While it may be tempting to paint an old piece of furniture that has been lingering in your house, it can be best to leave it unpainted. To help you know which furniture kinds to avoid giving a quick do-it-yourself makeover, we asked experts to identify which ones should never be painted.
Types of Furniture You Should Never Paint
vintage furniture
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Do your research to determine whether the items are original and, if so, when they were manufactured, regardless of whether you went antiquing, found a beautiful piece on the curb, or received family treasures. You should refrain from applying many coats of paint on antiques that are at least a century old.
Because collectors frequently look for original finishes, painting antique furniture can drastically lower its value, particularly if the piece has historical significance.
New Items Completed in the Factory
If you have properly prepared the surface, chosen the appropriate paint, and applied it using the proper technique, you can paint over nearly any kind of surface, including metal, wood, and laminate. However, you might want to wait to paint a new piece of furniture, even if it’s the less expensive flat-pack variety, because the paint may not stick as well to a brand-new factory finish.
The painted finish will be more prone to wear and chipping than the original factory finish, even if you adhere to best practices. Of course, you can go back to the painting concept once some time has gone and the object has developed some wear and tear.
Items With Intricate Details
Paint hides the fine craftsmanship that makes a piece unique, like an elaborate headboard or armoire made of hand-carved wood.
However, any elaborate detail is difficult to paint over, even if it isn’t hand-carved: When painting elaborate details, decorations, or curves, it can be challenging to achieve consistent coverage and prevent drips. Before trying to alter such a piece, be brutally honest with yourself about your painting skills.
Select Midcentury Modern Pieces
Similar to antiques, furnishings from the midcentury modern era are frequently sought-after by collectors. Consider classic designs like the Jacobsen dining chair, the Eames lounge chair, and the Noguchi coffee table, among many others.
Some pieces from this design era are made of bent plywood coated in premium wood veneer, while others are made of real woods like teak and walnut. The value of the artwork may also be diminished by paint that obscures a stunning wood grain, takes away the original midcentury veneers, or otherwise detracts from the iconic appearance.
Therefore, before starting a painting or flipping project, learn about the piece’s history if you plan to sell it or pass it down in the future.
Cedar Outdoor Furniture
Due to its ability to withstand weather, cedar is frequently used for outdoor furniture and garden accents. It can be found in everything from traditional low-slung Adirondack deck chairs to birdhouses and privacy trellises. Painting natural cedar is not a smart decision, even though sealing it normally helps provide further weather protection.
In addition to having lovely grain patterns that paint layers obscure, cedar offers inherent protection against insect and decay damage, which painting would otherwise lessen.
Contrarily, staining improves the natural characteristics of the wood while offering additional defense against moisture and UV radiation.
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