Brightly Painted Furniture

click thumbnails for larger pics

We've got a few pieces of furniture in our apartment that desperately need a makeover, and we're considering painting a couple of them in a really bright hue...maybe turquoise or kelly green. To jumpstart our project, we've rounded up some inspiring pieces in a range of bold colors...

FIRST ROW
• 1 Orange Dining Room Chairs from Colorama
• 2 Red Chair from Kim's One Room at a Time
• 3 Red Wardrobe from Amy's Vintage Modern Nest
• 4 Mediterranean Olive Chair from Spruce Home
• 5 Red Cokie Stools from Maine Cottage

SECOND ROW
• 6 Yellow Chair from Living Etc
• 7 Pale Blue Shanghai Bookcase from Red Egg
• 8 Dresser from the White Attic
• 9 Light Blue Chair from Coastal Living
• 10 Hot Pink Locker from Rachel's Repurposed Mid-Century Place

Comments (11)

I recently upholstered an old grey office chair that was lying around in blue green and I must say I feel like sitting on it more than I used to before :)

posted by nerd2003 on May 21st 2009 at 8:00pm
view nerd2003's profile

I would love to makeover my dining chairs and table, but scared I'm going to screw it up. These pictures are great inspiration. I especially love the olive chair!

posted by JESROD82 on May 21st 2009 at 8:11pm
view JESROD82's profile

Kim johnson from DTI (first row second photo) is definetly the master of painting and working on cool furniture makeovers!
Look at the beautiful makeover of her art deco armoire:

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/2994/list/Houzz-interview---Kim-Johnson---s-eclectic-home

posted by Karen74 on May 21st 2009 at 8:43pm
view Karen74's profile

Hmmm, I am still not convinced. I like the idea, but am also terrified of the possibility of messing it up. I love the first photo, the orange pops, but it popped in 1970's interiors too, hence my fear of fab today and foul tomorrow.

posted by CliveChristy on May 21st 2009 at 11:22pm
view CliveChristy's profile

this makes me feel so much better about my high-gloss watermelon pink telephone bench with black and white squiggly flower upholstery...

posted by twitteringbirdie on May 21st 2009 at 11:34pm
view twitteringbirdie's profile

I inherited a large maple "Early American" style china cabinet (ca. 1965) that I am dying to paint in a rustic finish---maybe dark red or a faded denim blue. I just need someone to talk me out of it.

posted by SunnyBlue on May 22nd 2009 at 8:02am
view SunnyBlue's profile

SunnyBlue, go for it! A beautiful 3 day weekend coming up, a gallon of paint, inspiring examples....

posted by JoanneM on May 22nd 2009 at 8:50am
view JoanneM's profile

I love the look of having a bright accent piece! Here's my question (having never painted or refinished furniture before): umm... how do I do it? I have a light birch IKEA table that I'd love to paint with a pop of color but I have no idea what is the best kind of paint to use. Any suggestions?

posted by NewInDupont on May 22nd 2009 at 9:07am
view NewInDupont's profile

I did this in my place! I wanted more blue in my decor, so I painted my plain dining table chairs! Why not?

Before: http://photos.charmedseed.net/bluechairs/Image2.jpg

After! http://photos.charmedseed.net/bluechairs/bluechairs01.jpg

posted by Charmedseed on May 22nd 2009 at 9:49am
view Charmedseed's profile

SunnyBlue, I second JoanneM, if you are not loving the maple china cabinet the way it is... just do it! I think it would be fun to see the before and afters!

Charmedseed - I wouldn't have thought to paint those chairs, they look cute and it's a great way to add color if you don't have the money to run out and buy new chairs!

posted by sfteri on May 22nd 2009 at 11:38am
view sfteri's profile

I absolutely love our bright orange Hollywood Regency mirror, which we found in a junkstore for $25; the gloss alkyd paint came from a Re-store for $4: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2008/06/inspiration-junk-store-junkie/

posted by ChrisToronto on May 22nd 2009 at 2:16pm
view ChrisToronto's profile