Furniture Makeovers
How to Distress Painted Furniture for a Timeworn Look
Give freshly painted furniture a loved, lived-in look. These four distressing methods are simple, forgiving, and perfect for beginners.
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Category
DIY furniture makeovers
Turn curbside finds and thrift-store dressers into pieces you'll love for years. Our furniture makeover tutorials cover prep, painting, distressing and sealing — beginner-friendly and budget-tested.
Furniture Makeovers
Furniture Makeovers
Our Favorite DIY Chalk Paint Recipe (Three Ways)
Skip the pricey quarts. Our DIY chalk paint recipe turns any flat latex paint into a matte, furniture-ready finish for a fraction of the cost.
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Furniture Makeovers
How to Paint Furniture with Chalk Paint (Even If You've Never Tried)
Turn a tired thrift store dresser into the piece everyone asks about. Here's exactly how we prep, paint, and protect furniture with chalk paint.
Read the tutorialWhere to start with furniture makeovers
If you've never painted a piece of furniture, start small: a nightstand or side table lets you learn prep, brush technique and sealing without a huge time commitment. Solid wood pieces from thrift stores, yard sales and online marketplaces are ideal — they're sturdy, cheap and take paint beautifully.
Not sure how much paint to buy? Our paint calculator has a furniture mode, and the chalk paint mixer scales our homemade recipe to any batch size. Anything built before 1978 should be tested for lead paint before you sand.
Helpful free tools
Paint Calculator
Gallons for a room or quarts for a dresser — no more half-empty cans.
Chalk Paint Mixer
Exact plaster of Paris, calcium carbonate or baking soda ratios for any batch.
DIY Project Finder
Answer 4 quick questions and get your perfect project match.
Makeover Budget Planner
See your makeover total — and how much DIY saves you.
Color Palette Generator
Turn one favorite color into a whole-room palette.