Coordinate Mismatched Furniture With Paint

by Patricia

2 Materials

Easy

If you don't like matchy-matchy furniture but still want to pull together a coordinated look on a budget, it's easy to do with paint.

coordinate mismatched furniture with paint, chalk paint, painted furniture

In this example I took two different style vintage nightstands with a similar scale and gave them a unified look with chalk paint.

The first nightstand is a Federal Style circa 1960's. It has graceful straight lines with a Hepplewhite drawer pull.

The second nightstand is a Duncan Phyfe style circa 1940's with curved elegant lines, tapered legs with a subtle flare at the bottom, and two bowed front drawers with bail pulls for the hardware.

I applied two thin coats of Old White chalk paint to each nightstand. The first coat always looks splotchy, so don't panic! Continue with the second coat and you'll start to see some fabulous results. Lighter colors, such as white, and most shades of reds, might need three or more coats. I stopped at two coats because I planned to give the nightstands a distressed finish.

This pair had extensive damage to the finish and some of the trim was broken off from the Duncan Phyfe nightstand, so I decided to work with the damage and give both a shabby chic finish with heavy distressing. I finished each piece with soft clear wax.

Now the pair each has a lighter and brighter look, but they still retain a worn distressed finish which accentuates their vintage charm and history.

If you're interested in creating a similar look, or want to see other projects I'm working on, then I'd love for you to stop by my blog for a visit, or you can subscribe to "follow" and receive email alerts of new posts. New friends are always welcome!

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3 questions

Maureen Kimmitt on Oct 25, 2016
I have a question: did you sand these at all before applying the paint?

3
Dianne on Oct 25, 2016
Do you need to sand the furniture before you paint it?

2
Donna B on Oct 29, 2016
Did you use any particular brand of chalk paint? Look very nice!

2

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4 of 52 comments

Giorgia on Oct 28, 2016
I liked before too

Like Reply
- Patricia on Oct 28, 2016
  I liked the before, too. But in the end I decided to paint.
  
  2
Lisa House on Nov 06, 2016
Nicely done! I am a new follower now.

Like Reply
- Patricia on Nov 06, 2016
  Thank you Lisa for your kind words and for following along!
  
  1