I have a confession to make: I have never (not once!) felt guilty for painting a piece of wood furniture and I think it’s about time we stop acting like it’s the worst crime an artist can commit! Here’s the thing: a lot of these pieces would sit around in a thrift store collecting dust if I didn’t take initiative and repurpose them into art. My latest piece, a beautiful buffet, belonged to a grouping of furniture that had been sitting in some guy’s shop for months. As lovely and ornate as they are, no one wanted them but me. We’re in a world where we have the choice between buying something new or breathing new life into old things and, personally, I’ll choose to upcycle every time. A bright, bold, boho furniture makeover is just the thing my heart calls for every time I see a plain old piece of furniture.
Now, I know my style of painting isn’t for everyone… but why should it be?! My goal isn’t to make something universally appealing (I think Pottery Barn has that handled already), it’s to make a piece of art that will speak to someone so clearly that they simply can’t go on living in their home without that piece to bring them joy.
The good news is that bright colors seem to be regaining popularity as more and more people have begun to decorate for themselves rather than trying to make their houses look like Pinterest exploded.
If you’re ready to give bright, boho furniture makeovers a try then keep reading to hear all about my new favorite piece!
Boho Furniture Makeover – DIY!
Introducing Once Upon A Time…
I’ll start by saying that you simply can’t go wrong with bright colors. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but if you want to make a statement then MAKE A STATEMENT! Choose colors you love (if you don’t know where to begin, learn how I create a color palette here). New to mixing and blending? Play with your colors of choice on a blank canvas or scrap of cardboard to see how they blend and layer until you’re satisfied.
For this piece, I used The Bohemian Bright palette of paints that I curated for DIY Paint. Like everything else by DIY, there are NO VOCs!!! That means it’s safe for me and my bestie, Abbie, and I can paint indoors without worrying about harsh chemicals. This clay-based paint has a finishing coat added in, which I love, but they still blend easily with water (my favorite method) while wet! It’s the best of both worlds, in my opinion!
Nearly the entire piece was painted using my favorite brush from Paint Pixie, the Caddie Brush, which I love for the wide, easy-to-grip handle and dense bristles that can hold a lot of paint. It saves me soooo much time!
Because these colors have a topcoat already added, I didn’t really need to add any finishing touches but, well, I did anyway! I knew it needed some gold to really pop, so I added that and then finished the whole thing with black wax to give it a bit of an aged patina because that’s my personal preference. If you want to leave things ultra-bright, DO IT! This boho furniture makeover is all yours, baby, and that means you call the shots!
Once Upon a Time Color Recipe
This is a pretty simple recipe because I used all 6 colors from the new Bohemian Brights line of DIY Paint (curated by me!)
- Passionate
- Wandering Heart
- Adored Chaos
- Spirited
- Unbridled Love
- Flourished
I also used some of my favorite colors from the DIY Paint line…
- Blue Iris
- Firestarter
- Cowgirl Coral
- Golden Ticket for highlights
- Black Wax (to finish)
What do you think? Will you try the new bright, colorful furniture trend or are you happy with grey and white?
