Sam’s minor furniture forays

[carreauchompeur]

Folks,

For a while now I’ve been tinkering with various items of furniture. I’m not a skilled craftsman but I enjoy improving small pieces. Partly it’s a hobby, but also since cash flow isn’t brilliant at the moment so I end up with rather more exciting furniture than the usual flat pack merchants.

Past project was this engineer’s drawers. Not really finished since I still need to replace a few drawer runners and find replacement handles (haven’t seen anything exact), but it’s a big improvement from its previous battered black self in my mums garage. There’s just a nice patina to them.



I’ve recently been looking for a pair of bedside cabinets. I loved the Inky Blue coloured ones from Cotswold, but costing nearly £400 a pair and with a long lead time it wasn’t an option.
(Similar to these)


So, with the old trusty Facebook marketplace I looked and found these locally, up for £50. Old Creamery, so decent quality, with a solid oak top.



Bingo! Bought for £45.

Ready to go…



Ready for paint…



I’m going to keep the handles as they are, and paint the fronts and sides in an inky blue colour. Probably will just clean up the insides of the drawers, and will get some funky lining paper.

Any suggestions on
1. Furniture paint. I want a nice smooth matt/silk finish but find that most of the paints tend to be quite chalky, any ideas?
2. The top. I’ve previously waxed oak with good results, but do you think I’ll be able to get a durable finish with a few coats, that’ll put up with coffee cups and the like?!

[trixical]

The drawers look fab, as you say the patina really makes them

I've had a fair few cupboard/furniture paint samples recently as revamping my ensuite vanity unit is on the list for christmas activities and the kitchen cupboards need a bit of a refresh.
I've been quite pleased with the samples from B&Qs own project specific/furniture paints range, so worth a look, they discontinued some colours recently (including the one I was planning to use when I got to the kitchen cupboards which meant an urgent run to stock up before it all went) but hopefully still have a decent selection of colours.
I wasn't overly impressed with the Rustoleum cupboard & furniture paint samples I got, the pictures of the colours on the sampling website aren't good representations & i've found that has chipped on the sample boards i've done where the B&Q ones haven't.
Also Aldi sometimes do furniture paint in their special buys with that sort of colour of blue, i'm going to be using it on the ensuite vanity so if I get round to it can let you know how that fares & colour

[carreauchompeur]

Thanks… yep, I’ve done some previous stuff in Rustoleum and it does chip easily, definitely what I don’t want with bedside tables!

[Correvor]

For painting I'd prime and then use a satinwood / eggshell / matt via a roller for the best finish. Denib between coats as needed.

To protect the top, I'd use a hard wax oil like Fiddes or Osmo. Not cheap but they're used on worktops, etc. I've used Fiddes on our dining table - we've left all sorts on it overnight without any ring marks, staining, etc.

[Angpozzuto]

For the oak, a lacquer finish would be better than an oiled finish as it would seal the surface so any liquid spills won't soak into the oak and stain it. I use bona mega for my projects, it's so easy to apply and is hard wearing

[DanCat]

I did somethjng similar with some very brown/black Ercol furntiture recently. I used Osmo oil for the top, amazon seemed the chepaest for 250ml which seems to pretty far, then waxed the top for a bit more shine. The osmo oil is also uv resistant.
I think in the end we used Farrol and ball eggshell for thr sides and also bought their primer-im not sure if we really needed this but i didnt fancy doing it all twice.

[Dicky Knee]

Glad I dropped in here.

Just ordered a sander to have a go at our fading bedside tables and chest of drawers. That inky blue and chrome handles looks great.

[carreauchompeur]

Thanks all, great suggestions. I’ll have a look into lacquer too as I want to make the top as hardy as possible without going down the varnish route.

I agree the metal handles look great, may splash out if I can find nice ones.

[DrDeAtH]

Could you not have these sprayed? At least then, you would have a uniform, smooth finish

[carreauchompeur]

Finished! Thanks for all the tips. Bona Mega lacquer is lovely, really easy to apply. I’ve put 3 layers of that on the top, sanded between each, and it’s now got a lovely durable sheen. £20/litre

Found the exact shade of paint I wanted in the local DIY store, Johnstones furniture paint. 3 coats of that. Again, a nice silk finish. Didn’t want the chalky look. £12

Finished off with custom pewter handles from Etsy. £25.

Total spend is about £80. Happy with that

[Another project car]

Nice job, they look really smart

[LocoBlade]

Yep great result