How to Choose the Right Furniture for Painting
Giving old furniture a fresh coat of paint is such a rewarding project! But before you grab your brush or paint sprayer, the first step is knowing how to choose the right furniture for painting. The piece you pick can make all the difference between a fun, quick makeover and a project that feels like a total headache.
Don’t worry, I’m here to help you get it right from the start with these amazing painting furniture ideas. Let’s dive in!
If you go to any thrift store or just search through Facebook Marketplace, there is a ton of furniture available out there for grabs and waiting for a new home. Seriously, the choices can feel endless and even kind of overwhelming at first glance.
It might be tempting to grab the first cute dresser you spot, but obviously, not just any piece of furniture is going to be the best for painting. Knowing what to look for can save you a lot of time, energy, and even money down the road.
So, let’s go through how to decide if the piece of furniture that you are looking at is a good candidate for painting!
Choose Style of Furniture
First of all, when I walk into a thrift store or look through Facebook Marketplace, I look for styles that are similar to what’s trending. So right now, straight lines, but also very traditional looks, are trendy.
Things that were made back in the 1920s or early 1900s, those are very traditional, and this style is going to last throughout the years. Right now, some furniture from the 90s is back in style, while some of it is not. So, just be careful with that.
Check Furniture Damage
I look for something that I would want in my own home that I like the shape and style of, and then I go and look closer at it. So, yes, I also look for damage. Are there cracks in the wood, or are there chips anywhere? Are there any big, huge scratches that need to be filled? You can learn how to repair deep scratches in wood furniture here.
Do the drawers work? Are the drawers or doors easy to open and close? When I open the drawers, there’s like a jigsaw puzzle pattern on the sides, either the front or back, or both. It’s called dovetail, and that shows that they are of much better quality, not just stapled together.
Is the furniture wobbly? Does it move back and forth when you barely touch it? Or if you can see particle board, or it kind of looks like cardboard, I would avoid that because that just won’t hold up for very long. If you’re wondering, can you refinish particle board furniture?, check out our post for answers!
So, I look to see if it is made of wood. Can I see and feel natural wood grain? Sometimes it’s laminate that looks like wood, but it feels plasticky. But laminate is just fine to paint. Actually, sometimes I prefer having furniture with laminate on top because it’s not scratched up like wood would be.
You can go check out our guide on how to paint laminate furniture here. If you want a more natural look, here’s how to stain laminate furniture. But if it’s wobbly or damaged, I might pass it up.
So, it’s not always best to just look for cheap furniture or free furniture. Now, that’s great, but it might take you a lot more time and money to fix it up than if you spend a little bit more on something that is better quality. Here’s our guide for everything you need to know about repairing old furniture.
Check Paint Condition
If the piece is painted, are there brush marks everywhere? Does the paint scratch off easily? If the paint does scratch off easily, then I will not buy it. Even if it’s free and the style that I like, I’m going to have to remove all of that paint, and that is a big job. You can learn how to remove paint from wood furniture here.
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And what is my plan for this? Will I refinish or paint it? Because looking for furniture for staining or restaining is different than painting. You can cover up a lot of stuff and fix a lot of damage if you are painting over it, but it’s a lot harder when you are staining to match the wood.
If you’re just starting out, here’s how to paint furniture for beginners and how to stain furniture for beginners to help you!
How to Choose the Right Furniture for Painting
Now, if it has the style I want, there’s minimal damage, the drawers work, and the price point is a good one that I’m comfortable with, then I’ll buy it. But if it’s, say, $150 for a dresser, I might pass on it, but I might also buy it depending on how big it is. If it’s big, it might be worth it.
However, if everything else is going for it, it’s in great condition, and it’s expensive, I might buy it because I won’t have to make any repairs. I can go ahead and just refinish it if it works in the space I need it for.
If you’re looking to paint furniture to sell, I have a pricing cheat sheet for you! For each type of furniture, we have included how much we would be willing to pay for that piece from a thrift store, Facebook marketplace, or yard sales, and then how much we can sell it for.
So grab our pricing guide cheat sheet here to help you if you are doing this to flip furniture and make a profit. You can also get more tips on how to make money painting furniture and how to sell furniture fast in these posts.
Otherwise, when you’re purchasing things for your own home, a lot of times you’re still saving hundreds of dollars by buying old furniture and updating it yourself, compared to going and buying a brand new piece of furniture that probably isn’t going to be as good of quality as the old stuff.
That’s not always true, though, so you have to look for particle board because new furniture is often made out of MDF. However, if everything looks like wood, it’s either wood or they’ve done a very good job of making it look like wood.
So that is how I choose furniture for painting. Make sure you keep these little guidelines in mind when shopping for thrifted furniture, and save yourself the headache and frustration.
Don’t just buy cheap furniture thinking, “Oh, I’ll fix it up,” because it’s going to be a much bigger project if there’s a bunch of damage, such as having to repair the drawers. Here’s how to fix old dresser drawers that stick to guide you with any issues.
And you’re going to spend a lot of time and money fixing up that really cheap furniture. So, you have to find a balance between cheap and expensive. That is good quality furniture.
Now granted, if the style of the furniture is exactly what you want, and you really don’t care about the quality or how long it’s going to last, obviously, go for it. That goes for anything. These are just things that I look for when I am picking furniture.
More Painting Furniture Ideas
- Why Your Paint Doesn’t Work (Even When You Try to do Everything Right)
- How to Sell Used Furniture
- Easy Way To Paint Furniture In One Day: From Trash To $300
- Furniture Makeover (With Only 5 Products!)
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