How to Paint Wooden Furniture
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 scheme.
Use your most-loved Little Greene shades to reinvent 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 wooden furniture, consider how it will complement other shades in your scheme.
Draw out the teal tones in Carlton House Terrace - Pompon using Tea with Florence on a desk. This historical blue-green furniture paint creates a tonal office scheme that complements the surrounding accessories.
Explore this scheme in more detail within our inspiration gallery
What type of paint should you use on wooden 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 Intelligent Satinwood finish. If your furniture is unpainted or particularly worn, we recommend using our Intelligent ASP (All Surface Primer) which is tinted to a slightly lighter shade. Using primer and paint together will ensure maximum depth of colour.
Intelligent Satinwood 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.
- Fully washable and scrubbable
- Virtually odourless in application
- Quick-drying (dry in 1–2 hours)
- Environmentally-friendly
- Available in 1l or 2.5l tins for smaller projects & 5l tins for larger projects
- 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.
A Guide To Painting Previously Painted Wooden Furniture:
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. Rub down with a medium grade sandpaper, feathering in where paint has been removed.
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.
3. Stir your paint thoroughly before use, as paint can settle over time. Apply the first coat of ‘Intelligent Satinwood’ evenly and allow it to dry for four hours.
4. After four hours, apply a second coat of ‘Intelligent Satinwood’. We recommend two full coats of ‘Intelligent Satinwood’ to achieve full depth of colour on previously painted wood. Your furniture will be surface dry within 1–2 hours.
A Guide To Painting Bare or New Wooden Furniture:
1. Clean and treat the surface of your wooden furniture before painting.
2. Seal your furniture with Aluminium Wood Primer or knotting compound. Apply sealant to any knots if your furniture is made from softwood. For hardwoods, seal the entire piece.
3. Apply one coat of primer using Intelligent ASP (15% v/v with water to allow penetration into the substrate). Ensure the surface is completely dry before continuing.
4. Stir your Intelligent Satinwood paint thoroughly before use. Apply the first coat evenly and allow it to dry for four hours.
5. After four hours, apply a second coat of Intelligent Satinwood. We recommend two full coats of Intelligent Satinwood 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
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 Satinwood, 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. Natural brushes are ideal for the application of more traditional, solvent-based paints, such as Traditional Oil Eggshell.
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.