TODAY I’M SHARING 7 TIPS FOR A SMOOTH AND FLAWLESS PAINT BLEND ON YOUR PAINTED FURNITURE!

Hi sweet SI family! Creating a beautiful and flawless blend on your furniture can feel intimidating – I know because I’ve been there! So today I’m sharing 7 Tips For Blending Paint on Furniture! I’m also showcasing 7 different pieces I’ve used these blending tips and techniques on. I hope these tips help build your confidence to give this gorgeous paint technique a try. And I promise, with a little practice, you’ll be painting the softest and smoothest blended transitions in no time!

Also, thank you to ALL who participated in last week’s giveaway post. We have three lucky winners that I’m announcing at the bottom of today’s post!

7 TIPS FOR BLENDING PAINT

1. CHOOSING THE RIGHT PAINT

The first consideration is the paint you use to get that gorgeous blended look. Although ANY water-based paint can be blended, I find using a good quality chalky type paint works the VERY best. Why? Because although many brands of chalky paints are on the thicker side, they thin and blend really nicely when a little water is added. They are self-leveling and highly pigmented which creates gorgeous color blends. They are also very forgiving! If you make a mistake, it’s easy to give your paint a light sanding or even wipe it off with a wet cloth and start over again.

2. CHOOSING THE RIGHT BRUSH

Using a good quality synthetic paint brush makes blending your paint easy. Using a natural bristle brush, chip brush, or low-quality dollar store brush will make a gradual transition difficult to achieve as these may leave brush strokes. I have a list of my favorite paintbrushes here. Also having a few paint brushes on hand for the separate colors is also helpful. And keeping one brush specific for blending the blend works nicely as well.

Here are a few paintbrush tips when blending…

• Don’t overload your brush with too much paint
• Use a separate brush for each color
• Use a third neutral brush specifically for blending the blended color(s)
• Dollar store brushes, chip brushes, or natural fiber brushes may leave brush strokes so avoid using them
• Misting your brush with water keeps the paint moving/blending nicely

3. WATER IS YOUR FRIEND

If you’re trying to get a smooth blend, this water misting bottle is a must-have tool!  Water misting bottles do exactly as they say – they mist the water gently – they don’t shoot out streams of water. This is important when painting a blend because you can control exactly how much water you are adding without it ruining your wet paint/blend. I use these two water mister bottles which you can find here and here.

Here are a few tips when using your water mister bottle…

• Use room temperature water – not too hot or cold
• Keep your water mister bottles within reach when blending
• Mist your paintbrush before dipping it into the paint
• Mist your paint once it’s applied to your furniture and then blend

4. WORK WITH SIMILAR SHADES

I always thought working with ‘complimentary’ colors would work the best when blending but the opposite is true. The definition of complementary colors (on the color wheel) is ‘opposite colors’. For instance, red-green, yellow-purple, and blue-orange are complementary colors. When these colors are blended they create bold NEW colors. Red and green create brown for instance. Working with SIMILAR SHADES (especially when you are first starting out on your blending journey) makes blending so much easier! Blending white or creams into soft yellows, green, blues and pinks work really nicely. Or try blending the same colors in different shades. A light green into a darker green for example.

Here’s a post on 10 Winning Color Combos I love to pair together.

5. WORK IN SECTIONS

I work in sections when blending paint on my furniture and I like to start on the SIDES of my furniture before tackling the front. This gives me time to get a ‘feel’ for the colors and how they blend together. I gain some confidence while working on the sides and then I move onto the face forward working in small sections once again ie, drawers, top, etc.

6. FEATHER YOUR BRUSHSTROKES

Feathering your brushstrokes is a fancy way of saying keep your brushstrokes LIGHT. You don’t want or need to push down hard on your brush when blending paint. In fact, the softer your hand, the more blended your paint will look. You can brush up or down, sideways, or from side to side depending on which direction you want your blend to go, but always make sure they are light feathery brushstrokes to get the best results!

7. HAVE FUN AND PRACTICE

Practice is key to getting better and more comfortable at anything!  Have fun when playing around. Try different color combos and see what you like the looks of.  I like experimenting on curb-shopped furniture but you could also use a scrap piece of board before tackling your grandmother’s china cabinet. The more you play around with these techniques the more confident you’ll become!

Here are a few blended pieces I’ve painted over the years. I’ve included the link to the products I’ve used and a full step-by-step tutorial in the title. I hope it inspires you to give this gorgeous paint technique a try!

HOW TO BLEND PAINT | DRESSER

BLUEBERRY BLEND PAINTED DRESSER

SUNFLOWER DRESSER MAKEOVER

FLORAL ROMANCE BLENDED DRESSER

FRENCH LINEN HEADBOARD

REBEL-YELLOW CURB SHOPPED DRESSER

BLENDED FLORAL CHINA CABINET

And now for the three lucky winners of last week’s Amazon + Book Giveaway! A HUGE thank you to all of you who participated!

THE LUCKY WINNERS OF LAST WEEK’S AMAZON+BOOK GIVEAWAY ARE…

$100 KAREN. K

$50 ALEXIS

$50 GAYLE. S

I really hope you enjoyed these tips and it gives you a starting point when blending your furniture!  I’ll be back this Thursday with my Furniture Fixer Upper Crew and this curb-shopped settee makeover… bird droppings and all! 🐦 😂

LET ME KNOW WHICH PIECE IS YOUR FAVORITE OR FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN WITH ANY BLENDING TECHNIQUES THAT WORK WELL FOR YOU! … OR FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE… I ALWAYS LOVE HEARING FROM YOU. IT MAKES MY DAY! 🙂

Happy furniture painting friends!

Denise x

RELATED POSTS::

BLENDED BLUEBERRY FRENCH PROVINCIAL

HOW TO BLEND AND LAYER PAINT

BLENDED CHEST MAKEOVER

HOW TO BLEND PAINT ON FURNITURE

HOW TO BLEND IN DECOUPAGE PAPER

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