A STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL ON HOW TO PAINT FRENCH PROVINCIAL FURNITURE BLACK | YOUTUBE VIDEO
Hello beautiful and welcome back to another Furniture Fixer Uppers Thursday! For any of you who have been following my journey here on the #sibog for a time, you already know I have a soft spot for French Provincial Furniture. My Mum bought me a gorgeous white FP bedroom set when I was a girl. I had it throughout my high school years and beyond. These pieces were made of solid wood and built to last. I still see this furniture style selling in thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets and antique markets. French Provincial furniture also still sells NEW – and it’s not inexpensive! Anyway, I love the shape and style, and although it reminds me of little girl furniture for obvious reasons, it can be sleek and sophisticated as well. And that’s my goal for today. Let’s turn this set into a gorgeous set using classic black!
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It’s also Furniture Fixer Uppers Day and I’m joining my FFU crew and sharing links to their projects below. I hope you join me in visiting their before-and-afters too. I can’t wait to see what these talented ladies do. There are some gorgeous pieces of furniture being made over today including another French Provincial piece!
Here are the French Provincial nightstands I started with selling at the thrift store for $14.99. We had a 20% off coupon. The set came to $21 in total. No tax. Awesome price!
The drawers were a little wonky. The metal gliders were rusty and had come right off the bottom of the drawers.
There were also a few scratches from use.
Overall this is a solid set with great lines.
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WHAT YOU’LL NEED
French Provincial Nightstand Set – SALVAGED
White Lightning Cleaner
Heat Gun | Painters Tool
Sanding Sponge
Bosch Sander (25% OFF as of writing!)
Bonding Boss Primer
Mud Wood Filler
Soft Rag/Towel
Black Anchor Silk Paint
2″ Mini Paint Brush
Bronze Gilding Wax
1.7mm Astro Euro Spray Gun
Gator Hide Topcoat
BLACK PAINTED FRENCH PROVINCIAL
Here’s how it all came together…
CLEAN & PREP
I removed the thrift store price tags using my heat gun and painter’s tool. These little suckers were stuck on good. Then the hardware handles were removed and the drawers were taken out. This set got a good cleaning with White Lightening. I use the spray bottle to wash it on the inside and out and then give it a few wipe-downs with a sponge and clean water.
SCUFF SAND
Once dry, I scuff-sanded with a flexible 220-grit sanding sponge around the edges and used my Bosch Sander (which is on sale for 25% OFF as of writing this post!) to create some tooth to prepare it for primer adhesion. You know you’re working hard when your gloves split open…lol.
PRIME
I added one coat of Bonding Boss Primer before filling the scratches and imperfections. I like doing this because this primer needs 24 hours to adhere properly and then I see all the imperfections more clearly. It’s a time saver.
CLEAN RUST | GLIDER
To remove all the rust from these drawer gliders, I wet sanded them with a 220 sanding sponge. To wet sand, I wet the sanding sponge under water and then used it as I normally would. It works well, and it’s safer than dry sanding because there’s less risk of inhaling rust dust. Once the rust was removed, I dried them off on a towel.
The goal wasn’t to get them perfect but to clean them up nicely. Check out the before and after! Once they were all cleaned I reattached them to the bottom of the drawer. Before I sell this set, I’ll also use some wax on the gliders. This will help prevent rust and keep the gliders working smoothly.
WOOD FILLER
Now that I had the first coat of Bonding Primer on, it was time to fill all the little imperfections. I used Dixie Belle Mud.
This wood filler is super easy to hand sand if you don’t have a sander.
PAINTING BLACK ANCHOR
Now for the fun part. Painting! I choose to paint this set in classic black. I used Anchor SILK All-In-One Mineral Paint. It has the primer and topcoat included but as you see, you can still prime and topcoat. I could have skipped the primer altogether if I had known I was going to be using this paint line, but later in the post, you’ll see why I decided to topcoat.
I used my 2″ mini synthetic brush to apply the paint. This is an all-purpose brush and is often my go-to. I find it super comfortable to paint with. That said, don’t let the pic below deter you…the first coat is never pretty.
BRONZE WAX HANDLES
I debated giving the handles a monochromatic look like I did for this Blue French Provincial Dresser here. I had mixed reviews on social about painting the hardware the same color as the piece but I liked it. To share something different this time, I used this Bronze Gilding Wax to even out the tone of these handles.
DRAWER DECOR
For an added design detail, I rubbed on a zebra transfer to the sides of the drawer. I have a full tutorial on How To Rub On Transfers here.
TOPCOAT / PROTECT
To finish this set, I sprayed three coats of this Gator Hide top coat. The SILK All-In-One Paint doesn’t require a topcoat because it’s built-in however the beauty of this paint is you can change it up. This paint dries to a gorgeous eggshell matte finish but for these black nightstands, I wanted a little shine when the light hits them.
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Still love FP furniture, and love how you transformed these cuties. Great tutorial again & so appreciate you still sharing your tips all theses years. I like the handles installed this way too. Love the surprise zebra print.
