Lighten Up: Transforming Dark Furniture

From Dark and Dramatic to Bright and Barnwood!*This post was sponsored by Country Chic Paint, and a blog post is also on their website featuring this project. Although they sent me the product, all opinions are 100% my own.*

I love a major transformation! When my friend sent me this picture of the dresser she had bought online, i was ecstatic that she wanted to make it over into something lighter. The previous owner had painted all of it a high gloss black; they even painted over the metal hardware. It was black on black on black.

I had a vision, but stripping black paint out of pine is no easy task! Candice, the owner of the piece, spent a few evening prepping, stripping and sanding, and we got together one scorching day to finish the job.

A sunburn and a few applications of stripper later and my friend and I agreed – leaving a bit of the black paint in the grain had given the exposed wood a barnwood feel. 

To contrast with the newly rustic wood, we painted the drawer details and the majority of the dresser body with Country Chic All-In-One Decor Paint in Elegance.

The colour popped and brightened everything up! Elegance is so versatile, and works with French Chic and Rustic styles, and everything in between.

We sealed the exposed wood with two coats of Country Chic Hemp Oil. Trust me, this wood was thirsty after all that stripper! It really brought out the grain and colour of the wood, and will help to protect its new finish.

Bonus item: stripping the black paint off of the hardware revealed rusty patina under the paint. Delicious!

Top tips for lightening up those dark furniture pieces:

* Expect to do multiple stripping applications. Depending on the type of paint they used, it may take a while!

* Apply primer after stripping and sanding, and before painting – you don’t want any of that black bleeding through the gorgeous blue!
XOXO Aubrey