Can we talk furniture painting

[pumpkin]

The last piece of furniture I painted was in grad school and it turned out fine but wasnt anything special. My father painted a dresser black for my mom and it looks great but always feels a little "tacky" to me.

Ok, so I was at Marshall's today and came across a little cabinet which is perfect for the little nook in my kitchen, but it's way more than I was intending to spend. All that said, it would have to be painted, so I'm a little undecided as to whether or not I should get it.

So, I'm totally inexperienced in painting furniture and am wondering what I might be getting into. Can you ladies give me step by step directions on how I'd go about painting this? I'd like to paint it primarily white with maybe the drawers and the inset of the doors a light green.

ETA: sorry for my rambling

[peach]

If you are spending a ton of money on a piece of new furniture, don't paint it. If it's not the right color keep looking. You can get a piece like that at a garage sale or craigslist and paint it for next to nothing....I wouldn't spend hundreds on a new piece only to have to paint it.

We got an antique dresser for $40. It had a broken drawer and the top veneer was peeling...we repaired it and painted it with paint we already had, and now it looks amazing! I am all for painting furniture, but not brand new expensive stuff. If I am dropping $$$ it better be perfect already.

[pumpkin]

Dec 29, 2012 22:11:32 GMT -5 peach said:

If you are spending a ton of money on a piece of new furniture, don't paint it. If it's not the right color keep looking. You can get a piece like that at a garage sale or craigslist and paint it for next to nothing....I wouldn't spend hundreds on a new piece only to have to paint it.

We got an antique dresser for $40. It had a broken drawer and the top veneer was peeling...we repaired it and painted it with paint we already had, and now it looks amazing! I am all for painting furniture, but not brand new expensive stuff. If I am dropping $$$ it better be perfect already.

Yeah, that's why I'm still pondering this. The problem is that it's a small space and I've been having a really hard time finding something to fit it (13"D x 34"W x 36" H). I'm afraid my options are very limited and I wont find anything, and I don't want to wait forever looking.

[peach]

how much is it? You may be able to have someone build it for less...

[pumpkin]

A couple hundred. The only other option I've found i don't like as much and was only a little less.

If I were to go down the road of having someone make something how would I find someone like that?

[peach]

Carpenter/cabinet maker/handyman.

Check out Ana White- Knock Off Wood for a plan that might work for you, and a handy friend could make it.

In my small town, there are two different women who have a home business of making furniture like this. Benches, hutches, potato bins, shelves, etc. Their prices are reasonable and they can custom build whatever you want. I think this type of "business" is pretty common now ...

[pumpkin]

Peach you're totally helpful. But you're assuming i have handy friends, lol. I'm definitely going to look into something like this. Am thinking in my area something like this could be pretty pricey but it never hurts to look. Thanks!

[peach]

Actually my husband is handy. He could totally make that for you ;D

I guess it depends on how bad you want it, and what your options are. If you don't have handy friends and you don't own any power tools....maybe it's worth it to just buy the piece then.

[pumpkin]

Dec 29, 2012 23:56:34 GMT -5 peach said:

Actually my husband is handy. He could totally make that for you ;D

I guess it depends on how bad you want it, and what your options are. If you don't have handy friends and you don't own any power tools....maybe it's worth it to just buy the piece then.

This totally had me laughing! Um yeah, all of the power tools I "own" come from my father's garage, usually accompanied by him. Not sure I should admit that on this board, but you all put me to shame in that arena.

[auntie]

Do you have an unpainted furniture store near you? They typically have tons of storage pieces from accent to statement sizes at reasonable prices.

That piece would have to be stripped chemically and then sanded before you could paint. This is relatively expensive and quite time consuming.

[auntie]

www.1unfinishedfurniture.com/kitchen.html

[pumpkin]

Dec 30, 2012 5:52:57 GMT -5 auntie said:

www.1unfinishedfurniture.com/kitchen.html

There are some beautiful pieces here. Unfortunately none of them fit the space I have...stupid kitchen nook. Thanks for the suggestions.

[lys]

Consider an unfinished upper kitchen cabinet - sand, prime and paint with oul based enamel (satin finish). Add feet to the bottom of cabinet - add hardware = done!