The hardware looks a little more ‘fresh’ installed this way, right?! I have a soft spot for FB furniture too. Enjoy your day my friend. XOXO
The drawer pulls on the finished nightstands are upside down. The color looks amazing though!
I love the black on the FP lines. Sooo pretty and delicate.
I do love the handles turned !! Looks updated -and the detals feel more prominent.
Gotta love the surprise zebra print drawer sides. I always love that extra pop. 🙂
p.s. wish I had an exotic animal farm nearby !
Thanks for chiming in re the handles. Even after reading all the mixed reviews on the placement – I’m STILL unsure which way I prefer…lol.
I would turn them over. They look like a mistake.
Love the zebra stripe detail! Such a cute makeover. 🙂
Thanks so much Mariele! XOXO
Hi. Came in via Quora, because I no longer stalk painting sites. Have always loved your work!
I actually have these nightstand. They’re half prepped and staring at me for a couple of years. You’ve gievn me the impetus to finally do something pretty with them.
Thanks for all your hard work in creating these instructional, inspirational pages.
So happy you came in via Quora, awesome! And these are such great pieces, aren’t they?! Have fun making yours pretty Christine. I’d love to hear what you end up doing if you drop back in!🤗
I can’t decide on the handles either. I guess either way works! I do love the color and the new look, though!
Same..lol! Thanks Kathy. I LOVE your French Provincial makeover as well! XOXO
Hi Denise. Omggggg…..what a gorgeous update. I’ve always loved French Provincial furniture. I generally think of it as “little girl“ furniture. I’m so glad I got to see how amazing it looks painted black. Definitely would work in any adult bedroom. Stunning transformation.
Hi Monique! I’m so happy you like the set in black! Happy weekend my friend. XOXO
On my screen these tables show as a glowing navy-gray-teal which is absolutely gorgeous. And first thing I noticed were the handles, which stand out more this way and call attention to their intricate curves. Beauties!
They’re black…lol… buuuut I love the sounds of a glowing navy-gray-teal! It makes me want to create this custom color! Thanks for chiming in on the hardware Cyndel! Have a great weekend. XOXO
I did notice right off that you reversed the handles. Who’s to say which way is right, right? When opening the drawers, I think it makes more sense that the hardware “frowns” instead of “smiles.”
I always struggle with hinges AND handles. 🙂
I love the look of the new nightstands, Denise. Very classy.
Pinned, sharing on Facebook.
gail
I agree… there’s no right or wrong. When I work on these FP pieces, I put them on whichever way strikes my fancy at the time. hehe Thanks for the share my friend. XOXO
I really like the handles! They now have “flair”. I’m not usually an animal print fan, but the way you presented it here I think it looks nice. Good job!!
I’m glad you like the handle placement Caye!… and the drawer detail! Thanks and have a fabulous weekend!🤗
I’m also a fan of french provincial furniture and you updated this set beautifully! The zebra drawer detail and bronze on black look beautiful. and I like the hardware turned opposite. Looks more updated IMO.🙂
The lines are beautiful on these pieces, right?! And thanks for chiming in on the hardware. It seems like ‘turning’ them is the majority so far! Have a great weekend Nicki!
Beautiful! But I must admit my first thought was “the handles are upside down”. So for me this would need to be changed, (def a little ocd when it comes to hardware) BUT I love how you think outside the box!
Right!? Part of me thinks upside down and the other part of me really likes it…lol. So I get it Gail…lol. Thanks so much! xo
Love what you did with these! French Provincial in wood tones is so blah to me. They come alive when they are painted.
Thanks Fran, I love the look of painted FP as well! And like you, not so much the old stain wood tones. I have seen a few bleached/lighter wood stained FP that I’ve REALLY liked tho!
They are gorgeous. I love the color and finish. Great work!
Thanks my friend!🤗 Black is a classic, you kinda can’t go wrong! 😉
Those look SO good! I love the upside down pulls. They are still familiar, but different at the same time.
Thanks Cyndi! I like your take on the pulls and I totally agree, yet when I do it like this I always question myself… but I like it! 😆
Love what you did with these nightstands! The added designs are such a fun touch!
Thanks so much Natalie! XOXO
Beautiful! Perfection!
Yay, thank you Deborah!💕 I had fun with this set!
The addition of the peekaboo zebra on the sides of the drawers takes this one over the top for me. We have an exotic animal farm down the road from us and my favorite thing to do is to feed the Zebras carrots. The patterns on the Zebras 🦓 are incredible. Very nice! Thanks for sharing. 🖤🤍 😘
Thanks my friend and exotic animal farm down the road….whaaaat! This sounds amazing. I’d be there with the carrots right there with you!🥕🥕🦓
These are stunning in black!! I love this style of furniture and envy you for having that set as a child lol. I had bunkbeds that I had to share with my sister…not quite as pretty ha ha! XOXO
That’s funny because as a kid I thought bunkbeds were awesome! And thanks my friend. You kinda can’t go wrong with FP because those lines are so darn pretty, right?! XOXO
GORGEOUS!!!
Appreciate it Kathy, thank you!🤗