How to Paint Designs on Antique Furniture

Antique furniture of any wood variety can be altered and embellished to become eye-catching additions to your home decor scheme. For instance, painting designs on antique wooden furniture not only beautifies the piece but allows you the opportunity to flex your creative muscle. Knowing how to paint antique furniture helps you refresh and renew old thrift-store pieces and trash finds.

Things You'll Need

• Soft rag
• Sticky notes
• Stencils
• Acrylic paint set with brushes
• Spray art gloss

Instructions

1. Place the furniture piece of choice over a drop cloth in a well ventilated area. Wipe it down with a soft cloth to rid it of dust and debris. Search for any blemishes on the piece of antique wooden furniture. Mark each blemish with a sticky note so as to keep them at your attention.

2. Place a stencil depicting a design of your choice over one of the marked blemishes. Remove the sticky note when you've centered the stencil over the blemish, which can be a scuff, nick or other unsightly damage to the furniture. You can choose any type of stencil from a craft or hobby supply shop that fits your design theme.

3. Outline the stenciled area with a thin line of acrylic paint in a color that suits your needs. Repeat Step 2 and this step with all of the marked blemishes, discarding the sticky notes as you do so. What this does is cover up all of these blemishes and re-creates the furniture into something new and not so damaged.

4. Use a myriad of acrylic paint tones to color and shade the stenciled designs on the wooden furniture piece. Use dabbing and sweeping motions depending on the style of design you are creating. The idea isn't so much texturing as it is filling in nicks and scrapes with the paint to even out the surface of the furniture. Let the painted furniture dry for two hours.

5. Shake a can of spray craft gloss for a minute to fully mix it. Hold the can five inches from the surface of the furniture. Spray a fine mist over the entire surface of the antique wood. This seals the painted designs in while creating an all over shine to the furniture. Let it dry for 24 hours before adding to your home decor scheme.