Painted furniture | House & Garden

A beautiful and unique way to give a piece of furniture its own identity is to take paint and brush (and maybe even stencil) and let your imagination run wild. Look no further than Charleston Farmhouse, which once belonged to Vanessa Bell and her husband Clive Bell. It’s now a museum, and a lesson in decorative painting. Practically every inch of it is painted, from the walls to the fireplaces, beds, tables and chairs. The effect is overwhelmingly uplifting.

A painted fireplace at Charleston Farmhouse

Paul Massey

If you are feeling brave with a paintbrush, the first thing  you’ll want to do is lightly sand down the piece, to remove any residual oil and smooth its surface. You may also  use a primer at this point, though it’s not essential. “I prefer not to prime as I love the aged look of the wood’s grain to come through the paint” says Meg Boscawen, a decorative painter. Her work can be seen in projects by House & Garden Top 100 Interior designers such as Jane Churchill, Nina Campbell and Studio Duggan. Meg applies her delicate patterns and illustrations to everything from furniture and walls to ceilings and architectural woodwork.

When it comes to colour, though, her trick is to “always work with light colours first, and then layer on dark colours, it’s much easier to correct mistakes that way”.

If you’re not confident about your freehand painting, try using a stencil: just about any household object will do: draw around the base of a mug or plate for a perfect circle or trace the outline of a leaf if you’re attempting a floral pattern. “Be sure to use charcoal pencil – it can be easily rubbed off,” Meg advises.

Leading figure in the world of furniture painting, Annie Sloan, sells very handy stencils, which even come with a step by step guide. They are the perfect solution for those lacking in artistic skill: “I know people who’ve never done anything before and suddenly they’ve made something that looks fantastic ” she says. Her ‘Faux Bone Inlay’ stencil is particularly popular; she recommends using white paint and a pearl glaze on top.The cardinal rule with painted furniture, Annie says, is “not overthink it – just get on with it and you’ll be surprised how amazing it looks”.

A decorative painter may be the way to go if you’re looking to add something intricate to a piece (or even a wall). As well as Meg, favourites amongst House & Garden Top 100 Interior Designers are Lizzi Porter and Maude Smith, whose work ranges from marbling, geometric motifs, trompe l’oeil and illustrations of Beatrix Potter characters for a child’s chest of drawers.

You can, of course, also  buy an already painted piece, and many designers sell some real gems. For lampshades, try Hum London or Alvaro Picardo, whose hand painted pieces range from quiet and neutral to bold and colourful. Studio HÁM sells an array of painted furniture – we particularly like this ‘Country House Bamboo Wardrobe’. Through her online antiques shop, The Tolstoy Edit, Alexandra Tolstoy sells a selection of hand-painted folk pieces, influenced by her Russian heritage and travels across Central Asia.

Whatever you decide to do, look no further for inspiration on some of the most beautiful and unique pieces of painted furniture, bound to have you reaching for the paintbrushes.