Whitewashing furniture can easily and quickly be done. All you need are the right materials and the following tips:

Step One: Thoroughly Clean the Furniture

As wood is used, it accumulates all sorts of things–including oils, dust and stains. None of which is conducive to painting in any way, so you have to scour the wood as good as you can before you do anything else. The best cleaning solution for this job is vinegar; put some of it on a rag and wipe down the wood. If you apply enough effort and elbow grease as you are wiping, you should be able to remove all stains and blemishes, making the outside of the wood furniture as spotless as it can be.

Step Two: Do Away with the Finish

Whether it is polyurethane or paint, all of the finish needs to be removed. If you use sandpaper to remove it, you will reduce your workload and save much time and energy. More importantly, you will be able to get to work with the actual wood surface, increasing the odds of the new paint adhering to it.

Step Three: Clean the Wood Again

After you sand down the wood, there will be a large amount of dust left. You need to get rid of it by wiping it down with a rag that has vinegar on it.

Step Four: Mix the Whitewash

Create the whitewash mixture by blending white-latex paint and water together. If the color of the mixture does not turn out to be what you had in mind, you should play with it by adding either more paint or more water as needed.

Step Five: Paint the Furniture at Your Own Pace

Once you finally create the mixture you like, you can begin applying it to the furniture’s surface. The most practical tool you can use for this job is indeed a paint brush; use it to apply the whitewash generously and evenly. Once you have officially painted the furniture, put it up somewhere and avoid touching it. It needs to dry for at least 5 to 10 minutes. The longer you wait, the better everything will turn out.

Step Six: Wipe the Furniture Down

You will give the furniture piece the whitewashed look you envisioned if you gently wipe the wood’s surface to remove all of the excess paint. The good news is that you can confidently and safely wipe for as long as you want. If a mistake is made at any point, you can always add a new layer of paint on it.

Step Seven: Coat the Paint

You are going to want to use some polyurethane clear coat to cover the wood’s surface. If you use this, the furniture piece will be aesthetically pleasing in every sense of the word, and its finish will have the protective coating it needs to last for years to come.