Before & After: Wine Red Painted Console

published Jul 25, 2012

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Dark wooden sideboard with light wood drawer fronts on a parquet floor, labeled "before." — (Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

A client recently asked if I could paint over furniture — he was sick of the look, but the piece was functional and he didn’t want to throw it out. Why not?

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

You could take your furniture to a shop and have it sanded and sprayed and spritzed in a dust-free environment and perhaps it would last for all time, but that sounds a lot like expensive restoration to me. Or for Plan B, try this:

Give your sideboard a light sanding (220 grit), dust it off and paint over it in an oil-based paint. For this project, we choose tough-as-nails Fine Paints of Europe in Wine Red, which I blended with Penetrol (a paint leveler — just a drop) and top-coated the following day. This didn’t break the bank, it took just a minute and it’s definitely cheaper then buying new furniture. One caveat: I wouldn’t try this over plastic or a factory finish.

(Images: Mark Chamberlain)

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