Painted Furniture

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I went on a Pinterest binge over the weekend. While I was looking back through some of my pins, I realized something about myself: I like painted furniture. And painted tubs and painted cabinets. No, I'm not going to paint my kitchen pink and I don't have an old-fashioned claw foot tub to paint red, but I have considered painting the steel kitchen chairs bright red. And I just need to find the right spot for a painted pink chair.

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By now, I've had some experience painting furniture. There were the black dining chairs and bookshelf I turned white, back in Tokyo. Then there's the coral-orange side table in the living room and the teal yard sale chairs. A nightstand. The girls' pastel shelves. Oh yes, and the kitchen cabinets I painted a few months ago.

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My, and many people's, method is to clean the piece, sand, wipe off any dust and prime before painting. My side table had a hard, shiny lacquer finish to it. An orbit sander came in handy for roughing up the shine before priming and painting it.

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Some say spray paint is the way to go, but for wood pieces, I'm partial to a brush and a can of latex paint. It's cheaper and there's a wider range of colors to choose from. Spray paint also stinks and no matter how well I cover the floor or grass, it manages to go where it's not wanted. Painting the old-fashioned way with a brush does take some time. It can also drip, so make sure you take your time and don't overload your brush with paint. You can always sand over any drippy marks once the paint is dry, then paint over with another coat.

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I haven't gotten up the courage to do the kitchen chairs yet, but a splash of red (or pink) would look so cute. When I get there, I'm going to clean the chairs, sand, wipe down any dust, then prime and paint with a special primer and paint for metal.

I'll leave you with a look at some of my own little painting projects. The kitchen cabinets weren't so little of a project. In fact, it's kind of hard to believe I decided to tackle that one. It was well worth the effort, though!