Guest blog for Oak Furniture UK

We're delighted to be featuring as a guest blog on Inspiring Interiors for Oak Furniture UK.

You can read what we have to say here

Thinking of booking a place on a furniture painting workshop?

Do your homework before you hand over your cash to learn how to paint furniture

Thinking of booking a place on a painting workshop? Take a good look at the company's website first - I've seen one company offering classes, but the main images on their website and Facebook page have been lifted from Pinterest. 

That's not to say they don't know what they're doing, but a little misleading, maybe...

If you see an image on a company's website, you assume that it is an example of their work - and if that company is offering to teach you to do something, you want to make sure you're going to be taught to the standards you expect.

So, if you see an image like this, for example:

Wow! Did they really paint all that? No, someone else did 

The chances are it's just been pinched from another site. Unless the company whose site you are looking at has lots of photos from the same photoshoot, or has a large showroom in which to take such photos, it's unlikely that it features work by the business in question.

If in doubt, go to Google Images and simply drag the photo into the search box to do a reverse image search.

For the image above, taken from the homepage of a painted furniture company that holds workshops, you get this result:

Page after page of the same image

The image is widely shared on Pinterest - which is probably where the website found it. They do have photos of their own work on their Facebook page and their website, but they are somewhat hidden.

I'm not suggesting there is any malice or deliberate deception intended by this company - it's more likely a case that they needed some images and it was easier to find professionally shot photos on the internet than it was to get some taken. But this is something I've blogged about before.

While it may seem harmless, it's misleading, and when you've seen first-hand just how hard some people work to take their own photos, of their own products, it really grates and seems a little bit like cheating. And remember, somewhere, the person who painted and styled that bedroom, and took the photograph, is having to watch it get used by people all over the world to make money for themselves. Is that really fair?

There are plenty of well-qualified people (French Grey Tales, Sugden and Daughters - not to mention all the trained Annie Sloan stockists such as Chalk) offering painted furniture workshops - and a quick look at their sites will tell you straight away how good they are. 

So, if you're thinking of booking a place on a workshop - even if it seems like a really good deal - just spend five minutes doing a bit of research into the company before you click that 'pay' button. Better safe than sorry...

How to get started in furniture upcycling

How to upcycle and paint vintage furniture

This is a feature we wrote for a local magazine, encouraging readers to have a go at painting their own furniture

Laura Harvey, from Rutland-based Reloved Vintage, shares a few tricks of the trade to help you give old furniture a new lease of life

Upcycling – or simply putting old stuff to a new use – has gone big. TV shows, such as Kirstie’s Fill Your House for Free have brought the idea into the mainstream – and the Government recently encouraged us all to ‘make do and mend’ instead of contributing to the throwaway society.

Here’s how you can begin your own upcycling adventure.

What you’ll need

Paint. There are specialist furniture paints, but any paint will do. We prefer to use eggshell, for a smooth, matt finish.

A paint brush

A screwdriver (for removing any handles etc)

Furniture wax or varnish (if using matt paint, choose a clear matt varnish, too)

Masking tape (a professional decorators’ tape, such as Frogtape will prevent bleeding

Sandpaper – the coarser the better

A piece of wooden furniture – choose a clean, solid piece for your first attempt

Preparing the wood

If your piece of wood is varnished, you’ll need to sand it. If you try putting the paint onto a varnished surface, it’ll just chip right off when dry. (Note, some specialist paints will adhere to varnished surfaces). For tidy edges, use your masking tape to ‘mask-off’ areas just inside any drawers, doors, glass panels etc.

Unscrew any handles and put them to one side – it’s easier than painting around them.

Get painting!

Don’t just slap it on! For the best finish you’ll want several thin coats of paint – big drips and splodges are ugly! Try to brush with the grain of the wood. Once you’ve covered the whole piece, wait for it to dry and do it again. With each coat you’ll see less and less bare wood showing through.

After three coats you should be done – now you just need to let it dry (it won’t take long)

Distressing

If you want to, you can distress your furniture to give it a bit more character. For light distressing, use sandpaper, for heavy stuff, you can use a knife or wallpaper scraper. For a more natural look, focus on edges and areas that would get the most natural use, such as handles and keyholes.

Protection

If you don’t protect your furniture, your paint will scratch, chip and stain. Wax can offer a nice finish and feel, but if it’s an item that is likely to get a lot of use – or come into contact with water, varnish is a better option. Apply the varnish as you did the paint – thin coats. 

The next step

If you get the bug, you’ll want to play around with new ideas. Try using a different paint colour for the first couple of coats, which can be revealed at the distressing stage, of paint the inside of a drawer or cupboard in a bright colour for a little bit of happiness every time you open it.

Like the sound of it but don’t have the time or confidence to do it yourself? Reloved Vintage can give your furniture a whole new look.

Laura Harvey is the founder of Reloved Vintage, specialists in painted furniture and vintage accessories. Based just outside Stamford, Reloved Vintage offers free delivery in the Peterborough area.

You can find out more at relovedvintageinteriors.co.uk, follow them on Twitter: @RelovedVintage, or like them at facebook.com/RelovedVintage