How to paint bedside tables and drawers with a stencil

• Sandpaper, grit 120 and 400
• Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer
• Resene Lustacryl in your choice of colour; Fleur used Resene Waiouru
• Resene testpot in your choice of colour; Fleur used Resene Flax
• Paint brush
• Small foam roller and roller paint tray
• Painters tape
• Small craft paint brush
• Stencil

Instructions

Step 1:  Remove handles and clean the bedside tables/drawers with 120 grit sandpaper. If the existing paint is waterbased you don’t need to sand it. If the existing paint is solventborne paint, you will need to lightly sand the stool to help the topcoat stick well.

Step 2:  (optional): Because these were made from faux Rimu laminate, Fleur primed them with Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer. Once the sealer is dry, lightly sand the primed drawers with 400 grit sandpaper.

Step 3:  Using a paint brush, paint the edges of the drawers and anywhere the roller won’t reach.

Step 4:  Using a small foam roller, roll paint on the rest of the drawers. Once this layer has dried, repeat with a second layer of paint. Once the paint has dried, position the stencil in the desired location using loops of painter masking tape on the back and sides of the stencil.

Step 5:  Using a small craft paint brush, fill in the stencil. Avoid too much paint on the brush so that the paint doesn’t seep under the stencil.

Step 6:  Attach new handles. Or if you prefer you can clean, repaint and re-attach the existing handles.

Top tip: Paint the drawers in an ombre of colours to add extra interest. You can do this by painting a darker Resene colour on the top drawer then progressively lighter colours on lower drawers.

Styling and images by Fleur Thorpe, 2020.