a 30-day cure time.  A separate primer would need to be used before painting.  The optimal sheen for painting furniture would be eggshell, satin or semi-gloss.  Glossy is possible too, if that’s the look you are going for.

Chalk Paint – The  benefits of using chalk paint is that no primer is needed beforehand and oftentimes no sanding is really needed either.  This paint is not very conducive to spraying, it needs to be brushed or rolled on. Chalk paint is VERY pricey  though!

Enamel Paint – At the top end of the quality spectrum for latex paint are enamel paints, which dry harder and are more durable than standard latex paints.  Also, the look is elegant and more polished looking than other types of paints.

Categorised in: Apartment Decor