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 and contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience at no extra charge to you. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.  Thank you for supporting brands that help make this blog possible. 

I often get asked, “what is the best paint to paint furniture?” Especially with so many paint options. I’ve used everything from wall, chalk, milk, and spray paint on furniture. I’m excited to share what my favorite paint for furniture makeovers is with you today and how easy it makes my painting jobs go.

The Best Paint for Furniture without Sanding

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.

My favorite paint for furniture is Velvet Finishes if you haven’t guessed! 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, it is the best paint for furniture without sanding! If a product can make my job easier, then I want to try it!

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

I want to walk you through the steps I took to update our family heirloom French Provincial dresser for our master bedroom. I’ll also 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.

My dresser isn’t considered an antique as it isn’t over 100 years old or an original French Provincial. 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 French style curves 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 bittersweet 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 an 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 sell 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.

The Best Paint for Laminate Furniture

I’ve used Velvet Finishes to update solid wood and laminate furniture and because they have a three-step process that eliminates the need to sand, the finish is equally beautiful for both types of furniture.

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’ pulls 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 paintbrush 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 nearby to wipe off the wet paint.
• Apply a second light coat following the same guidelines as above. Two light coats provide a smooth finish.
• Wait for a couple of hours (or overnight) and then apply to Protect topcoat 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. If the surface is used often I highly recommend it.
• I start styling my new furniture makeovers about an 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.

As I already mentioned, 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 for the paint to fully cure before I’ll place anything on the surface or move it. But Velvet Finishes provides a top coat for painted furniture so you can use it much sooner.

I do recommend waiting a few hours or overnight before applying a coat of Protect. It dries quickly and then I’m able to use the furniture right away! (Velvet Finishes suggest waiting a few days after a coat of Protect 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. An ink blot-inspired printable I created last October is one of them.

Our almost finished bedroom is one step closer! The walls, window treatments, and nightstands still need to be addressed.

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 the Design Aslyum blog. I love how Rain on a Tin Roof even used a paint sprayer to get the job done faster!

Join me on Instagram for behind the scenes, DIYs, decorating tips, room tours, and home inspiration. I’ll see you over there!

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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