How To Whitewash Wood Furniture Using Bleach

Do you have wood furniture that needs updating? Do you want to turn your dark furniture lighter?

Hubby had this coffee table since before we married. It’s solid wood which is great for refinishing. I’ve refinished it twice already. The first time I used ebony which was so dark it almost looked black. The second time I used walnut which is still pretty dark.

This time I went lighter in order to brighten up the living room. We have dark chocolate furniture and dark hardwood floors. I like the Scandinavian interior and coastal home which uses light or blonde stained furniture.

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Supplies

Direction

I stripped the stain by sanding the top surface when I had previously used Citristrip. Sanding is faster and not nearly as messy. It took a long time because the stain was so dark.

I wanted to whitewash the entire table but I ran into issues with the legs. They had crevices that it made the use of the electric sander impossible. I had to do it by hand, but it was difficult and took forever. I was so frustrated by the effort that I wanted to throw the coffee table in the trash, LOL.

I decided that stripping the legs wasn’t worth the time and energy. Painting them would save me the frustration. I know. I know. I need to work on keeping a cool head. 🙂

Once stripped and cleaned, I used a paintbrush and painted the tabletop with bleach. You can dilute it with water if you prefer. I was going for a very light wood look so I didn’t. I then wipe the table with a rag.

When I finished the bleaching step, I used a 50:50 ratio of white latex paint and water for the next round. My goal was to make the table look white-ish but for the grains to still show through. You can use whatever ratio you like to get the effect you want.

Once the paint dried, I sealed it with two coats of clear polycrylic.

I love how it turned out—brighter and cleaner. I wonder how long it’ll look that good before the kids begin to wear it out. They do a lot of activities at the coffee table! 🙂