How to Paint Perfect Stripes on Furniture

I am painting this Crate and Barrel china cabinet - vintage and antique furniture is of WAY higher quality, by the way - and wanted to paint stripes on the bottom drawer. I have painted stripes before on furniture only to be frustrated because the paint bleeds through the furniture to make what could be a perfect stripe imperfect. Fortunately I distress furniture, so I can sand the seepage away - but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and knew/know now that the perfect stripe can be painted!

It's a very simple technique.

First, tape up your stripes; and make sure to use a level to ensure that your stripes are perfectly straight. On my china cabinet I painted three stripe colors but this technique works for as many layers of stripes as you can fit on to your piece of furniture.

After you tape up your stripes, take a brush (the small kind an artist would use to paint on canvas) and paint a thin layer of the BASE COLOR over the edge of the tape.

In the picture above, I had already painted one black and one pink stripe on the left and right sides of the drawer. I am now painting the two interior stripes. See how I painted a light coat of black to match the black base (left), white to match the white base (middle), and pink to match the pink base (right)?

Painting that thin layer allows the base coat paint color to seep through the tape and create a seal for the top layer. Let this thin layer dry for a bit (let's say 5-10 minutes).

Finally, paint on your stripe color! It works like a charm - a fool proof technique.

Never again will you settle for leaky stripes :)

Thanks for stopping by, Bex Wilder