HOW TO PAINT YOUR KITCHEN TABLE + COMMON MISTAKES & HOW TO AVOID THEM

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DIY Kitchen Table Makeover Using General Finishes Milk Paint in Navy Plus a list of mistakes to avoid when painting furniture

HOW TO PAINT YOUR KITCHEN TABLE + COMMON MISTAKES

Are you ready to paint your kitchen table? If you’re tired of the same boring table, but can’t afford to replace it yet painting your kitchen table may be the right option for you. This is a quick and inexpensive way to transform your plain table to any style you want with paint.

I’ve painted many pieces of furniture and I’m here to show you the way to a new look for your tired furniture. Today, we’re going to talk about the best paint to use, how to paint it, and common mistakes and how to avoid them.

THE PAINT

I ran out to the store today at 10:00 am when they opened to grab Klein Blue and Lamp Black General Finishes Milk Paint. I will be mixing a little black into the blue to darken the color to navy. GF has a Coastal Blue, but it didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

Let’s take a minute to talk about paint. In my opinion, there are two really great options: General Finishes Milk Paint and

Materials Needed For Painting Kitchen Tables & Chairs

  • Paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Paint Roller
  • Tarp
  • Course Grit Sandpaper
  • Painters Tape
  • Primer
  • Polyurethane Gloss Finish (optional)
  • Polyurethane Brush (optional)

Hello all! I wanted to drop a quick line today to let you in on an awesome project I am working on. I’ve decided to paint our kitchen table a navy blue with General Finishes paint.

If you’re on Instagram, you can head over and see the live videos all day of what I’m using, how to prep your furniture and how to apply the paint. Live videos are only available today so make sure you check it out!

I ran out to the store at 10:00 am when they opened to grab Klein Blue and Lamp Black paint. I will be mixing a little black into the blue to darken the color to navy. GF has a Coastal Blue, but it didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

DIY Table Makeover Using General Finishes Paint

Supplies:

  • General Finishes Klein Blue milk paint
  • GF Lamp Black milk paint
  • Paint stirrer
  • 3″ paint brush
  • Sandpaper 150 and 220
  • Cleaning cloth
  • Razor blade for getting crud off table
  • Furniture

I’ll leave you with a few pictures. I will definitely be back with a full tutorial for you!! Happy DIY!

DIY Table Makeover Using General Finishes PaintI’ll go ahead and bare it all and show you the before. It’s your run of the mill Walmart kitchen or college dorm table with four chairs. You can find them a dime a dozen at yard sales because literally everyone has them. It’s dated looking, the kids have colored on it, painted on it, stamped my old notary seal, sharpie, Crazy glue blobs, spaghetti fingerprints that are now engrained, but it’s a solid piece.

{ if you are looking to buy one new, Walmart has a Better Homes and Gardens table almost identical for under $100. You can update the oak with any paint color of your choice.}

You will fully prep the table by scraping any gunk (I LOVE a pampered chef stoneware scraper. It’s a little inexpensive plastic gadget that really gets the kid gunk off without cutting the table). Sand any glue or bumps off the table and give the surface a light 220 sand with the grain. Wipe is clean with a microfiber cloth.

To start painting, stir your paint cans with a paint stirrer. You can mix a custom color in a disposable paint bucket liner. I started with 10:1 mixture but it was too blue. I added more black to the mixture to approx 3/4 Klein blue, 1/4 Lamp Black.

In order to keep brush strokes consistent, start with the outer edge and work around the entire table painting the lip first in ONE DIRECTION. Try to avoid backtracking too much as it will drag the paint. This paint self levels really wall so if you use even coats the strokes will disappear.

For the top, start at one end and paint with the grain to the other end, making sure to only paint in one direction not back and forth.

Coat one is on the table. I went with a thin coat this time for a faster drying time (recoat time) and I’ll do a thicker coat on round two.

It will be dry to the touch in about 30 minutes with full dry recoat time being about two hours. Crank up the air conditioning to speed up the time. It helps in really humid or hot climates.

Below you can see gaps in the color which is perfectly normal with your base coat. One you apply another coat or two they will disappear.

Are you ready to see coat two?!? It looks amazing y’all. It’s a deep, dark smooth finish.

DIY Table Makeover Using General Finishes Paint

Here’s the finished table. Are you as in love as I am? I am so happy I went with Navy. It’s the perfect color to make the table pop and the white look bright and fresh!

DIY Table Makeover Using General Finishes Paint

To protect the table while it cures (about a week after the hard coat) I scored these perfect Kate Spade placemats from Home Goods. I found the blue Painted Gingham and my son spotted the bright Prospect Park print under a stack of other mats. He shouted Mom, these are perfect and I have to agree; they really add he perfect amount of color to the breakfast nook.

Which set would you use in on your table and which looks best on mine?! Drop your answer in the comments and help me decide!!

DIY Table Makeover Using General Finishes Paint

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