Custom Painting Furniture

I thought I'd do a little blurb on getting creative with your furniture. I was recently commissioned to do this piece for a baby nursery.

This was what it used to look like. Fun as is, but definitely more eye-catching as its apple-green counterpart. I'm hoping they'll send me a picture once it's all tucked in their nursery. Throw a changing pad on top and you have an instant and versatile diaper changing dresser. 

Tips:

When redoing furniture, I've found that oil-based paints hold up so much better to wear and tear than latex paints do. Unless you're going for a shabby chic* look 

Think: oil-based = furniture

Latex = walls.

Oil based paints are typically used as floor paints, but can usually be tinted the same way they tint latex paints. I talked to the guy at my local Sherwin Williams store for a while and he was very helpful at color matching my sample. When painting, it's a little like putting nail polish on- it's pretty much the same consistency on a much larger scale. Latex, on the other hand, is thinner, goes on a little smoother and you don't have to dip your brush in the paint jar as much, but you have to go the extra step of some kind of seal, ie. polyurethane. Also, with an oil paint you'll have to use some kind of paint thinner to remove the paint from your brush. I find this annoying, so I usually use a cheap foam brush and just throw it away. With latex you can just use soap and water, and of course don't skimp on the quality of your brush here. I promise, a better brush makes all the difference in result and effort. 

Here's another dresser I tackled while I had the green paint out. I mixed a little turquoise in with this batch, so the color came out a little darker. I also left the shell of the dresser in its natural wood state so that the green would really pop. 

Before: I gave it a good sand after taking off all the hardware. 

Let the paint dry overnight before reattaching hardware

Taliila likes the final result-
I'll get a better picture next time!

* If you're going for the shabby chic look, latex works great because you're not trying to go for full coverage here. Less paint on your brush, and sanded spots gives you that shabby look. More to come on this another time. 

 And if you're sick of seeing green, here's a piece that got some grey-blue highlights. What once was a vanity, might now make the perfect console for a flat screen t.v.

Console $200