HAND PAINTING STRIPES ON FURNITURE

HAND PAINTING STRIPES ON FURNITURE

For me, the hardest thing about painting stripes on furniture is drawing the stripes.  I always use a ruler and a soft pencil so unused lines can be erased or painted over.  I do not use tape because I want the stripes to look hand painted and not perfect.  I decide the width of the stripes on the front, top and sides.  The width of the stripes can vary.  I use the edges of the furniture for guidelines.  A level is not useful to use on furniture because your floor might be uneven or the furniture not perfectly in line.

This chest was going in a nursery for a baby girl  My client wanted stripes, ribbons and flowers and told me the colors she wanted on the dresser to match her nursery decor.  The base coat is white.  I drew the stripes and painted with one coat of pink.  Then, painted the ribbons and flowers.  When I'm finished with a piece I always seal with two coats of a dull or satin sealer and a third coat on the top flat surface.

For this sofa table, I painted a tan base coat.  Then, painted a denim blue on top of the tan, dry brushing so the tan would show through.  Next, I drew and painted the turquoise stripes, dry brushing so the denim blue would shadow through.  You can see I lightly sanded the edges, then sealed with two coats of clear sealer.  On the table top I painted a third coat of clear sealer for extra protection.

My client asked me to paint black stripes on her antique cabinet.

When I purchased this pine armoire they told me it was from Stratford, England.  The outside had been waxed, but the inside looked very old and had old blue shelf paper on the shelves.  I didn't remove the shelf paper.  On the outside I painted over the pine with a greenie beige color.  Next, I painted the tree then, drew and painted the stripes.  I painted one coat of black and let the beige shadow through.  A metallic gold paint was just the right touch for the black and beige colors.  Then, two coats of clear sealer.