How To Make Your Second Hand Furniture Colorful And Fun

Do you want to create some colorful furniture for your home? I want to show you how you can take second hand furniture and make it fun with pops of color!!

How To Make Your Second Hand Furniture Colorful And Fun

Do you have a piece of second hand furniture that you want to give a little life to? It’s no secret I am a HUGE lover of color so I want to show you how I gave this piece a little southwestern flair. You can use a lot of these techniques on your own pieces to add some texture, character and color. Below is a list of supplies that I used. This post does contain affiliate links but they do not cost you anything to use. When you use them, they help support my small business so I can continue to bring you free and fun content.

Supply List:

Rusty Nail Paint by Dixie Belle Colonel Mustard Paint by Dixie Belle Kudzu Paint by Dixie Belle Peacock Paint by Dixie Belle Sea Spray Texture by Dixie Belle Prima Marketing Copper Crackle Redesign Decor Wax- Eternal Redesign Decor Transfer- Western Tapestry Easy Peasy Spray Wax by Dixie Belle Dixie Belle Mini Synthetic Brush White Lightening Cleaner Transfer Tool Paint Spatula Artists Brush Mixing Cup Mixing Stick Chip Brushes 120 Sandpaper 000 Steel Wool Clean Rag

Prepping This Shiny Wooden Piece

Prep is super important with any furniture piece you will paint. Each piece requires different prep. This piece is solid wood, but has a shiny finish. I scuff sanded down this entire piece with a 120 grit sandpaper. I then cleaned it down really well with Dixie Belle’s White Lightening Cleaner. Your final finish is only as good as how well you prepared your piece.

Cleaning your second hand furniture is really important, many pieces have years of dirt and grime built up. On top of a scuff sand I also cleaned this piece really well. Do you SEE how gross that water is?

Let’s Get Our Paint On!!

I based this piece around the decor transfer from Redesign with Prima call Western Tapestry. Being a hug fan of Southwestern colors and patterns, this piece was a dream to create. The colors for this piece were chosen by pulling from the transfer. First I painted a base coat of Dixie Belle’s Rusty Nail. Then laying this piece on it’s back so I can make sure I hit every angle of the bottom.

I laid down only one coat of Rusty Nail on the piece to prepare it for the next steps. My paintbrush was then put into a sandwich bag with a rubber band around the handle. As a result I won’t have to clean my brush after each use.

I rolled out the decor transfer so I could measure and cut it to fit the front of the drawer. After the transfer was measured I removed the backing and used my transfer tool to rub it on the area. Once it was transferred I was able to pull the plastic cover off.

You can see how to use the Redesign by Prima Decor Transfers in the video below.

Adding Texture To Your Second Hand Furniture

When I think of the Southwest I think of color and texture. Sea Spray is the perfect medium to create texture on your second hand furniture. I used my mixing cup, mixing stick, Sea Spray, Kudzu and Colonel Mustard. I created a cup for Kudzu and Colonel Mustard.

You will want to make sure your paint and Sea Spray is mixed really well. The consistency should be that of a thicker grainy pancake batter like consistency. Once the Sea Spray was mixed well I used chip brushes to add the two different colors randomly all over the entire piece.

If you just wanted texture but not different colors, you could just make a mixture with the base color. I however want some color, texture, and peekaboo character. Therefore, I used a few different colors apart from the base coat color of Rusty Nail. After I added the Sea Spray I allowed it to fully dry. Next I decided I wanted to add another piece of the Decor Transfer to the back of the seat. I measured the pieces out and once again used my transfer tool. The transfer did not stick to the textured areas which is exactly what I wanted. I wanted more of a distressed-weathered edge.

Revealing Color And Texture

If you want a peek-a-boo multi-colored texture on your second hand furniture, you will need to go over the textured areas with another color. In this case I stuck with the original base coat color Rusty Nail. You will want to use stipling on top of the textured areas to ensure you get the best coverage. You may need to paint two coats over the texture depending on the colors you are using.

Before I sanded to reveal the multi-colors I added some copper texture paste on the flat areas. I used a paint spatula to apply the texture paste.

You have to allow the texture paste and final coats of paint to fully dry before you sand over the texture. I used a 120 grit sand paper to moderately sand over all of the textured areas. I also took a 000 grade steel wool to go over the hard to reach areas and over all of the texture one last time. You can see the Colonel Mustard peeking through the Rusty Nail after it is sanded.

Finalizing The Details

The next step is to add those small fine details that set your piece apart. I chose Peacock to pull from the decor transfer. There are blues in the transfer that match the Peacock. I used a small artist brush to dry brush the Peacock on different areas all over the front of the piece.

The last steps were to add wax. Decor wax and a final wax. I added the Redesign Decor Wax in Element on random areas just like the Peacock. You need to make sure you allow the decor wax ample time to dry because it is oil based. Once you have given the decor wax a chance to dry, you can do your final wax. For my final wax, I used Dixie Belle’s Easy Peasy Spray Wax. It was much easier to spray wax of the texture rather than to brush a sealer on.

After completing the final step, your piece is complete! Do you SEE all this textured goodness?? I am so in love with this piece!! Your second hand furniture never has to be boring again!

Thank you so much for visiting me!!!

XOXOXO

Crys’Dawna