Unique Painted Dining Table Ideas

The table is typically the furniture focal point of the dining room or combination kitchen and dining room because it is the largest piece of furniture in the space and because all the action -- that is, meals -- takes place around it. Painting a dining table will turn it into an eye-catching, one-of-a-kind work of fine craftsmanship that you will get to enjoy every day. Does this Spark an idea?

Black with Gold Characters

This color combination evokes an intricate sword sheath.

Paint the dining table with glossy black paint. Apply multiple coats, until all traces of underlying color are completely wiped out and covered with inky black. Then apply gold paint or real gold leaf in an Asian-inspired graphic motif. For example, you could write the Japanese kanji characters from a traditional song along the outer edges of the table or create a gold-leaf rendition of the famed Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai's iconic work "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa."

Faux-Vintage Lettering

Add rustic character to a wooden table by stripping off any varnish or gloss, sanding the now-naked wood to a splinter-free smoothness and then painting lettering on the top of the table in the style of a vintage sign. Copy the lettering from an image of a specific sign, such as a soda shop sign or a vintage product advertisement, taking care to match the characteristic color of the text. Sand off areas of the lettering paint to achieve a weathered, attractively timeworn appearance.

Lacquered Cherry Red with Polka Dots

Paint a table cherry red with a polka dot pattern to make a playful table that will instantly liven up a humdrum dining room decorated in neutrals. Find a bright shade of red that appeals to you. Apply several coats of paint to the dining table. Add white polka dots to the legs of the table for a subtle dose of whimsy. Finish it off with a coat or two of varnish, which will protect the paint job and create an attractive gloss.

Antique Style

Model the painting on a real antique table for historical accuracy.

Paint a dining table with colors and patterns or graphics modeled on those on a piece of antique furniture to imbue your dining room with Old World character -- at a fraction of the cost of purchasing an antique. Tailor the paint job to your own cultural heritage to provide a fascinating talking point when people ask about the distinctive table. For example, you could grace the surface of the dining table with Norwegian rosemaling, a style of floral painting that settlers from Norway brought with them to the United States.