Painting Wood Furniture White
If you want a clean and bright aesthetic in your home, painting wood furniture white is a great way to make that happen. White painted furniture is a timeless and versatile design choice that can easily fit into any style of home decor.
So check out one of these best painted furniture ideas in white, a simple project that you can definitely do yourself. Get ready to transform your old, drab wood furniture into a light and fresh piece!
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See more AFTER photos below these printable instructions!
Painting Wood Furniture White
In this guide, we’ll show you how painting wood furniture white can bring a bright, clean aesthetic to your home with easy and budget friendly makeover.
Materials
Tools
Instructions
- First, remove any old hardware so that they won't get in the way of painting your wooden furniture. Give your furniture a good cleaning with Krud Kutter because paint sticks better to a clean surface.
- Fill in any old hardware holes with Bondo, making sure to work quickly as it dries fast. Then sand it down smooth before measuring and drilling new holes for the new hardware.
- Scuff sand the rest of the furniture with fine grit sandpaper to create a better surface for paint to adhere to. Don't forget to clean off the dust afterwards! Tape the top for staining later.
- Spray clear shellac onto your wooden furniture to prime it and prevent tannins from staining your paint. This also helps to create a smooth and professional finish.
- Make your own chalk paint using white latex paint and calcium carbonate powder and water, then pour it into your sprayer through a paint filter to filter out any debris.
- Spray 3-4 coats of white chalk paint onto your furniture, especially if your piece is dark, for full coverage. Spray each coat evenly and let it dry completely before sanding for a distressed look.
- Remove tape and plastic from the top and stain it using a dark walnut stain. Follow the grain of the wood for a natural look and wipe off excess after 5-10 minutes.
- Seal your painted and stained wooden furniture with a waterbased polyurethane topcoat for protection and easy cleaning. Spray 3 coats evenly and let it dry completely before attaching the new hardware.
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More Before and After Makeovers
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Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.
One of the best things about painting furniture white is that it works with just about any style. Whether you prefer a more rustic farmhouse look or a sleek modern vibe, white furniture can easily match your existing decor.
Not only does white painted furniture add brightness to your space, it also adds a sense of cleanliness and simplicity. White reflects light, making the room feel airy and open. It can also make a small space appear larger.
If you haven’t already, consider giving a fresh coat of white paint to your old wooden furniture. It’s a cost effective way to update your space without having to buy new furniture. It’s also very easy to do – see for yourself!
Supplies Used to Paint Wood Furniture White
- Krud Kutter
- Bondo
- Sandpaper
- Drill
- Vacuum
- Tack Cloth
- Painter’s Tape
- Clear Shellac
- Behr Pure White (For White Homemade Chalk Paint)
- Calcium Carbonate Powder (For White Homemade Chalk Paint)
- Paint Filter
- Paint Sprayer
- Dark Walnut Stain
- Waterbased Polyurethane in Satin
- New Hardware
Preparing Wood Furniture for White Paint
Of course, we started with the proper prep work – we removed all the hardware so they don’t get in the way while we’re painting. We also did this since we’re changing out the hardware for a more modern look.
We then gave the whole piece a good clean using Krud Kutter. Wipe away any residue or dirt on the surface of your furniture. This way, you’ll be painting on a clean surface and your paint will stick better, plus, you won’t smudge any dirt or grime into the finish when you start sanding
Next, we filled in the old hardware holes with Bondo. Bondo is one of the ways of filling holes when replacing cabinet or furniture hardware – just be sure to work fast as it dries quickly! We overfilled the holes a bit, then sanded it down to make sure it was smooth with the rest of the piece.
We measured and drilled new holes for the new hardware, then proceeded to sand the rest of the coffee table. A light sanding with fine grit sandpaper will do or you can use an electric sander like this SurfPrep Electric Ray 3×4′′ Sander and these sanding screens that we love! Either way, sanding will help the paint adhere to the surface much better.
Once we were done sanding, we cleaned off the dust with a vacuum and wiped it down with a tack cloth. And before moving on, we taped off the top of the table to protect it from paint since we planned to stain it.
Priming Wooden Furniture
Wood furniture needs to be primed before painting, especially with wood tannins that can seep through and stain your paint. If you don’t want to end up with a yellowed finish, it’s important to use a good primer.
Shellac is an excellent choice since it blocks tannins effectively – it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent bleed through. Here’s how to stop stains from coming through paint for more on this, including how to fix bleedthrough if you’ve already painted your piece.
We sprayed 2 coats of clear shellac onto the wooden table, making sure to cover all surfaces and edges. Priming also helps to create a smooth and even surface for the paint to adhere to, so if you want a professional finish, don’t skip this step!
Painting Wood Furniture with White Chalk Paint
For our white paint, we made homemade chalk paint using Behr Pure White and calcium carbonate powder. You can check out our exact homemade chalk paint recipe here! We love making our own chalk paint because it’s cheaper than buying pre-made chalk paint, and chalk paint itself is super easy to work with.
Chalk paint is thick though, so before we sprayed it with our Vonforn paint sprayer, we poured it through a paint filter. This step is very important because even the smallest bits of debris can clog up your paint sprayer and mess up your furniture’s finish.
We sprayed about 3 to 4 coats of white chalk paint onto our wooden table, making sure to cover all surfaces and edges evenly. If you’re painting a darker wood color white, you may need more coats to get full coverage.
Once the white paint was dry, we lightly sanded the edges for a distressed look. If you prefer a clean and sleek finish, you can skip this step altogether. But if you want to give your furniture a bit of character and vintage charm, you can do some sanding like we did – here’s how to distress chalk paint for other distressing techniques.
Staining Wooden Top
After cleaning up the dust from distressing and removing the tape and plastic from the top, it was time to tackle the staining process. We chose a dark walnut stain to give our wooden top a rich, warm color and contrast with the white paint.
When applying the stain, we made sure to go with the grain of the wood for a more natural look. We also let the stain sit for about 5-10 minutes before wiping off the excess, as this allowed the stain to set in and create a deeper color.
Check out our guides on how to stain wood furniture and how to stain wood furniture darker for more tips and tricks on getting the perfect stain shade you want for your furniture.
Sealing White Painted Wooden Furniture
To lock in the color and protect the white paint and stain on our wooden furniture, we applied a water based polyurethane topcoat all over the table. We used a satin finish for a subtle sheen and this also makes it easier to clean.
We sprayed 3 coats of polyurethane using the same paint sprayer we used for the white chalk paint – the Vonforn sprayer is one of the best paint sprayer for chalk paint options, so if you’re planning on doing a lot of furniture makeovers using chalk paint, we recommend it! Learn some tips and tricks on spraying polyurethane with our blog post about can you use a paint sprayer for polyurethane.
We let the topcoat dry completely before attaching the new hardware to the new holes we drilled. And our coffee table makeover was complete! The white paint and dark stained top gave it a modern farmhouse look that we absolutely love.
More Painted Furniture Makeovers
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