How To Paint Oak Furniture

You can paint oak furniture. It’s perfectly okay to paint wood furniture. I used off-white paint to update an oak dresser. A nice stained oak finish and the off white paint pair perfectly.

I’m amazed sometimes how the simplest projects can turn out so beautiful. On my Furniture Inspiration Board I have a number of furniture makeovers that pair white paint or off white paint with the furniture’s original wood finish. I shared some of these gorgeous makeovers on A Beautiful Wood Finish and A Complimentary Paint. You might want to check them out!

Last week at My Favorite Junk Shop I found a vintage oak dresser that’s perfect for this look. Finally, I’ve been looking for a while.

 

This is the dresser before makeover. Well almost before. The mirror was missing, so the Junktion Technical Specialist cut a piece of wood to replace the mirror. The JTS tends to do a lot of his work when I’m not around so I only have the after picture with the replacement wood.

 

But it’s an easy process. Just measure the opening and cut a piece of Luan (lightweight wood) to size then put it in place using a nail gun or staple gun. The photo above shows the backside of the wood. 

The original finish on the dresser was in great condition. I will probably get some flack for painting the oak wood dresser but I wanted to modernize it a bit.

I used Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil on the oak drawers. The hemp oil refreshes the original finish and gives it a nice sheen. Howards Feed n Wax works very well too. If you have something similar no need to go out and buy something else.

I painted the casing of the dresser with Beyond Paint in off-white. The Beyond Paint is a primer-paint-sealer all in one. No sanding or additional priming needed. For the hardware I spray painted the original pieces with off white spray paint.

 

I had to tear myself away from the electric sander because I wanted just the slightest bit of distressing on the painted areas. Instead of the electric sander I used 100 grit sandpaper and distressed the painted areas by hand…… very, very lightly

When I had the JTS cut a board to replace the mirror I had in mind to make a chalkboard. I used Rustoleum Chalkboard paint in black for the “mirror” area.

 

I wasn’t sure if it would look better with the mirror frame painted off white or left as is. I think I like it best like this. The original oak finish of the mirror frame ties in with the drawers rather nicely. But what do you think?

Do you like the chalkboard as a replacement for the mirror? How do you feel about the two tone finish?

Here is a project where I used Beyond Paint in off-white and also aged or antiqued the paint….Vintage Dresser With Antiqued Paint.

This post first appeared on Petticoat Junktion in 2013. Images and information have been updated.