Gold Dipped Painted Side Table DIY

I’ve been working on a cute side table that had a great, classy shape, but was looking a bit miserable. Now here she is in a beautiful gold dipped and creamy white makeover! Miss sophisticated side table is looking like a whole new fair lady who went from the streets to now speaking in a high society English accent and attending galas with nobles and royalty.

I found her at a Goodwill and couldn’t pass her by. She had a look about her that just said “make me pretty again”.

Her plea for help was quite understandable. She had scuffs, smudges, discoloring, and grime. My first task was simply having to clean her up, which required some elbow grease.

So much stuff that I probably don’t want to know what I cleaned off…

The drawer was also roughed up with tape residue and discoloring.

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience.

Besides needing a good cleaning, there were some knicks here and there, so I got my trusty Elmer’s wood filler and went to work.

painted furniture how to use wood filler gold dipped
painted furniture how to use wood filler gold dipped
painted furniture how to use wood filler gold dipped

The aim is to fill in the areas, let it set and dry, then come back and use hand sanders to grind away the excess until the surface is nice and smooth.

After letting the wood filler dry for a few hours, I sanded and then commenced with finally getting down to business and got two coats of General Finishes milk paint in Linen on it.

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped

Looks like a whole new creature already! Ah, the wonders of a fresh coat of paint never ceases to amaze.

Now for the fun part! I wanted to add more bling than simply rub n’ buffing the drawer handle gold. I thought about playing it safe and just painting certain details of it in gold, but this piece with all its curves and embellishments demanded I take a risk with an idea I’d had since finding it. Being me, I gave it a good 10 seconds of debate before following my gut feeling to run with the wind and go big!

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links. If you purchase anything from these links I may receive some kind of commission. However, I only mention products that I use and love whether I am compensated or not. Thanks so much for your support!

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general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped

Gold dipping is just how it sounds; the piece should look like you dipped it into a tub of lovely molten gold. Then voila, a statement piece that will catch the eye and make you slightly giddy.

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped

There are several good options for metallic gold spray paints. There’s a great guide I used by ChrisLovesJulia in which he used 4 of the major brands and compared them. Very helpful for picking which one I wanted to use (and lucky me that I got a none-exploding can of Valspar).

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped

Using good ol’ Frog Tape, I measured around the table and placed the tape where I wanted the gold paint to stop and used trash bags to secure the rest of the table from getting any gold on it.

Important: make sure the tape is completely flat against the furniture, otherwise you may get some leaks underneath the tape and you won’t get the crisp lines you’re looking for.

Tip: Spray paint works best in temperatures of 50-80 degrees Fahrenheit (which means I just barely got to try this project in time before temps plummeted). Always spray paint outdoors or in a very well ventilated room.

I did two coats of spray, waiting for the first coat to fully dry overnight before doing the touch-ups with the second coat.

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped

I let the second coat sit overnight, and the next day I slowly peeled away the tape and it revealed the finished product. Look at how perfect those lines are! They make me smile.

All it needed after this was several coats of GF’s Topcoat in Satin to protect the finish, and it was good to go!

I’m VERY happy with how well this table turned out. Now that it’s officially become winter temperatures outside, I’m glad I got to do this before it would have been impossible until Spring.

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped
general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped
general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped

One more delightful surprise to unveil! Look at what happens when you open the drawer:

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped lined drawers
general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped lined drawers
general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped lined drawers
general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped lined drawers

I lined her drawer sides and inside using mod podge with a beautiful black and white damask scrapbooking paper, which I think really adds an extra special detail and elegance every time you open the drawer.

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped lined drawers

I’m taking a big step for myself and for the first time am offering a painted piece for sale, so this lil lady will be adding a classy charm to a lucky someone’s home.

general finishes linen milk paint gold dipped lined drawers

If you’d like to check out the side gold-dipped side table I painted to match this one, hop over here.

Check out my easy furniture painting tutorials, starting with How to Prep Furniture for Painting, how to make Distressed Furniture, and how to Paint an Antique Glaze on furniture.

Let me know what you think in the comments (any questions too!). Thanks y’all!


The Dedicated House

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11 Comments

  1. Very pretty! Just finished something similar. You should add the "pin it" buttons that hover over your pictures on your blog so people can pin from your site. :)

    Paula

    1. Thanks! That's curious though why the "pin it" button isn't showing when you hover – it works for me… May I ask what browser you use?