I absolutely love the sleigh style of the changing table I have, but the cherry wood look is no longer my style! I bought this changing table about 13 years ago! Yes, you can absolutely update old furniture.
That is one of my favourite things about paint! You can transform a piece of furniture with just a few coats of paint!
All I needed to paint a changing table was a few supplies and some high-quality chalk paint!
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Before
I love this beautiful changing table but a makeover was in order!
Steps
- I highly recommend starting from shiny cherry wood to clean your surface well and to lightly sand so the fibers of the wood will adhere to the paint properly.
- Here’s my blog post on prepping furniture for painting HERE.
- I would recommend a quality primer. I personally hate this step but from experience, it’s far better to prime and couple of coats than to use your precious expensive paints to get enough coverage. The primer I use is HERE.
- I like this Primer as it is water-based and virtually has no smell to it. I paint all of my furniture inside my house. We live in a house with 3 levels, so hauling all my furniture to the garage is just not going to happen!
- So I always make sure I use high-quality chalk paint with low VOC and always water-based. I will usually open windows to get good ventilation.
Painting
I used a high-quality paint brush HERE and I applied 2 coats of chalk paint. You may need 3 on your project, but if you use a high-quality primer, you should only need 2 coats.
Distressing
- I then took a fine-grit sandpaper and lightly sanded the edges as I wanted a softer rustic look. This step is completely optional.
- If you don’t like the look of the rustic look, you can skip this step. I know when I started furniture painting, I was scared to distress my piece. But what I learned along the way is that even if you end up distressing too much, you can always re-apply your paint and start over.
- I would always advise to have a light hand to begin with and just keep going if you want to distress more.
Wood Applique
I was also wanting to add a bit of embellishment as I felt it was a bit plain! So I added a wood applique. HERE is one that is similar, I can’t find the exact one I have here, but there are so many to choose from!
I simply used wood glue to adhere it to my furniture. I painted it out with the chalk paint and then used the Rustoleum metallic gold paint HERE to highlight the appliqué.
After
The end result was what I had envisioned for the nursery. I added a hanger shelf above and a small shelf to display the photos above. So happy with the way my change table turned out!
Yes I took all of that stuff off the table before I changed baby ha ha! I’m not a minimalist thats for sure! I love all the cute baby things!
I hope you are not afraid to upcycle or revamp or makeover a changing table you might have in order to make it fit into your nursery decor!
Looking for more Posts and inspiration when painting furniture?
- King Size Headboard Makeover
- Chalk Painted China Cabinet to TV Stand Makeover
- Nursery Dresser Painted with Chalk Paint
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