Furniture Makeover: How to Transform Furniture from Dark to a Light and Natural Oak Finish
There’s something incredibly satisfying about breathing new life into a forgotten piece of furniture—especially when it’s a secondhand find with good bones. I recently picked up this lovely side table for £30. I was drawn to its round shape and the practicality of its shelves. I knew hiding beneath the layers of dark, heavy stain, was a beautiful natural oak waiting to shine. It was a little worn, a little tired, but absolutely brimming with potential.
With a bit of elbow grease and some trial and error, I stripped back the old finish to reveal the beautiful oak underneath— even though there were some struggles, the transformation was worth every minute. I’ll walk you through exactly how I turned this dated piece into a timeless accent, more fitting for my home, with tips for tackling your own stripping and refinishing projects as well.
What you’ll need:
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Paint Brushes
Paint Stripper
Coco Chalk Furniture Paint by Annie Sloan
Old cloths or tea towels
Plastic or metal scrapers (both if you would like to experiment)
Electrical Sanders- ideally all of the below but you can get away with just the palm sander and manually using sand paper for detailing to keep costs down!
Orbital sander- great for sanding down surfaces.
Palm sander- great for surfaces and getting into corners and detailed areas.
Rotary multi-tool with a rotary sander attachment- great for details and awkward spots.
Sandpaper- an assorted pack including 80 grit to 120 grit.
White vinegar
Step by Step Process:
Step 7- Removing the stipper.
Step 9- Sanding with an orbital sander.
Move the piece outside or to a well ventilated workshop area.
Clean off the furniture in preparation for paint stripping.
Get ready to use the paint stripper with appropriate safety measures- use eyewear, gloves, and masks if needed.
Apply the paint stripper to the surface. The stripper is a gel consistency so can be poured on and moved around with a brush.
Spread the paint stripper with a paintbrush in a thick layer. Cover all areas which need stripping.
Leave the paint stripper as directed on the can. The longer the better.
Remove the stripper using a metal or plastic scraper. This requires elbow grease and is trickier on some surfaces than other.
Once the stipper is scraped off, apply white vinegar to all surfaces to neutralise the stripper.
Sand all areas to remove any remaining stain. Use 80 grit sandpaper to start, and work your way up to 120 fine grit for the last sand.
Clean off the surfaces.
Mix a ratio of 1:5 chalk paint to water.
Use a paint brush and work in small areas. Apply the watered down paint mix, quickly wipe and rub the paint with a tea towel or cloth so the affect is subtle (the paint is just to remove any oranges or warm tones).
Allow the piece to dry and then apply clear furniture wax to protect the piece.
Key takeaways after I completed my piece:
Stripping and transforming this piece was not without trial and error for me. For any project where we are restoring wood back to its original form, no two processes are alike - which is a big contrast from just painting a piece with paint! Here is some of what I experienced and hopefully some wisdom I can impart:
The wood stripper BARELY worked for me. I don’t think this is an issue with the stripper itself as it was highly recommended. Numerous factors can impact how effective a stripper is. I think I could have lathered on even more stripper to the surfaces or left it for longer than the can said. I was working in the direct sun which may have also impacted the stripper. I also only used a metal scraper as I did not have my plastic scraper on hand. Additionally, the stain was thickly layered on the piece which may have made it more difficult for the stripper to do its thing.
I ended up resorting to mostly sanding off the stain. In hindsight I would have skipped trying to strip the wood entirely. Using three different sanders and a variety of grits worked really well for my project.
I used Coco chalk paint by Annie Sloan as I had it on hand as leftover paint. I’m going to coin the term for using watered down beige paint as “beige washing” (okay, I’m sure I’m not the first to call it that!). I loved how Coco worked on this piece to bring down any warm tones and create a neutral wood. I think any mid-beige or taupe paint would have a similar affect. Since my piece was oak, I didn’t need much paint to have the impact I wanted. I therefore applied in small sections (as detailed in the step by step process above) and quickly wiped off the paint once the wood absorbed it slightly. This process may vary depending on the type of wood though. I think for woods that have more orange in them (pine), more of the water-paint mixture would be needed to offset the orange.
Overall, I really enjoyed this little flip and am very pleased with the result- a light oak with some rustic touches. Let me know if you have tried an upcycle like this before and what worked/didn’t work for you! Be sure to subscribe for more interior inspo and DIY tutorials.
