By Dianne Daniel
Before kicking old items to the curb, you might want to invest in a paint pot. Newer, environmentally friendly paints are making it easy to breathe new life into everything from dressers, nightstands and tables, to large hutches, church pews and other home accent pieces, says paint expert Nicole Guerin, owner of Lasting Touch Painting in the Niagara region of Ontario.
“ No one will touch an antique if it’s brown and wood anymore, no matter how beautiful it is or how much money it’s worth,” says Guerin. “This whole new generation loves painted furniture.”
Guerin stumbled upon the trend while painting historic homes in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Clients would occasionally throw in pieces of old furniture as a side job and it grew from there. “It kind of gave me the bug,” says Guerin, who now carries Fusion™ mineral paint, a zero VOC paint that is 100 per cent acrylic and requires minimal prep with no top coat required for a lasting finish.
In fact, scoping out online marketplaces, thrift stores and auction houses for a great find is Guerin’s new hobby. “One fellow I buy furniture from calls himself my picker,” she laughs. “He’ll call and say ‘I’ve got a great vanity for you.’”
One of her recent favourites was an outdoor garden set going for $14 at Value Village. It was in such a state of “ugliness” that friends and family kept questioning her purchase. “It took 15 hours of work to revive, but I sold it for $300,” she says.
Though everyone loves the idea of colour, Guerin suggests sticking to white, grey, black and other neutral tones when upcycling large pieces of furniture and saving the mint green, pinks, yellows and blues for smaller accent pieces like side tables and chairs. If your furniture has ornate carvings, she suggests painting a distressed look, achieved by applying two coats of paint and gently rubbing the second coat before fully dry using a lint-free rage or scouring pad.
It’s perfectly okay to use your regular paint brushes to apply the mineral paint, but Guerin recommends using a microfibre roller to ensure a smooth finish on flat surfaces like a tabletop. The paint goes on so easily, the only mistake people make is going over the same spot too often which can cause the paint to lift off.
“ It’s pure colour which is why it covers so well and it will adhere to just about anything,” says Guerin, noting that if the surface you’re painting is lacquered, laminate, metal or glass, applying Fusion Ultra Grip as a first coat will ensure the paint sticks.
If you’re hesitant to put your paintbrush to furniture, start small. Guerin has used the mineral paint successfully on outdoor planters, mason jars and vinyl, and says it also works on fabric, including pillows, throws and sofas.
“ No one’s polishing silver anymore. You can buy it at the thrift shop for a few dollars and it will look beautiful painted,” she adds. “The paint is so versatile, you can do anything with it.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
