How to Decoupage on Wood Furniture

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Decoupage on wood furniture is a fun and creative way to add character to that piece.

Not every side-of-the-road furniture find is created equal. Some will be in better shape than others. Add others, and you can see why they have been put in the trash. I learned this fairly quickly. However, do not pass up on the ones that are a bit more damaged than others. There are ways to disguise the flaws, and that is with decoupage. 

How to Decoupage on Wood Furniture

Supplies used for Decoupaging the dresser:

• Decoupage paper of your choice. I used the pages of an old dictionary that was buried in my office closet. The pages had a slightly yellowed and aged look to them, which I loved!
• Elmer’s Multi Purpose Glue All 
• Shellac
• foam brush
• Primer

Paint and Supplies Used for the body of the dresser:

• •Sherwin Williams Paint in Repose Gray and Alabaster
• Paint Brush
• Plaster of Paris
• Chalk Mountain Brush 
• Polycrylic

*I used my favorite Easy chalk Paint Recipe

Clean your furniture piece.

I like to thoroughly clean every piece of furniture. Especially if it was found on the side of the road. Generally, an old rag, soap, and water do the trick to clean the pieces. However, I like to also use vinegar and water on the insides of the drawers.

This is also an excellent time to remove and clean the hardware.

I didn’t do this for this dresser. I wanted to paint the hardware, so I decided to leave them in place.

When I do decide to remove the hardware, I’ll clean them by boiling them in water, vinegar, and baking soda. This loosens all the dirt and grime. I then use a toothbrush to remove all the dirt that is left on the hardware.

Make any repairs that need to be done.

To make repairs such as filling holes, I like to use Ready Patch or Bondo. They tend to work the best and are easy to use. They do have a really strong smell though so it’s best to work with them in a well-ventilated area.

In my case, the drawers of this dresser had some significant water damage. I removed the veneer that was already lifting and peeling, then applied shellac to those sections.

Why did I use the shellac? Well, I learned the hard way that applying the ready patch directly on the drawer without any sort of sealer caused the veneer to lift even more and create large bubble-like ridges across the drawer.

Luckily, it only happened on one of the drawers. Unfortunately, I ended up having to remove all the veneer from the drawer it did affect and then go back with a layer of Ready Patch to even it out. 

This was a step I didn’t intend on doing. 

Lesson learned, friends, lesson learned.

Prime the furniture

I decided to prime the drawers of this dresser before I started the decoupage. The primer helps block the wood from coming through, but sometimes, primer is not enough.

Depending on the furniture, the wood tannins can show or bleed through the primer. In this case, apply some shellac. The shellac will create a barrier from letting the tannins show through the paint. 

Paint the furniture

With this particular dresser, I was only decoupaging the inset of the drawer fronts and the top, so I painted the rest. 

I applied two coats of  Sherwin Williams Alabaster SW 7008 on the entire dresser. Then I used a dry brush technique to add dimension with Sherwin Williams  Repose Gray SW. 

*I used my DIY Easy Chalk Paint Recipe with both Alabaster and Repose Gray.

LOOKING FOR MORE PAINT COLOR IDEAS? CHECK THESE OUT

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Seal the furniture piece.

The chalk paint sealer I decided to use on this dresser was polycrylic. I use this one often on my chalk paint projects. It dries quickly and provides the piece with a hard, protective finish.

One tip to remember, less is more. All you need to do is apply a thin coat of the polycrylic with a synthetic brush, and you are good to go.

How to Decoupage with Paper.

Prep your decoupage paper.

Since I was using pages from a dictionary as my decoupage paper, there was no pattern I had to follow. I ended up ripping the pages in random sizes. However, if the decoupage paper you use has a pattern, you can lay it out beforehand to see where and how you will place it. 

Apply a layer of the decoupage glue, then add the paper.

Use a foam brush to apply a thin layer of your decoupage glue of choice onto the surface.

Then, take your decoupage paper and apply it to the glue. Use the foam brush to smooth the paper out.

I worked in small sections since the pieces of paper were fairly small. And I used my fingers most of the time to smooth the paper down.

Repeat the previous step, applying the paper and glue.

As I mentioned, I wasn’t following a pattern, I was randomly placing the paper where I thought it looked best. 

I continued on with this step until the drawers and top of the dresser were fully decoupaged.

Apply a layer of decoupage glue over everything.

The additional top layer of glue will ensure that the paper is glued down and will stay in place. 

Seal the decoupage with a topcoat.

I decided to use shellac as my decoupage topcoat. I wanted the finish to be strong, and since the decoupage was used on the top of the dresser as well, I wanted the finish to be durable. 

Find out how to decoupage on wood furniture to create a customized one-of-a-kind piece.

Final Thoughts

Using Elmer’s Glue as a decoupage medium worked really well. I was concerned about how the glue would work on the wood, but it worked like a charm. The glue is strong; it dried clear, and cleanup was a breeze. I will definitely try using it again, maybe on a different surface.

I’m so glad I used an old dictionary as my decoupage paper. I absolutely love the random, ripped look of the book pages. (It was really fun finding interesting words on the pages to apply to the dresser.) The pages were really easy to apply, and there was minimal wrinkling. If you are thinking about using book pages as a decoupage paper, I’d say go for it!

Overall, I’m extremely impressed with the way this dresser turned out. The decoupage hid the flaws on the dresser drawers beautifully. They aren’t 100% perfect, but they look a heck of a lot better than they originally were. I’ll call that a win in my book.

And to think this beauty was left for trash.

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