In re Defense of Painted Furniture

I recently had the honor of having a few of my painted furniture pieces featured on Hometalk. Great resource, by the way.   If you haven’t already checked it out, you should.  There are so many inspirational DIY and home improvement ideas there.  Just be warned, you can easily get sucked into the vortex of fantastic DIY projects and makeovers – not unlike Pinterest.

For those of you who are familiar with Hometalk, you may be aware of the band of loyal Hometalk followers who absolutely hate painted furniture.  I’m talking hate with a passion. White hot passion.  And, they are not shy about expressing their opinions. Some constructive, some just downright mean.    Seems like they pretty much hate all painted furniture – not just mine.  While it is wonderful to have Hometalk feature your work,  you must also brace yourself for the onslaught of insults that will inevitably follow from the painted furniture haters.

I’m a lawyer.   So as you might imagine, I had a rough time not responding to the various comments from those paint haters.  I really wanted to defend myself and those of us who love and appreciate painted furniture.  However, I decided that the Hometalk Facebook page and website were not really the appropriate forums for my response. But guess what? My blog is the forum for my opinions on the subject.  And, here I shall express them.

So without further ado, I will state my case by responding  to some of the top comments from the paint haters, hereinafter referred to as “the haters.”

May it please the court. . .

A.  “Why would anyone cover up that beautiful wood?”

This is one of the before shots from the first of my painted wood furniture pieces that was featured on Hometalk.  In my opinion, the wood on this piece was not “beautiful” and I think the more appropriate question for this piece is, “why wouldn’t you cover up that wood?”  This particular piece was in horrible condition when I found it.  The finish on the top was almost completely peeling off from what appeared to be water damage.  This was not a rare antique or even a vintage piece.  No, in fact, it was a circa 2000 maple dresser.  If you like honey colored maple furniture, well you are in luck my friends. People are literally giving these dated relics away and you can score one  for a few bucks at your local thrift shop.  You could even find one at the curb.

Here’s the thing:   if you love wood, fantastic.  By all means, furnish your home with wood pieces. I don’t hate unpainted wood.  On the contrary, I believe with the right decor, unpainted furniture pieces can, and do, look quite lovely.  However, I also believe that painting some wood furniture can actually enhance its beauty, and that not all wood is “beautiful” and must be left untouched.   It just depends on the piece.  It’s as simple as that.

B.  “You ruined the wood by painting it.”

Okay, this is an easy argument to rebuff.  If this comment is to be taken on its face, paint does not “ruin” wood. Quite the opposite is true,  Paint can actually preserve wood.  Think about it, what is on the exterior of many homes?  Yep, painted wood. Painted wood siding can withstand time and the elements.  Same goes for painted wood furniture pieces. Paint can be a far more durable protectant than a stained wood sealer.

Painting also does not impact the functionality of furniture (unless, of course, the piece has been improperly painted and the drawers and hinges are impacted – not the case with my furniture pieces).  In other words,  the usefulness of a piece of furniture is not affected by paint, and therefore, not ruined for its intended purpose, either.

Assuming this comment is meant to address the alleged aesthetic degradation caused by paint, it is still not “ruined.”  Again, this goes back to personal preference for either painted or unpainted furniture.  While you may not feel that paint enhances the beauty of the piece, it is not ruined for the person who does appreciate and love it.

C. “You destroyed the value of that dresser.”

This is the second of my dressers that was featured by Hometalk.  When I found it, this piece was left for dead at the curb in my neighborhood.  Next stop, landfill, for sure.  I think most people would believe the only  value this piece had was as firewood.  I don’t see how paint could possibly devalue this piece any further.

The wood on the top was beautiful and salvageable.   I sanded, stained and applied a top coat.  I did, however, choose to paint the body.  I sold this piece to a lovely couple who can now enjoy and use this piece in their home. There was no destruction of value to this piece.

This is an extreme example, of course, but I have chosen it to illustrate my point.  Painting furniture does not automatically diminish its value.  The “value” of a piece of furniture is not always measured by its monetary worth.  Rather, it can be measured by how it is cherished by its owner.  Value can also be measured by its usefulness of purpose.

Now, I’m not suggesting that painting can never devalue a piece of furniture.  I’ve seen Antiques Roadshow enough times to know what the original patina of a piece can be worth to a collector.   However, I’m not talking about precious antiques here.  I am not for a second suggesting that a rare antique should be painted and I certainly would not do so myself.  The pieces I paint, while certainly old, are in no way priceless or rare antiques.

Of note, painted furniture itself can be very highly sought after and collectible – it’s not just the unpainted wood pieces that collectors seek.  Painted furniture is, and always has been, an art form in its own right.

D. “I sure hope this painted furniture fad will end soon!”

First of all, let’s define “fad.”  A fad is  “a style or activity that suddenly becomes popular but which usually does not stay popular for very long.” By the very definition, painted furniture is not a “fad.”

Painting furniture has not just suddenly become popular.  Rather, painted furniture has been around since Ancient Egypt and has been a continued presence throughout history and cultures since that time.  I’m not comparing my painted furniture pieces in any way  with those of the Ancient Egyptians.  My point is simply this:  painted furniture has been in existence and appreciated for a very, very long time. It is not a fad.

Get over it, haters, painted furniture isn’t going away any time soon.

E.  “Why would she slap on a coat of paint on that piece.”

This is the one comment that  just really gets under my skin.  Yes, there are those who do not take care when painting furniture and the result is a sloppy product.  However, there are so many more of us who take the time and care to properly prep and paint our furniture pieces.  We spend countless hours searching for that diamond in the rough, hauling it home, and then giving serious deliberation to our design choices.  All of that happens before we even lift a paint brush.   We use quality products and we are meticulous in how we paint our furniture.

As a case in point, my friend Christina from Phoenix Restoration recently restored an amazing American of Martinsville campaign credenza. In doing so, she tracked the time she spent meticulously restoring this gorgeous piece of furniture.   You can see it here.   Just awe inspiring.

I take pride in the way I paint and restore furniture.  “Slapping on a coat of paint” is far afield from my furniture restoration practices.  Enough said.

F.  “That looks ridiculous.”

I saved my favorite comment for last.  It was made in reference to my third featured piece pictured below.   My only response:  “It looks ridiculously awesome!”  Actually, that was my husband’s response, but I loved it!

Seriously, I’m not sure what to make of that comment or even how to respond.   Was this hater referring to the paint?  The hardware?  The whole shebang?   There is just nothing constructive about the comment itself.  It was just another of those mean-spirited comments that I have chosen to laugh off.

Conclusion

(When I was a brand new associate attorney, a partner told me to always include a conclusion in my briefs, so here it is.)

I don’t expect everyone to agree on whether or not furniture should be painted.  Or even agree on whether painted furniture can be beautiful.  My point in writing this wasn’t to change anyone’s mind on the subject.  If I have, yay me.   My objective was to set forth my perspective in a constructive, heartfelt way.  I sincerely hope I have succeeded.

The defense rests.

Susan