Hand Painting (Shabby Chic) Furniture in Derbyshire

Hand painting (Shabby Chic) furniture on this project in Derbyshire involved several large pieces, giving this 12 year old Yew dining furniture a new lease of life. The client originally paid a small fortune for this furniture but now it was looking dated, they had decided to have it all hand painted to complement the décor in their new home.

This collection of tables, dressers and side boards had a real dated look (orangey brown) you know the sort that grandma has in the dining room with all the old family photos in and half empty bottles of sherry and egg flip!

The client asked for a slight distressed finish to the furniture, just enough to make it look worn in and aged As always preparation is key to a successful paint job and although my usual citreous based Krud Kutter degreaser works well, (this furniture had been previously waxed) so for belt & braces’ I also opted to de-wax with Methylated Spirit and (0) gauge wire wool, this would ensure all the wax would be removed prior to painting.

After a thorough degrease and wash down, I ran over every inch with my trusty henry hoover and a tack cloth to remove any small fibres left behind from the wire wool, I then applied 2 x full coats of Otex high adhesion primer, tinted to a ‘New White’ colour to the dresser units and a ‘Sea Spray Grey’ to the tables.

For applying the Otex Primer, I opted to try the new Adorn brushes made by Axis Saffron and available through on-line shop ‘Mypaintbrushes’. These brushes perform very similar to the Purdy Monarch Elite in my opinion and laid the paint on very nicely!

All the glazed doors needed to be masked out, for this I used ‘Tessa’ precision masking tape from Brewers. Although masking out these intricate panels was time consuming, it made the painting and lacquering process much quicker.

Once fully dry, I continued to go around all the sharp edges and removed just enough of the Otex primer to reveal the natural wood. I then applied 2 x coats of Kiva Lacquer from Holman Paints to protect all the furniture, the lacquer serves two main purposes; to add durability and to bring out the natural patina of the wood where I had rubbed it back.

Otex is a solvent borne, quick drying, high adhesion primer and Kiva lacquer is a medium build, waterborne, non-yellowing acrylate lacquer for use on interior wood surfaces including chairs and tables. These products are readily available from Holman Specialist Paints.

There was a lot of work involved in this furniture project, more so than some of the hand painted kitchens I do, but equally rewarding and to see the clients reaction to the finished project makes my job even more satisfying.