How to Decide What Color to Paint a Dresser or Other Wood Furniture

Honestly, when I first started painting furniture, choosing a color was my biggest roadblock. I would sit and stare at it and hope something hit me.

Neutral Vs. Pop of Color

NOW, I’m older and wiser. Older, for sure, and if not wiser, I have just figured out what works well. My own rule of thumb is to paint larger furniture a neutral. White, off-white, or black. White, white is a more contemporary look. Antique Villa by Wise Owl is our “go-to” for painting large furniture.

We recently painted this antique dresser in Antique Villa. The hardware is black.

Smaller, accent pieces are a great way to introduce a “pop of color” to a room and add interest.

Didn’t this table in Refurbished Gentleman turn out amazing?

To Distress or Not

This brings us to our next question, “To distress or not distress”??

The dresser pictured was painted with a bad pink paint job when it came to us. You have to ask yourself, “Do I want to see pink coming through the white?” There is no right or wrong answer, it really is your preference. With the small, blue table, the answer was, “yes, I do think the black paint peeking through would look awesome.” I was right. I had a pair of these and they sold right away.

This small table is a project that I probably won’t get to and is a great example of a bad paint job of a great color you might want to use as an accent color. Simply painting white or even gray over it and then distressing it would be super cute. You can glue a wood medallion over the heart cut out or leave it. Hearts are all the rage again.

One-Hour Enamel is Your Friend

The cute little Mid Century Modern table would be fun in blue or green. It’s Formica, so you will want to use our one-hour enamel. If you want it to be super classy, try black, but use a gold or bronze metallic for the pedestal.

These two project pieces that are awaiting the sale, have been painted creamy white. They still need another coat. I would consider painting either the drawer a color that coordinates with your room or the body of it and leaving the drawer white. A coat of blue and some distressing would give the table a “beachy” look, gray; a weathered look.

This cabinet that is standing on its head in my tent, would look beautiful in either white or black with some distressing to bring out its detail. I find that I don’t get tired of looking at furniture painted in a neutral color as quickly. Also, it’s not as “trendy” and doesn’t look dated. Smaller pieces are easier to change out and less expensive.

Also, easier to re-paint if you DO get tired of them

I hope this makes a bit of sense. Comment below if you have any specific painting questions – I’d love to help you out!