let’s talk master bedroom furniture. is yours old? new? did you get it as a wedding gift? purchase it yourself? buy it as a set or piece things together as you went?

ours is in the pieced together category. back when we lived in florida, my good friend stephanie was selling her honey-colored nightstands and dresser. at that time, our bedroom furniture was nonexistent and waaaaay down on the list of necessary purchases. so i jumped at the change to grab hers second hand. it was in great condition and i love a good DIY project. so i did what everyone else did in 2008. i went for a dark color. i was sure i would love it forever.

tell me, were you in on this trend? the dark brown bedroom furniture trend? i wish i could say i had the vision to know i really, actually prefer light and bright furniture as opposed to the early 2000 brown and black craze. but i jumped right on that bandwagon and painted that honey-colored furniture a dark brown. yikes.

now, i do have to say, despite the color, the paint makeover turned out really well. the finish was smooth and it was virtually impossible to chip, even with a bump from the vacuum. by that time i’d painted many things {yes, all dark colors, sigh} and perfected a winning paint combination. if you’d like a copy of my complete and EASY guide to painting furniture, which lists all my favorite paints, the order in which to use them, and the best supplies to get your job done FAST, click here. sometimes the most overwhelming part of a new DIY project is buying the right materials. give yourself the freedom to concentrate on the parts of DIY that you love and sign up to grab your painting guide.

ok so fast forward to a year ago when my sister molly was over and not so gently informed me that my master bedroom needed a makeover. in other words, that dark brown. eek. i knew she was right. {but at least our walls were finally gray instead of baby blue!} why is it that our master bedroom was the LAST room in the house to get attention? i took her up on the offer.

here’s how we transformed this…

to this.

as i said, i really needed my sister’s encouragement to start this project! i have so many DIY ideas in my head but sometimes getting started is intimidating. to help myself with this, i created this fun and easy DIY project planner. keeping my plans and supply list all in ONE CUTE PLACE has helped so much and now i avoid a million trips to the store! if you’re excited about DIY, make future projects easier on yourself with your own copy of this DIY project planner. creating a home where you and your family have space to thrive is important!

ok. now for the good stuff. how to paint your bedroom furniture…

step 1

gather/purchase your supplies

to paint your bedroom furniture {or any piece of furniture} so it will not chip, you are going to want to prime, paint, and seal the whole thing. this is not hard. my sister and i did these pieces in ONE DAY. she works fast and taught me that almost dry is dry enough for a second coat. remember that for step 3. to complete your project, you are going to want to purchase:

• brushes {at least one each for priming, painting, and your polycrylic}
• a small paint roller and refill rolls
• water-based primer
• water-based paint {in whatever color you choose}
• polycrylic

you can grab all of these at your local hardware store. for a list of all my favorite supplies with pictures, you can download my supplies cheat sheet.

step 2

apply your primer

wipe down the piece you will be painting with a wet cloth to remove any dust or residue. when your piece is clean, it is time to prime. priming is SO important. trust me. i’ve tried to skip this step to save time and it didn’t turn out well. but guess what you can skip? sanding! i have never sanded a single piece i’ve ever painted and everything i’ve painted has lasted for years. yay!

you can see i do all of this right in the middle of the room. if i have to move a piece out to the garage, it’s going to take me a LOT LONGER to get started, because that feels hard. it’s ok to paint in place! just grab a drop cloth and do your best to be careful. real-life DIY at its finest!

step 3

apply your paint

here’s what you really need to know about painting furniture. you don’t have to be a great painter! i promise, any little brush strokes or drips you forgot to catch will just all blend in by the time you are done. i used to spend hours agonizing over my brush strokes, and the different textures between the brush and the roller. in the end? none of that is noticeable!!

after your primer dries, apply your paint. i use a combination of a brush and small roller when i paint furniture. i wish i could get away with just one coat of paint, but i always need two {especially on something like my coffee table where i went from black to white}. on this project i learned you don’t need to wait TOO LONG between each coat. maybe an hour. if you’re painting more than one piece at a time, this works out well because you can just rotate through with coats.

step 4

distress your piece and apply your polycrylic

after your paint color dries, now is the time to distress your piece if that is the look you want. you do have to wait until your paint is ALL THE WAY DRY before this step. i like the distressed look because if my piece happens to take an extra hard hit or someone decides it’s the perfect place to set their drink, it won’t matter. chances are, your paint will stand up to this wear and tear anyways, but i prefer to distress and then completely let go of any worry.

i use a palm sander to distress my pieces. i will tell you, this step makes me nervous. every. single. time. i am always sure i will ruin my freshly painted piece. but a LITTLE sanding to the edges achieves that popular chippy look. i feel safe sticking to the edges when i distress, but you can venture to the flat surfaces as well. my sister is better at that. remember, you can always go back over with a LITTLE bit of paint to touch it up.

after distressing, wipe your piece down with a soft cloth to remove the sanding dust. then apply your polycrylic. polycrylic is much easier and faster to apply than paint because it is so thin. use a new, clean brush and look out for drips. i usually do one coat of polycrylic. if you are painting something with higher traffic, like a table, then two coats on the top part of the table is probably best.

painting our two night stands and our dresser transformed our bedroom and gave it a desperately needed makeover! now i actually like walking into my room!

going out to buy a brand new bedroom set is a big deal and a big expense. changing things up with a LITTLE bit of paint? not so big a deal. we did this in one day! can you believe it? you can too!

don’t forget to grab these two resources. staying organized in small ways like this will help you focus on the LITTLE things you love about a new project, rather than the nitty gritty details. free up time to concentrate on creativity, with these helpful resources.

looking for more furniture painting inspiration?! check out previous posts on how to paint your kitchen table, coffee table, piano, and hutch. 

interested in reading more at notice the LITTLE things?

join in noticing 10 LITTLE things in every kind of day and come along on my diy, parenting, and organizing adventures. click here to subscribe and receive access to my favorite FREE printables.

{want to save this idea for later? click the red save box on the image below to pin this post. or follow notice the LITTLE things on pinterest here.}