How to Paint Wooden Furniture
Painting wooden furniture, new or old, can provide an instant update to your home. Upcycling a piece of furniture is one of the easiest ways to create a focal point in a scheme. Consider bold colours to create a stand-out piece or select complementary hues for a harmonious look.
Use your most-loved Little Greene shades to refresh existing pieces of indoor wooden furniture and transform them into bespoke pieces.
Incorporate bold tones
Furniture provides the perfect opportunity to incorporate some bolder tones alongside a neutral palette on walls and woodwork. Contrast neutral shades from the French Grey family with an accent colour such as Tuscan Red.
Alternatively, choose shades from the Bone China Blue family for your walls alongside bright orange furniture. Marigold is used on a chest of drawers as a statement accent shade to create impact within a softer scheme.
Learn more about Marigold furniture paint
Consider paint colours that will complement your scheme
When choosing a colour for painting wooden furniture, consider how it will complement other shades in your scheme.
For a statement dining room scheme, coordinate Hoja - Air Force Blue wallpaper with Air Force Blue on the dining table. This historical blue is deeper and richer than many variations, and creates real impact when used all over.
Explore this scheme in more detail within our inspiration gallery
Best Paint to Use on Wood Furniture
Once you have selected a colour, you will then need to choose a suitable paint finish.
For interior woodwork projects, we would recommend our self-priming Intelligent Satin finish, which can be applied directly to bare wood and most existing paint finishes. If you are making a drastic colour change, we would recommend first using our Intelligent ASP (All Surface Primer) which is tinted to a slightly lighter shade.
Intelligent Satin is:
- Available in all colours from the Little Greene palette
- Ideal for painting interior woodwork including kitchen cabinets and furniture, such as chairs, tables, wardrobes and trim.
- Self-priming, with Intelligent Grip™ technology
- Fully washable and scrubbable
- Virtually odourless in application
- Quick-drying (dry in 1–2 hours)
- Environmentally-friendly
- Available in quart or gallon tins
- Child-safe
- Low-sheen - around 30–35% gloss level
- Very durable
A guide to painting indoor wooden furniture:
Our in-house professional decorator has provided this step-by-step guide for interior furniture painting projects, depending on if your furniture is unpainted or previously painted.
How to Repaint Wood Furniture
Clean and prime surface
1. Before you start painting, ensure the surface is clean, dry and grease-free. Use sugar soap to remove all loose and flaking paintwork. Then, rinse the surface with clean water. If you are painting over aged, oil-based gloss, lightly rub down with a medium grade sandpaper, feathering in where paint has been removed.
Apply additional primer as needed
2. For a significant colour change, such as dark to light, apply one coat of ‘Intelligent ASP’ (All Surface Primer) to retain the depth of colour. Allow to dry for at least two hours.
Stir paint and apply first coat
3. Stir your paint thoroughly before use, as paint can settle over time. Apply the first coat of ‘Intelligent Satin’ evenly and allow it to dry for four hours.
4. After four hours, apply a second coat of ‘Intelligent Satin'. We recommend two full coats of ‘Intelligent Satin’ to achieve full depth of colour on previously painted wood. Your furniture will be surface dry within 1–2 hours.
How to Paint New Wood Furniture
1. Clean and treat the surface of your wooden furniture before painting.
2. Seal your furniture with knotting compound. Apply sealant to any knots if your furniture is made from softwood. For hardwoods, seal the entire piece.
3. Stir your Intelligent Satin paint thoroughly before use. Apply the first coat evenly and allow it to dry for four hours.
4. After four hours, apply a second coat of Intelligent Satin. We recommend two full coats of Intelligent Satin to achieve full depth of colour on previously unpainted wood. Your piece will be surface dry within one to two hours.
Our final tips for painting wooden furniture
Make sure to use the correct paint brush
The best way to paint wood furniture is to use the right type brush,There are two types of brush – Synthetic and Natural. These brushes behave very differently with different coatings.
Synthetic bristles are very hard-wearing with good bristle and shape retention properties. Usually, a high-quality synthetic bristle brush will last up to five times longer than a natural bristle brush. When applying a water-based paint like Intelligent Satin, use a high-quality, synthetic bristle brush for the best results. Natural bristles are structured so that they will absorb and retain the uptake of paint, ideal for the application of more traditional, solvent-based paints.
Allow enough time for the furniture to dry completely
Wooden furniture will be touch-dry in two hours and will be ready for a second coat after two hours. However, we advise allowing seven days for furniture to dry completely before being moved or used.
Learn more about the drying times of each paint finish in our detailed Technical Data Sheets.
For more colour scheme and decoration ideas, discover our inspiration hub.
Or, to refresh woodwork for outdoor use, read our guide to painting exterior wood.
Once you’ve completed your furniture project, share the results with us on social media! Tag @littlegreenepaintcompany on Instagram and we will share our favourites.