Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Painting furniture yourself? (Dining room set)
So... my husband and I bought a house in January, and since we are both crazy busy with work, it has remained largely undecorated and under-furnished. We have a dining room set that I inherited from my grandparents. It's a really nice set, but it's very traditional... it really just doesn't go with the super contemporary style of our house.
It looks a LOT like this:
Cherry-Grove-Dining-Room-Set-Oval-Leg-Table.jpg
But the cushions on the chairs are also upholstered in a hideous pink fabric.
We have a couple of options. We can either try to sell it and get a whole new set, or I can try to paint it. I was thinking of painting it white, black, or even grey... and updating the cushions with a fun pattern, maybe a chevron or something along those lines.
I am nervous to attempt to paint the furniture, and my husband has discouraged me from doing so... it is a nice set, and I don't want to ruin it, largely because this did come from my grandparents who have both passed away and I know my mom would be upset! However... she doesn't want the set for herself, and isn't reviving it and using it better than just selling it off to strangers?!
Will I ruin it? Could it come out looking good and matching my house a bit better? Any experience with this? Would it be super labor intensive? I have looked at many DIY websites, but generally those people are experts who do this all the time and I'd love to hear from everyday DIY-ers who have maybe attempted a similar project. Any advice, tips, or feedback you can share is appreciated!
Re: Painting furniture yourself? (Dining room set)
I would go for it. You won't get much $$ out of it and I think its more respectful to keep it and alter to your preference rather than just sell it.
I purchased some older style chairs and a table (separately) when I first moved out on my own. We painted the chairs black, the base of the table black and refinished the top of the table with a cherry stain. Its really cute. I covered the chairs in new fabric (It was black toile).
My suggestion is to try not to go TOO modern with the fabric on the seats. I think chevron is cool but maybe a little too modern for the style of the table. I also think black or white would go best with the older style for paint color and I might avoid painting the top of the table. If its in good condition, I would consider just doing what I did with the black base/chairs and leave the top as it is (my $20 table was in poor condition but I was also lucky enough to have it planed at a sawmill for free and my parents had stain and poly leftovers).
I think we found spray paint was best on the chairs (they had a more intricate detail and was a PITA to brush them all). Just take the upholstry off and go for it!
Thanks for the tip! Did you spend a lot of time really sanding everything before you painted? this is what I'm concerned about. The finish of the table is really smooth, and I want to make sure the paint sticks... but I'm nervous about sanding everything.
*************************************
Check out my blog!: From Pinot to Parenthood
I would do it and I don't think it's scary at all, but I do have quite a bit of experience at this point.
I would recommend watching some UTube videos so you can really get a feel for technique instead of just reading about the steps.
Just break down the project into simple steps and don't try to force yourself to try to finish the whole thing in one weekend. That's the kind of thing that will get you overwhelmed and maybe rushing and not do as good of a job and be totally annoyed.
Yes, do lightly sand. Also, do prime. It's worth it in the durability of the paint finish.
My paint recommendation for this is BM Advanced line. It will go on so much more smoothly and dry harder than regular latex paint. It is still water clean-up so it's pretty much amazing.
One last thing, if you just don't like the color of the wood and would want to go darker, Minwax makes a stain that you can change the color (darker) without stripping the furniture. Check out Mixwax Polycrylic if you're interested.
I wish I could get a cut when I recommend products.
Yes, you need to sand, but we just did a quick sand job and then I wiped down with the tacky cloths. I did not use primer and didn't need it (you might since they are really shiny).
I don't have a problem with the paint chipping or holding up well, but what does happen is they knock up against the walls in our rental, which are painted a crappy flat paint and it leaves a big black mark on the wall. That is the only issue I've had. I can't clean it off because the walls are flat finish paint. We also don't use them all that often so they have stayed in really good shape for the last 5 or 6 years.
One final note about the fabric - buy some scotch guard and spray the crap out of the seats to help wtih cleanup. Some patterns also help hide stains.
I really didn't put too much time or anything special into them. I bought the chairs for $10 a piece so we just did with what we had and it was my first set when I moved out after college. All my black paint was leftover, some of them I think we brushed and some of them we sprayed.
I think we painted the table base since it was more flat, and sprayed the chairs. I still think they turned out cute. Again, I don't know that I would use paint on the top of the table. I haven't really seen it done and I don't know that it would hold up very well with use and cleaning. I would consider leaving it or refinishing the wood with stain and poly (I used a matte finish poly). I would just paint the legs if you want it to match with the chairs better.
ETA: add paragraphs.