3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing the Right Furniture Paint

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Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - In Style!

I love furniture, ornaments and other pieces that have a history to them. Almost everything in my home has a story behind it: I have a coffee table made out of old fishing boats from Bali, a light fitting that was first used on a cruise ship in 1902 and a bedstead I put together myself from pieces of driftwood! Furniture like this adds beauty, texture and depth to any interior design scheme--and it's easier to find than you might imagine, too. I've started this blog to share my passion for reclaimed and recycled furniture with the world, and I hope you're able to learn something new and exciting here.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing the Right Furniture Paint

3 January 2017
 Categories: , Blog


Paint can give anything in a room a complete makeover: ceiling, accessories, walls and even furniture. In fact, it's one of the most transformative options you have at your disposal. Most people concentrate on finding the best paint for their walls and ceilings, only to forget about furniture paint. Your furniture should come last and should complement your wall and ceiling colours. Selecting the right colour scheme for your furniture will make your furniture shine and increase its value. To ensure that you select the right paint colour for your furniture, here are three questions to ask yourself;

What Is The Size of The Piece?

Just like in the fashion industry, bold colours work best for small pieces. The smaller the furniture, the bolder the colour it can handle. Therefore, when choosing the right colour for your furniture, consider the scale of your piece. Large furniture will look best with neutral colours like white, black, mahogany, greys, etc. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but most of the time, muted paint colours suit large-scale pieces. Therefore, when painting furniture, it's advisable to avoid bright paint colours.

What Style Is Your Piece?

Does your furniture have a more masculine style, with sharp angles and straight lines? Or does it have feminine touches like curves, mouldings, and carved wood? The feminine details supports the use of feminine colours like purple, red, or pink. However, you can use these colours for most of the bedroom furniture.

Simple furniture with straight lines will go well with plain and neutral paints. Save your "fun" colours for more embroidered furniture.

Do You Want To Leave Any Wood Tone On The Piece?

This is a big question to consider when picking a colour scheme for your stylistic furniture. Are you planning to have your entire piece of furniture painted, or will you leave some parts exposed?

By leaving a stained area on your furniture, whether a stained drawer or top, you will have anchored the colour scheme of your furniture piece. It will also provide a traditional background for the new painted piece, thereby balancing out bright and neutral elements in your living area.

If you want to incorporate bolder designs or brighter colour schemes, it's advisable that you leave some exposed wood to balance the colours.

Just like any fashion 'rules,' there're many exceptions, and sometimes you can go outside the box. However, one rule that remains constant is that you have to use quality paint to give your furniture a valuable makeover.