How to paint palette generator drawers

You will need

• Electric sander
• 120 grit sandpaper
• Resene Quick Dry
• Smooth Surfaces Microfibre Blend mini roller
• Small paint tray
• Soft sanding block or finishing sandpaper
• Ruler/tape measure
• Pencil
• Resene Lustacryl paint in your choice of colours; Fleur used Resene La Rioja, Resene Good Life, Resene Grass Hopper, Resene Gulf Stream, Resene Java, Resene Sea Crest, Resene Captain Cook, Resene St Kilda, Resene Regatta and Resene Black. As an alternative you can use Resene testpots for your accent colours as long as they are not used on working edges
• Paintbrush and painters tape
• Wood glue

For this project, Fleur was inspired by an image found online. She loved the colours and the pattern and decided to copy it exactly on to a set of drawers. Fleur was able to get the right paint colours by using the Resene Colour Palette Generator.

Instructions

Step 1: Open a web browser to the Resene Colour Palette Generator.

Follow the instructions for either selecting an image from the internet by entering its URL, or by uploading an image from your own files.

At Step 3 you can choose a colour chart – I usually leave it on ‘All charts’ though you can also choose specific charts to narrow down the options.

Step 4 you can choose the number of colour/paint matches. I find that the first default option of 5-10 colours is enough, but I always check out the 5-20 colour options in case there is a colour that I like better than the first match.

Click the ‘Generate’ button.

A palette of colours is created, matching the colours from your uploaded image to the best-match Resene paint colours. You can use this list of colours to purchase paint at your nearest Resene ColorShop.

Once you have your paint sorted, you can start work on the drawers.

Step 2:  Remove the drawers and the knobs from each drawer. Number each drawer on the back so that you know which one fits in which space when you put them back in. Using 120 grit sandpaper, sand the drawer fronts and the body of the drawers. Pay particular attention to the edges and corners where paint may be cracking and flaking. Make sure you remove all loose paint. Wipe down with a soft cloth to remove all the dust.

Step 3:  Use a small Smooth Surfaces Microfibre Blend roller to paint the drawer fronts and the body of the drawers with Resene Quick Dry. Once dry, lightly sand everything with a soft sanding block or very fine finishing sandpaper. Dust down with a soft cloth.

Step 4:  Use a ruler/tape measure and a pencil to mark out your pattern.

Step 5: Use painters’ tape to tape off sections of the pattern. Make sure to press the tape down firmly to prevent any bleed-through of paint under the tape.

Step 6:  With a good quality paintbrush, paint on two coats of your Resene paint, allowing the first to dry before applying the second coat. As soon as you have finished the second coat, remove the tape, pulling it away at a right angle, while the paint is still wet.

Step 7:  Proceed with taping and painting out the rest of your pattern. It’s a good idea to do areas which aren’t adjacent to each other immediately after each other, so that the paint has time to properly dry before you put more tape on it to do the next section.

If you wish to update wooden handles, sand, prime and paint them using your chosen Resene colour and reattach with wood glue. Fleur used Resene Black.

Top tip: Give your drawers a fresh look inside too by painting them with the leftover paint. Leave them to dry well before filling them.

Styling and images by Fleur Thorpe, 2019.