Bohemian Painted Pressboard Buffet – Leah Noell Design Co

I normally don’t buy press board furniture. In fact I used to have a policy against it because I really prefer the quality of real wood. The problem is this can limit me with sizing. Some of these press board pieces I’ve been finding actually paint are really nice! They have to meet my quality checklist before I buy them! In this blog I’m going to go through my steps with you, so when you find a press board piece of furniture you’ll have an idea how to handle it.

I painted this piece in my private coaching group, Confidently Creative. It’s the best place for furniture painters and artists to connect, learn a few painting skills, and get tips for your painting business. We open again in the fall! You can get on the waitlist here.

*This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any more from ordering from these links but I earn a small commission so I can continue to bring you more fun projects! They also allow me to show you exactly what I use so you know what I’m referring to! *

Material List:

Paint Colors:

Tools & Products:

White Lighting

Mister Bottle

Black Glaze

Anchor Silk Paint (mix 50/50 with black glaze)

Clear Coat satin

Gator Hide

Wood Graining tool

Apollo HVLP Sprayer (totally optional)

Chameleon wax tin Cactus and Lilac

Here are my steps!

Prep: White Lighting and rinse – If you have never prepped furniture before here is a blog on how to do it. Here is a video if you prefer that!

Prime: Slick Stick – Why? Because I find that when working with blending and water on press board it is best to have a primer down. – I sprayed it.

Base Coat: 2 sprayed coats of Antebellum Blue on the inside and out – By all means you can do this by hand. Spraying is just convenient.

The Blending:

Middle: Limeade/Mermaid

Tail / The Gulf

Left side: Peony / Antebellum Blue / Mermaid Tail

Right side: Mermaid Tail / Bunker Hill Blue/Antebellum

Smudged Pine cone on the corners + Edges

This is what it looked like before the finishing products went on!!

Finishing Products:

Then I applied clear coat satin by hand. I applied my glaze mix of 50/50 black glaze and silk mineral paint in anchor. – I like to mix my glaze with paint for a darker tint. The glaze helps the paint become more workable than if you just used the paint alone.