Easy Fixes that Helped me be a Better Furniture Painter!

Hiii friends!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Last week when I was working on a piece of furniture I kept thinking about how much improvement I've made in the last year.  When I finished the grey console table I was like "Wow Leslie, this is pretty dang good"... 😂😂 please don't think I'm cocky, trust me I know I've got so much more to learn!  Getting to this point took a lot of trial and mostly error, but I figured out that making some small adjustments made my furniture pieces a million times better!  

1.  Stop buying cheap broken furniture.  Ohhhhh it is still hard for me to turn down a beautiful FREE antique dresser but if the drawers look like a disaster or there is peeling veneer, I keep my sanity and pass.  I'd rather buy a 1995 solid dresser for $60 (over budget 😉) than a $10 antique dresser that looks like it was left outside for the last 5 years.  Y'all, I was so proud of myself yesterday...  I went to pick up a free desk, but when I got there is was cheap looking and I walked away.  Go me!  

2.  Start rolling!  This was such a turning point for me.  In the beginning I used nice brushes but my pieces still looked so amateur.  Brush strokes going every which way...  Then I started rolling and my finishes were elevated so much.  Now I have to mention that so many furniture painters totally rock brushes, I'm just not one of them.  I've actually wanted to try spraying but if I'm honest... I am super intimidated annnnnnnd it's winter.  Here are the rollers I like (fusion also sells a great roller!):

I do add an extender (the fusion one) to my paint and occasionally will brush spots that have too much stipple (paint is bumpy). Another roller I've used and see a lot of people love. 

3.  Use good paint.  I know iiiiiiii know, $2 oops paints are so tempting 🙋🙋🙋 but the quality and durability is. not. the. same.  I use mostly Fusion Mineral Paint and General Finishes Milk Paint and love them both.  They go on so smooth and the pieces that I've done in my own house have held up great!  There are a lot of other great brands out there that I am planning on trying this year, I'll let you know how that goes! 

4.  Caulk.  Cawwwwwlk.  😉  This was something I always rolled my eyes at...  This was way too over the top for me...but alas I am here caulking every piece of furniture I touch now. 😂  When you paint furniture you can see every gap where 2 pieces of wood meet.  I use to just jam as much paint as I could in the gap but it would never look as polished as I wanted it to.  It is super easy add caulking and I use a baby wipe to smooth my lines! So easy! 

Before

After - Just Needs Paint

Alright y'all, I'd love to hear your easy tips to painting furniture!  👇