How to Paint Two Tone Furniture

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Give an old dresser, buffet, or table a completely new look by combining paint and stain. I’ll show you how we transformed our old buffet with a deep blue painted base and stained wood top, including the prep, painting, staining, and finishing steps we used.

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This buffet has been through more than one furniture makeover in our house.

I originally bought it from a Facebook Buy/Sell/Trade group without much of a plan. Eventually, I painted it bright red with black wax, even though Jordan insisted dark blue would look better in our home.

A few years later, I had to admit he was right.

We stripped away the old red paint, wax, and original finish and started over. This time, I wanted to keep some of the natural wood visible instead of covering the entire piece with paint.

The solution was a two tone furniture makeover: deep blue paint on the base with a dark stained wood top.

It completely changed the piece, and more than nine years later, the painted finish still has zero chips or visible wear. Here’s exactly how we created the look.

So while the before wasn’t awful, it certainly could be improved in our home. [Check out how I stripped that red latex and black wax here]

Luckily, with a few hours time (+ drying!) I had a totally different outcome.

And a happier husband. << He is still telling me ‘told ya so…’

How to Paint Two Tone Furniture

1. Decide Which Areas You’ll Paint and Stain

Before you start sanding or painting, decide which parts of the furniture you want painted and which areas you want to leave as stained wood.

For our buffet, I wanted the body painted Midnight Blue while keeping the large wood top natural. That gave us enough contrast to make the two-tone finish noticeable without making the piece feel busy.

2. Prep Your Furniture

How much prep you’ll need depends on what’s already on your furniture and what you’re planning to do next.

Our buffet had old varnish, red latex paint and wax on it, so we stripped the entire piece before refinishing it. This was especially important on the top because stain needs to reach the wood rather than sit over old paint or finish.

If you’re starting with painted or heavily finished furniture, see exactly how we removed the old paint and varnish from this buffet before continuing with the makeover.

However, since we are staining the top, we needed to remove everything from the wood.

And Jordan is a stickler for not skipping steps, so every micro-inch (is that a real word?) of old paint and varnish was removed. He thought the doors and sliders wouldn’t stick anymore due to paint build up.

So remove any finish from the top of your piece of furniture. I recommend using a low VOC product that works well.

Sand down your furniture with 220-grit sandpaper. Make sure to sand in the direction of the wood grain. Lightly wipe off any excess residue.

 

3. Tape Off the Areas You’re Not Painting

Tape off your furniture so that paint drips don’t fall on any areas where stain is going to go! It’s harder to remove the paint later in the process.

To make things quicker, consider turning over your furniture! Since I was staining the top, it made no sense that it be the easiest thing to reach– when I didn’t need it.

 

4. Paint the Furniture Base

I applied Fusion Mineral Paint in Midnight Blue with a brush. Our buffet only needed one coat, although coverage will vary depending on the color, surface and paint you’re using.

Jordan cut up small rectangles in various sizes for me. Essentially he created little widgets so that I could hold the cardboard and paint “inside the lines” and not worry about accidentally nicking an inner area that I didn’t want painted.

This is the quickest part of the process! I spent several times more removing paint than I did actually painting.

The buffet ended up only needing one coat of paint. I was planning on needing two so it was a major time saver to not need to do this!

Once everything was painted on the exterior, paint any inside areas.

5. Add Antiquing Wax, If You Want It

Fusion Mineral Paint advertises that their paint does not need any wax or finishing product! But you know me, I wanted to try my hand at this espresso antiquing wax.

If you’ve never applied wax before, take your chip brush and apply a coat over the paint. The wax should be heavy handed thickness, letting it ‘catch’ in the corners.

Look at your directions for removal. After a set period of time, you’ll take wiping cloths and wipe off the wax in the direction of the wood grain.

 

6. Stain the Wood Top

Now you’ll want to flip over the dresser and start wrapping up  your project!

Re-tape the area that you don’t want stained. You want to avoid any drips (like the painting taping earlier).

Once your dresser is right side, or if it always was, use your orbital sander and run a 220 grit over the entire surface. Use a small piece of sandpaper to get into any corner bevels.

Wipe off any dust or dirt with clean wiping cloths. <<< If you haven’t noticed, I went through a few packs of clean cloths on this buffet 😉

Now, take a clean cloth and dip it  into the stain. Liberally wipe across the surface in the direction of the grain. Depending on the color you want, wait a few minutes, and wipe off using a clean cloth.

Don’t forget about the under side of the overhang.

Repeat stain layers as needed.

7. Seal the Stained Wood

Once the wood stain is completely dry, lightly sand it again to ensure a smooth finish.

Apply a polycrylic to seal in your stain. I always prefer a matte finish so that it looks like there isn’t a high-gloss top coat.

8. Update the Hardware

Don’t forget about updating old hardware and hinges. Jordan spray-painted our door hinges to make them match the existing drawer pulls.

9. Let Everything Dry Before Using the Furniture

Follow the current drying/recoat/cure instructions on whatever paint, stain, and sealer the reader uses rather than publishing universal times.

You can see the espresso wax added some depth to the buffet.

Customizing your own furniture is pretty easy. It’s a perfect weekend project while the kids are napping. For the cost of a small can of paint and leftover stain, you can really transform the look of a room!

 

Other Ways to Create a Two Tone Furniture Look

You don’t have to use dark blue and walnut to create this look. The same basic approach works with a painted base and natural wood top on dressers, dining tables, nightstands, coffee tables and buffets. Choose your paint and stain colors based on the furniture and the room you’ll use it in.

This buffet has now been through two makeovers, and the second one was definitely the keeper.

Combining a painted base with a stained wood top let us completely change the look without covering up all of the original wood. Even better, more than nine years later, the finish has held up incredibly well through everyday use in our home.

If you’re starting with an older painted piece like ours, begin with my step-by-step guide for removing paint and varnish from wood furniture. And if you’re considering Fusion for your makeover, you can also read my updated Fusion Mineral Paint review to see exactly how the finish has performed after 9+ years.

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