Furniture painting for homes across Kent
A-Z Decorators paints fitted and freestanding furniture in homes throughout Kent. Built-in wardrobes, alcove shelving, TV units, radiator covers, dressers, chests of drawers and kitchen cupboards can all be given a new colour without the cost and upheaval of replacing them. Our team has more than 30 years in the trade.
Furniture is handled every day. Doors are opened, drawers pulled and shelves loaded, so the paint on a wardrobe has a much harder life than the paint on a bedroom wall. A finish that looks fine for a week and then chips at the handles is a waste of money, and the difference between that and a finish that lasts comes down to preparation and primer.
The photos on this page show a built-in TV wall with open shelving and slatted cupboard doors, loft wardrobes fitted under the eaves and a radiator cover, all finished in pale grey. Every job starts with a free, no-obligation quotation, where we look at the pieces, talk through colours and finishes, and set out the materials, labour and time frame in writing.
How we paint furniture so the finish lasts
Cleaning comes first. Furniture collects grease from hands, and kitchen units collect cooking grease too, which stops paint from bonding. We degrease every surface, then key it with a light sand so the primer has something to grip.
The primer is the most important coat. Furniture is often made from surfaces paint does not like, such as varnished timber, melamine, laminate and old gloss. Zinsser, one of the brands in our post on what paint professionals use in the UK, says its B-I-N shellac primer gives excellent adhesion even to difficult surfaces like glossy plastics, metal and ceramic tiles, and blocks stains such as tannin bleed. Tannin is the brown staining that can work through light paint on oak and some other timbers, so on those woods the right primer stops the finish turning patchy weeks later.
After priming we fill any dents and open joints, sand again, and apply two or more thin coats of a hard-wearing trim or furniture paint. Thin coats level out better, dry harder and are far less likely to show runs on door edges and mouldings. Where we can, doors and drawer fronts come off and are painted flat, which gives a smoother finish and lets the frames be painted at the same time.
Paint is touch dry long before it is fully hard. A painted unit can look finished the same day yet still mark if it is used heavily for the first week or two, as our guide to how long paint takes to dry in the UK explains, so we leave you clear advice on when the doors and shelves can go back to normal use.
What can we provide?
We have been providing painting and decorating services throughout the local area for years.
What furniture we paint
Most furniture can be painted, as long as it is sound and the right primer goes on first.
Kitchen cupboards
Painting kitchen units is one of the most cost-effective ways to change a kitchen, because the carcasses, worktops and appliances stay where they are. Kitchen doors take more wear than anything else in the house, so they get the most careful preparation of all. Our post on how to paint kitchen cupboards sets out the full process, from taking the doors off to the final coat.
Fitted wardrobes, alcove units and radiator covers
Built-in furniture is part of the room, so it can be painted to match the walls, picked out in a contrasting colour or finished in the same colour as the woodwork. Fitted wardrobes, alcove cupboards and shelving, window seats, TV units and radiator covers can all be painted, and they are often done at the same time as the rest of the room during an interior decorating job or a wider interior refurbishment. If you want help deciding on colours, our post on choosing paint colours is a good place to start, and radiators themselves can be refreshed too, as our guide to repainting a radiator shows.
Older and antique pieces
Older furniture needs a closer look before any sanding. According to the British Coatings Federation, lead pigments were removed from most decorative paints in the early 1960s, but some paint supplied up until the 1990s may still contain lead. A piece with several old layers of paint may need testing before it is rubbed down. Some antique and good-quality solid timber pieces are worth more with their original finish, so we will tell you if we think a piece is better left as it is.
Garden furniture and outdoor pieces
Benches, tables, planters and garden rooms need exterior paints and stains that cope with rain and sun. Our post on restoring your garden furniture covers why it is worth doing, and our exterior decorating page covers the rest of the work we do outside.
Arranging your quotation
You can see more of our work in the gallery, and the full list of what we offer is on our services page. We work across the county, including Maidstone, Rochester and Chatham. To book your free quotation, contact us by phone, email or WhatsApp, or read reviews of A-Z Decorators on Google.
