Painting a Dining Set

By

meshelle

Hello, I trained on reusing, revamping, restyling furniture on a shoestring so how about: Idea 1: rubbing down with medium and finishing with fine sandpaper, and then giving it a emulsion paint 'wash' effect to give it the appearance of liming or use a 'liming' paste. Its easier to use slightly watered down emulsion applied with a soft cloth and going in one direction.
Idea 2: still need to lightly rub down but you could paint in a rich cream and add some folksy stenciling, add cup hooks to the dresser shelves. Painting in cream enables you to change the colour easier at a later date as this is a good base colour.

But dont forget to use water based paints throughout as they are easier to handle, can play around with the colour/texture, less toxic and easier, quicker to use.

By

Bethmom1961

I like the shabby chic lookl Even if you paint it all white, My mother had the same style dining room set and I have often wished I had it in my kitchen now.

By

lyndagayle62

If it were my decision, I'd double check tall of the joints for tightness. If tight and not badly rubbed/scratched on the top of the table, I'd decide if I want paint/ streaks and all, or stain that can be a richer, slightly lighter and warmer for the top and for the chair back spindles.

Then I'd use the liquid Murphy Oil Soap/water for wood cabinetry and clean the whey out of the dark parts. Dry for two days. Sand them slightly but evenly, then wipe down with alcohol and muslin gauze to collect all dust particles.

I'd mask the lighter stained parts well with kraft paper and masking tape, and spray paint all remaining wood black satin finish, double coating with a light even sanding between coats.

If you are good at this, you could also sand/stain the tops of the turned "knobs" on each chair in the lighter color. I believe you will be pleased. If you are, and have not gotten in a hurry, when the last coat has dried for two full days, add a coat of satin finishing liquid polyurethane, IF the stain and paint is water based, otherwise you may "lift" some of the work you have done.

Read your labels well, ask for professional advice wherever you buy it all, if possible, and think it through carefully before beginning. Go to a paint store if you need extra advice about anything, but do not take the advice from WalMart store clerks or young Home Depot employees who may know too little.

I'd add two coats of Polyurethane to the top, if you make certain to follow directions for second coat.

Two runners crossing the table in two directions would be something fresh, to match simple chair pads? with an added centerpiece of medium silk flowers, in clear glass or brass pot.

You can do this if you do not get impatient or begin to just paint and hope for the best. It won't be what you're after, I'm sure, and you will only have to re-do it. Keep the spray paint lightly moving, evenly spraying, and let each coat dry very well.

Tip: when sanding, give the bottoms of all legs near the floor more attention, because of the dings, dirt, food that we miss sometimes, and because you'd not want the paint to fall off or not stain that area.

If you have any paint left over, turn the table/chairs over and give the bottoms a fresh single coat.

The china cabinet, I'd try to give the edges of the shelves and drawer fronts the lighter wood stain, remembering that finger oils and drawer pull areas are especially dirty, so scrub a bit longer there with the Murphy Oil Soap/water.

Shelves get not only dusty, but oily residue from whatever cooking oils land on them from the air, especially from the kitchen area. Use Purel Hand Sanitizer to remove the oils, then Murphy Oil Soap and water for the whole thing, including the insides of the drawers, which you will want to paint black as well, I'm sure?

Use only one coat on the sides of the drawers so they won't stick so easily. If they do, rub them with clear castile soap and it should lubricate them, unless they have hardware drawer glides on the sides or plenty of room to move

If you can afford it, once finished, that's the time to consider some fresh simple but classic hardware for the cabinet, unless what is there is adequate and attractive. If the old hardware is too cheap, and if you can afford it, replace it.

This sort of project is time consuming, but if the all the joints are strong and not loose, it will be worth it when you are through. Do this only if the whole set is all wood, not particle-board backed/ drawer-bottoms, and not laminated table top. If they are, I'd just do the least thing, give it a kiss and a promise, add new cloth, and focus on other things.

God bless and help you in all ways. "-"

By

EGGZ

Looking at the picture, I would just thoroughly clean the table and chairs and if the finish is still there just give it a good waxing. Buy a floor length round table cloth in one of the soft colors in your sofa because it is so close, and then another smaller round like you have in perhaps lace because of the style of your room. Replace your candles with some taller colored ones and you could also repaint the candle holder, or set it on a pretty plate for more warmth. Also the stark white wall needs either some color or something either side of the hutch to tie your room together. If you still want to paint the furniture, the different colored chairs would be a wonderful fun touch. Or you could antique the set in the same off white shade as the background of your sofa. Another easy inexpensive thought is to just paint your wall a soft color, perhaps picking up the pale green in sofa. I have had great luck buying "oops" paint cheap, and if necessary it can be re-tinted. Have fun, you can do a lot with just coordinating what you have and thrift stores are a great source for finding stuff to "fill in the blanks".

By

Carly34

Looks like you are a country/traditional style person.
How about two or three colors that compliment each other and distress it a bit.
Antique white with country blue, green and red to blend the sofa with the wood furniture.

So paint the seats of the chairs one color and the backs of the chairs one color and the legs one color, see what I'm imagining?

Or paint each chair a different color and paint the table a different color from that and then paint the hutch all different colors to match.

By

yoder178

If you plan on keeping your sofa I would paint it white or off white. There are websites that show you how to make it look antiqued. If you are going to change your sofa etc. to a darker color I would use black for the paint, it's awesome. Good luck:)

By

merlene

I've seen a couple of neighbors spray paint their dining room furniture and book cases a matte black. I looked awesome. I'm going to try it on an old bedroom set.

By

PainterLee

With the couch nearby, you could use a soft blue or green from the couch fabric. Either would look beautiful!

By

vamp4874

I would suggest that you paint all pieces of furniture an off-white color for the base color. The rim of the table and all of the chairs should be in a blue (except for the chair seats themselves). Stenciling would look lovely on all of it. Good luck and have fun.

By

anew_kristel

You can paint it with a brownish-red paint or a color that is a little bit dark and then try to put a varnish on it so the color would really stand out or shines. If you really want your wooden dining room to look good and new, you better choose a new table-cloth, new things to put in it and just make sure that the cloth that you will use suits to the color of the chairs. One suggestion, remove the candles, it would make your dining table look really old-fashioned, why not a pot of pleasant, small, fragrant plant or a flower. That's the good thing!

Good luck! I hope my answer helped you!

I have a dining set from the 70s. It is dark. I wanted to brighten up my dining room and want to paint it. Do you do anything different when painting a table?