The easiest way to transform a piece of dated looking furniture is with a coat of paint.
Designers share the shades they use to give new life to their good olde finds.
“Benjamin Moore’s Pink Polka Dot!”
– Chauncey Boothby, Chauncey Boothby Interiors
“Sherwin-Williams’ White Mint definitely does not scream flea market! It’s a fun, playful tone that can work with almost any color palette. We used this color in the Southern Living Showhouse in the Guest House, but it sure would dress up any found object.”
– Ashley Gilbreath, Ashley Gilbreath Interiors
“I have been really into a matte off-black, charcoal color, and often use Down Pipe from Farrow and Ball. It adds an accent of the unexpected, and I often pair it with some fun, bling-y hardware in Lucite or brass.”
– Faith Blakeney, Faith Blakeney
“Benjamin Moore’s Blue Grass is serene with a vintage tint, yet has a fresh vibe!”
– Marie Flanigan, Marie Flanigan Interiors
“Far from being a flea market piece, this was a rather expensive table I painted Benjamin Moore’s Evening Blue because the dogs chewed on it and the color went with the room.”
– Annie Selke, the Annie Selke Companies
Photo By Geneieve Garruppo
“We shopped all over for a large piece of furniture to go on the below wall and simply couldn’t find anything that was the right vibe… plus we were out of money. So Brady [Tolbert] put to use some of his savvy thrifting skills and found this guy on Craigslist for $80. It had good lines, but a bad finish – a weird red tone. So we painted it an almost black and installed the original hardware and BOY did it look good. It became such a beautiful, striking vignette.”
– Emily Henderson, Style By Emily Henderson
“Benjamin Moore Haberno Pepper!”
– Charlotte Lucas, Charlotte Lucas Interior Design
“Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore is paint magic. The bottom of the clawfoot slipper tub (a Craigslist find) in my master bathroom is painted Hale Navy and it is a rich, deep grounding color. Using classic, rich colors like black, navy blue, or emerald green modernizes and elevates flea store finds in a snap.”
– Margaret Shutze, Shutze Studio.
Photo By Ashton Ray Hansen
Photo By Martha Leone Design
“I entrust Martha Leone with her painting expertise, not to mention an excellent eye for finding wonderful antique pieces. We are converting a brutalist style dresser Martha found into a vanity for a bathroom. Her latest find is Wise Owl Paint. She used two coats of Wise Owl Stain-Eliminating Primer in clear color, and added three coats of Wise Owl One Hour Enamel in Jet Black.”
– Nancy Boland, Boland Lord Design
Photo by Ryann Ford Photography
“Our go-to is often black, but also a kind of Peacock-y blue. Benjamin Moore’s Caribbean Blue Water is different. It’s bright. It’s cheery. There’s nothing neutral about it, but somehow it kind of goes with a lot of things and works with a lot of different schemes. If you are going to go to the trouble of revamping something, you want it to make a splash and be different,”
– Killy Scheer, Scheer & Co. Interior Design
“I found a large Asian curio cabinet at Round Top Antiques show last year, but it looked traditional and was weird painted turquoise. I bought it and repainted it in a super-dark, matte green. The paint color I used, Benjamin Moore’s Black Forest in a flat finish, made it look fresh and modern.”
– Callie Jenschke, Native Design and co-owner of SUPPLY Showroom
For more inspiration, see:
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