Painted sideboard

[Sirrah]

I've just painted the living room in Polished Pebble, which looks amazing, with white ceiling and woodwork. The carpet will probably be mid-grey, and the sofa is a dark sage green. Other furniture is inherited and dark wood.

We needed a sideboard so we picked up a cheap one on Facebook. It's pine, painted badly with satinwood in a creamy colour, so I need to re-paint. Do you think dark grey is the best option, given the other furniture, or should I go lighter? Also, I'm not sure about the chalky finish, it has to be sealed and we need hard-wearing.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Miscella]

I would go for a third colour - personally I’d go with an orange (probably deepish rather than bright). Generally speaking most schemes benefit from an accent colour, it brings things together and makes the finished room look more....finished I suppose!

You can pick up the accent colour in cushions/rugs/blinds/curtains/candles/ceramics just don’t go overboard, the idea is to look done but not overdone and too matchy matchy.

You will need to sand down the bad paint job on the sideboard. Do you want an eggshell or Matt finish? If eggshell it’s easy to get from any of the main manufacturers. If you want Matt then it’s a bit more difficult. Autentico do a range of chalk paints which include an eggshell and Matt version which don’t need sealing - I haven’t used it though. In the past I have painted furniture with good quality Matt emulsion and it has worn really well, especially when I have used a wipeable Matt paint.

The more effort you put into the prep the better the finish you will get. I would reccomend using a good primer, unless you are painting a very pale topcoat grey primer is best.

[Sirrah]

I couldn't live with orange on a large piece of furniture. My accent colour is yellow, but again, only small amounts in paintings and cushions. I have several of my own florals which work perfectly.

Thanks for the advice on the actual paint and how to proceed. The bad paint job was satinwood directly onto varnish, it'll probably chip off! I need to think about Matt or eggshell... I don't mind a slight sheen, but I realise the trend is Matt. Washable Matt emulsion could be an option worth considering.

[Miscella]

Fair enough, my style is fairly bold - my sitting room is predominantly navy and green with several accent colours mixed in. Not for everyone but we love it!

When you say your own florals do you mean paintings? You could always pick up a more muted colour from either a painting or cushion etc that you already have. Or go with your original idea of grey and use porcelain knobs to pick up other colours in the room - more subtle but just as effective.

[Sirrah]

Haha, I love bright colour in paintings but I'm much more reserved in decorating! Yes, I paint watercolours, I have a few daffodils and sunflowers that I'll put up. The plan is to be able to swap paintings around, so I could have pinks and purples if I fancy a change. I like the idea of swapping the knobs, now I just need to figure out the paint colour!