FURNITURE COMMISSION FOR A CLIENT
Upcycling orange pine to smart bedside tables
This pair of bedside tables had been in the family for decades. They were really good quality but showed signs of being well used over a long time. The client wanted them painted to fit into her newly restyled bedroom.
Pine often has a varnish on it that highlights the very orange tones in pine. This can make it look dated and difficult to fit into a modern bedroom.
The varnish on the top was also failing – years of use and water damage will have caused this. The first step is to remove the old varnish by scraping it off and then sanding.
Although they should only need scuff sanded to ensure adhesion of paint, they actually had to be significantly sanded to remove the many dents, scrapes and damage that had been caused over the years.
Once sanding was complete, I then taped off the dovetail joints so that they could be painted neatly to highlight them nicely.
Next 3 coats of primer were applied with sanding in between each layer to ensure a smooth, flawless surface and to lock in the orange tannins in the pine. Bleed through is a real risk with knotty pine, so I used BIN shellac primer which is perfect for the job.
The paint used was Valspar Oyster Shoal furniture paint in order to match the existing wardrobe in the client’s bedroom. The hardware will also match the wardrobe’s. They have been varnished with a high performance topcoat to ensure they stay looking fresh and new for many years to come. The drawers were lined with wallpaper to match the new bedroom walls.
