Home » Painted Furniture » 13 Two-Tone Furniture Makeovers Featuring Paint And Original Stained Finish

13 Two-Tone Furniture Makeovers Featuring Paint And Original Stained Finish

These two-tone furniture makeovers will have you rethinking your painted furniture projects. It’s okay to paint old furniture especially if you showcase the original stained finish.

If you’ve been here a while, you know I paint, usually everything. Lately, however, I have wanted to try to save at least part of the original look- talking about furniture, of course.

Looking back on past projects, I realize some of my favorites are actually the ones where I showcased at least part of the original finish and updated the piece with a bit of paint.

Two-Tone Stain And Paint Furniture Makeover Ideas

two tone paint finishes

Sometimes I just painted a few drawers, sometimes I painted the top of the furniture, and other times I painted the body or casing. The paint colors vary but the majority of the makeovers are white paint, sometimes antiqued or aged to fit the piece.

Take a look below and let me know your favorite stain and paint furniture makeover ideas. I have a couple of favorites and I’ll tell you what they are at the end. See if you can guess.

1. 1950’s Blonde Table With Turquoise Painted Top

Two-Tone Stain And Paint Furniture Makeovers

The blonde table belongs to my Aunt; I updated it for her a few years ago. The top was a little damaged. The original finish was discolored in a few areas or missing. I selected a paint color to match the pair of living room chairs, and it works. It really looks good.

My Aunt recently moved to assisted living, and the table and pair of chairs are some of the furnishings she took to her new home.

2. Oak Dresser With Two-Tone Stain and White Paint

two tone painted furniture save the original stained finish

I’m not a fan of oak but left part of this piece unpainted. The mirror was missing so we cut a piece to make a chalkboard. I enjoyed doing this makeover.

3. Stool Bottom & Cabinet Door Top Table

13 save the stain furniture makeovers

 

Painting grain sack stripes on furniture is super easy. Do you think that trend is over? I don’t really care. I like them and I don’t think grain sack stripes on furniture and home decor have lost their appeal yet. Saving the original stain is often easy and the contrast with the paint is awesome.

4. Vintage Buffet With Aged Painted Top

Stain And Paint Furniture Makeovers

Ah, this piece is so lovely. I hated to get rid of it. I bought it to keep but really had no place it fit well. The top was a mess and I tried my best to do the buffet justice. Through trial and error I painted, aged, toned, until the top almost looks like original old wood.

5. Save The Stain on Two Drawers

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The two top drawers were the only part of this chest where the stain wasn’t damaged. So they didn’t get painted, just cleaned and shined.

6. Green Antiqued Table Top

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I see the Eastlake-style tables frequently in antique malls and flea markets, but they don’t sell for the price they used to.

No one wants antiques anymore. Have you guys heard that? I painted the damaged top and aged the paint. The bottom is cleaned up and oiled with Howard’s Feed n Wax (one of my favorite products).

7. White Paint Saves The Day

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Vintage chests of drawers with details like the one above are hard to find. I love those legs and the carved details on the drawer. The white paint got distressed to show off the details.

8. Flower Power Table With White Paint And Original Stained Finish

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The kid’s table needed a whimsical look, and the daisies did the job. I think dark stain and white paint go together like peanut butter and banana.

9. Silvery Blue Dresser

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I didn’t even have to paint this piece. I brought it home,  distressed the paint, cleaned it up, and shined everything up with wax.

10. Sassy Small Table

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The small table had a replaced top, and it was stark white. I painted the top blue, then decided to go back to white. Extra work. Then…..I antiqued the paint.

11. Cedar Chest With Fancy Knobs

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I think the pulls or knobs made all the difference in the cedar chest. I also removed some curvy wood details that made the piece look country and outdated.

12. Two White Drawers

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The plain Jane sofa table needed just a bit of paint to make it look really modern.

13. White Wicker Table With Stained Top

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I can’t take credit for this piece. I spotted it at the Nashville Flea Market and fell in love with the look. White wicker with stained wood, perfect.

Paint Furniture Makeover Ideas

Okay, I’ll share my favorites, and you can share your favorite stain and paint furniture makeover.

Mine are…….the Blonde table belonging to my Aunt and the vintage chest with the painted drawers. Leave a note, please, and thanks for being here. I know your life is busy. Thanks for spending a little time with me, Kathy

Author: Kathy Owen
Kathy Owen is the founder of the home decor blog Petticoat Junktion where she shares tutorials on painting furniture and upcycling thrifty finds into unique home décor. Her DIY projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines. Kathy’s newest website is HappyHomeDIY.com

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14 Comments

  1. I think these projects all work very well with the two finishes. They make good partners.

  2. Thank you Marlene! I do think a combination of paint and the original stained finish works well. I do love that buffet. Wish it fit into my decor somewhere but it didn’t. A friend purchased it so I’m happy about that.

  3. My faves are No. 2, 4 and 6. Oak furniture with an interesting woodgrain is fantastic. The No. 2 dresser drawer fronts are showstoppers. The craftsmanship on the No. 4 buffet would be a sin to paint. And your redo of the No. 6 EastLake table was just the updated fix that it needed. You know, I started to pay attention to vintage and antique furniture in the latter 1970s. At that time, EVERYONE in Northern California was stripping paint off their furniture to reveal the beautiful oak grain underneath. At the time, no one understood why it was ever painted over. How that pendulum swings! Your “Save the Stain” updating is the best compromise.

  4. Kathy, my favorites are the vintage dresser with turned legs and painted drawers. The white paint really brings out the carved details. I also really love the silvery blue dresser with the natural wood top. I like the hardware on this piece; I think it really compliments the style. I have begun to like the look of painted pieces with the tops done in a natural wood stain. Kind of the best of both worlds, you know?

    This post represents a lot of work done by you! Thanks for sharing it.

  5. If you want to save a wood surface, Rethunk Junk makes a product called stain top that is amazing. Just clean the wood good and paint the stain top on and watch the wood look like new. No sanding or anything. Rethunk Junk makes the best paint products that I have found.Also the easiest to use.

  6. I love #4. I have a beautiful sideboard that needs to be refinished. I can’t decide what to do and just painting the top might be the best place to start then decide if I want to do more. Thanks!

  7. I can’t pick a favorite, Kathy because I think they are all beautiful makeovers in their own way! Nice taking a trip down memory lane with some of these.

  8. Hi Kathy, i just started staining and i love the look. My favorites are #5 and #9. It was hard picking a favorite because they all look good. Thank you for sharing.