Shabby Chic Furniture Painting In 9 Simple Steps

Shabby Chic furniture painting is a great way to give your home a new lease of life, or give the impression of age to a new piece of furniture. The trick to achieving expensive looking Shabby-Chic furniture is good quality paint. Thin and streaky brands won’t give the same effect as a vibrant and chalky paint.

What you will need:

• An item to shabby-chic
• A selection of tools (pliers, screwdriver etc)
• A Selection of sandpapers
• Several lint free cloths
• Furniture paint
• Paint brushes
• Non-coloured furniture wax

A 9 step guide to shabby chic furniture painting

Step 1

Protect the surface you are working on with newspaper. If you’re working on the floor, it’s a good idea to tape the newspaper down to avoid it slipping around.

Step 2

If the piece of furniture has already been painted, you may wish to remove the old paint with a stripper. Otherwise, begin to key down the furniture with a fine grade sandpaper. Don’t rub too hard and lift the grain, you just want to slightly roughen the surface so that the paint will take.

Step 3

Wipe down with a damp (not wet) cloth to remove any dust and dirt, then leave to dry. If there are any parts that you wish to leave unpainted, now is a good time to use masking tape to outline these areas.

Step 4

With Rainbow Chalk paint, you don’t need to use a primer. Our paint is richly pigmented so you can go right ahead and start to paint with your chosen colour. For some inspiration, take a look at our full matte and metallic colour chart here.
Two or three coats may be required for the best coverage, depending on how large your item is.

A wooden chest of drawers in the colour Chalky White

Step 5

Once your item has had a few hours to thoroughly dry, remove any masking tape.

Step 6

Now for the fun part! Distress your piece of furniture by rubbing it with a medium grade sandpaper to reveal the wood beneath.

Personalise your furniture the way you want, creating only a slightly distressed look, or going all out to make the item look really dated.

Once you have achieved your desired look, sand your distressed areas down with a softer sandpaper to help blend the paint away. This gives a more natural look.

A shabby chic chest of drawers in the colour Antique Champagne Gold.

Step 7

Wipe with a damp (not wet) cloth to remove any dust and excess paint. Stand back and view your piece. If you think it needs more distressing, go back in with the sandpaper and then repeat this step again.

Step 8

Apply a thin layer of uncoloured furniture wax all over the item, especially where the wood is exposed. Leave to dry.

Step 9

Stand back and admire your hard work!

Feeling inspired?

This paint is perfect for your home DIY projects, just check out how this homeowner transformed her table with Rainbow Shabby Chic Furniture Paint!

Our matte and metallic water based paints can be used directly on wood (bare or painted), metal, plastic, plaster or any suitably primed rigid surface!

Buy your Shabby Chic paint by clicking here, or add that paint directly to your basket from the product boxes below!