22 Wooden Furniture Restoration Examples — Before and After Stripping Off the Paint (23 Photos)

Lately, painting over vintage furniture has become a trendy DIY craze, leading to countless amateurs ruining gorgeous coffee tables, dressers, and nightstands. Fortunately, skilled craftspeople are stepping in to restore the natural texture of the wood—bringing oak, cedar, and other fine timber back to their original glory. Down with the paint: it's time to return furniture to its natural beauty!





The online community ReversePinterest is dedicated to this exact cause. Here are a few standout projects restored by its members. For the vast majority of them, furniture restoration is a passionate hobby rather than a full-time job.



“Bought a cedar chest at a sale, stripped off several layers of cracked paint, and restored it to its former glory.”





“I don't think I'll ever top this. A fully restored Brasilia II Petite credenza.”



“There's nothing quite like bringing back natural beauty.”



“A little project I finished up a few weeks ago.”



“Restored an antique fireplace mantel. What a transformation!”



“Stripped off the paint to bring this stunning dresser back to its original look.”



“A wonderful side table was hiding under all that green paint.”



“An antique nightstand stripped of its white coat of paint.”



“Check out how it turned out!”



“Undoing a past crime against fine wood.”



“I spent two months working in my spare time—after work and on weekends—to strip the awful paint off this gorgeous Danish teak table.”



“You have to admit: it looks so much better now.”



“Before and after. Couldn’t be happier with the result.”



“I restore furniture for a living. I absolutely hate painted wood! That makes me even prouder of these pieces I’ve brought back to life.”



“Under three layers of white paint and one layer of green, there was a gorgeous piece of wood waiting to be seen.”



“Restoration before and after.”



“Antique Thonet chairs. Good as new.”



“Stripping paint is a total nightmare. Spent three whole weeks on this.”



“Drove out of town for this table after spotting it on a sale listing. American oak with dark lacquer—a complete game changer.”



“My very first furniture restoration project.”



“Looking at the state of this nightstand was physically painful, so I decided to fix it.”



“My friend did this. Amazing restoration job!”