Techniques for Hand-Painted End Tables

Making a piece of furniture yours by hand painting it adds character to your home. End tables are the perfect place to experiment because they are small, usually inexpensive and can be accomplished in a short amount of time. The most difficult part may be in deciding what technique to use. Basically, almost any painting technique you can do on a wall, you can also do on furniture. Free-hand designs, silhouettes, stripes, fabric looks, stencils and combinations are all possibilities.

End Table Preparation

The condition of your end table will determine how much preparation you will need to do. If the tables are new and have a high gloss finish, you will need to rough them up with sandpaper to cut through the glossy finish. Wipe them down and proceed. If you are decorating end tables you have picked up at a tag sale, you will want to clean them gently and then assess whether you need to sand at all. If you are not planning to change the color of the table with either stain or paint, then you may be able to decorate them without much preparation. Find an inconspicuous spot underneath the table to test this before you begin.

Background Designs

You may decide that a subtle faux finish would be the perfect background for your hand-painted flowers or stenciled designs. If this is the case, you will likely need to paint your end table and then apply a glaze in a different color. Glaze is a liquid that makes paint more transparent, by adding four parts glaze to one part paint. Apply the glaze with a piece of lambs wool, cheesecloth, T-shirt rag or sea sponge. Soften it to create a subtle background. To create a linen look, apply the glaze with a roller and then comb through the glaze with a wallpaper brush to create the deep grooves for linen.

Painted Glory

Sketch your design out on paper to determine how to implement it on your end tables. Perhaps you will use a one-stroke paint method loading two colors of paint onto a brush. You may also want to paint a border around the edges on the top of the table for added texture and color. If your art skills are still budding, use stencils to apply a variety of designs or silhouettes. Another option is to create a color block with sections of subtle colors that overlap on your surface.