The Best Furniture Paint for a Dresser Makeover

There are a lot of good options for furniture paint but my go to is a no-sand and flawless paint finish that is easy to apply.

*This post is sponsored by Velvet Finishes paint. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.  Thank you for supporting brands that help make this blog possible. 

There are so many great paint options for furniture. I’ve used everything from wall paint, chalk paint, milk paint, and spray paint but let me tell you why my favorite paint for furniture makeovers is Velvet Finishes. I’ve been using Velvet Finishes by Kellie Smith for over two years now and love how easy it makes my painting jobs go.

The Best Paint for Furniture

If you are new here, howdy! I’m a recently retired military spouse who moved back to Texas after being gone 19 years. I’ve perfected the art of rental decorating and overcoming challenges in small spaces the last fifteen years but now am tackling home ownership with a new set of challenges! I love infusing colorful global style with DIYs and furnishings in our one story 60’s ranch style home.

First Velvet Finishes offers a beautiful collection of designer colors that I’m slowly making my way through. They recently released new colors that I’m also dying to get my hands on!

Second I love that you don’t have to sand the furniture beforehand. If a product can make my job easier, than I want to try it!

Third this paint has a beautiful flawless finish and comes with a protective coat.

Today I want to walk you through the steps I took to update our family heirloom French Provincial dresser for our master bedroom and answer some common questions about painting furniture. The dresser makeover is with Velvet Finishes’ Rococo. Doesn’t that sound dreamy?

Should I paint an antique or family heirloom?

You might be thinking, “Should I paint wood or antique furniture?” Let me explain why I’m painting a family heirloom.

My grandmother had a complete set of French Provincial bedroom furniture in one of her guest rooms since I was a little girl. It had come from a high end furniture store and was a lovely reproduction.

It isn’t over a 100 years old or an original French Provincial so it’s not really considered an antique. As my sisters and cousin grew older grandma started asking which pieces of furniture we would want to have after she was gone.

I had been in love with the curves of this French style and dreaming about painting this particular dresser for almost twenty years! When we moved back to my home state last year my sister gave me the dresser she had been storing (after grandma passed away).

It’s bitter sweet to have and I will pass it on to my children but it’s so fulfilling to finally be able to update it with a beautiful color. If you have antique or vintage piece of furniture you are wondering if you should paint, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does it have value? Do you think you might ever sale it? Consider refinishing or having it restored professionally if it is damaged or very worn and you don’t love its current look.
2. It may or may not have value but do you want to keep it forever? If it doesn’t spark joy for you now or you don’t see it fitting into your decor style then change it!! Giving it a fresh paint color can do wonders for falling in love with a piece again.

How to Update a Provincial Dresser with furniture paint using Velvet Finishes’ Ready, Colour, and Protect:

• Prepare the furniture by pulling out the drawers, removing pulls and any hardware. My dresser’s top drawers had pulls that were screwed and nailed in so I decided to leave those and paint around them.
• Wipe down with a damp cloth to clean or just spray Ready, let sit a few minutes, then wipe. Your furniture is ready to be painted!
• Paint your first coat of Colour which is a low VOC and non-toxic, water based latex paint. For a nice even coverage I’ve found using two light coats works the best. This paint dries quickly so you shouldn’t have to wait if any before you apply a second coat.
• *Side note: I used Rococo for this paint project but I wanted a subtle hint of pink so I mixed in a little Ethereal.

• Make sure to use a good paint brush or roller. I prefer using a brush and applying paint using brush strokes in the direction of the wood grain. Make sure to watch for drips around corners.
• If you catch any dust, hairs, or drips, lightly sand when the paint is dry to the touch. (Which is pretty fast!)
• I used a small craft brush to paint around the pulls I couldn’t remove. If you do get paint on pulls or hardware just keep a damp paper towel near by to wipe off the wet paint.
• Apply a second light coat following the same guidelines as above. Two light coats provides a smooth finish.
• Wait for a couple of hours (or overnight) and then apply Protect top coat with a brush or sponge brush for a protective finish. I absolutely love this stuff! It protects against dings and scuffs and has a lovely satin finish. Not all furniture may need this but if it’s a surface used often I highly recommend it.
• I start styling my new furniture makeovers about a hour after using Protect and does what it promises but to be on the safe side you can let your furniture sit for a few days to completely cure.

How to paint furniture without sanding.

I’ve used Velvet Finishes on a variety of surfaces like wood, veneer, and even a basket without having to sand by using their prepare spray. This makes furniture makeovers so much quicker and easier!

Should painted furniture be sealed?

Yes it should! Usually I wait at least a week after painting something for the paint to fully cure before I’ll even place anything on the furniture or move it.

But with Velvet Finishes Protect coat I wait a few hours or over night after I’m finished painting and then apply a coat of Protect. It dries quickly and then I’m able to use the furniture right away! (Velvet Finishes does suggest to wait a few days before using.)

I carefully chose what to place on the dresser since it is partially in front of a window. When I shopping in the Dallas design district a couple of months ago I found this great lucite sculptural piece. I’m excited it finally has a home in our bedroom.

The two botanical prints I’ve been using for years and I balanced out the other side of the dresser by leaning a couple of smaller framed art prints. One of them is an ink blot inspired printable I created last October.

Now our bedroom is one step closer to being “finished.” I still want to paint the walls, add new window treatments, and makeover our night stands to finish the home decor and DIY projects.

I hope you enjoyed all the tips for making furniture painting easy. Check out a couple of really cool techniques like how to get white furniture chippy and a really cool metallic treatment both from Design Aslyum blog. I love how Rain on a Tin Roof even used a paint sprayer to get the job done faster!

If you have any questions or want to chat just leave me a comment below or my email address is [email protected] Talk soon,

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