Schoharie Chest
Antique 1820s American Painted Furniture
Wood
Antique Early 19th Century American Country Painted Furniture
Wood
People Also Browsed
Antique Late 18th Century Swedish Folk Art Painted Furniture
Pine
21st Century and Contemporary Vietnamese Country Benches
Wood
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
2010s American Flush Mount
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary American Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass
2010s American Modern Stools
Brass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
Brass, Bronze, Enamel, Nickel
Antique 19th Century Tables
Pine
Antique 1860s English Blanket Chests
Brass, Steel
20th Century American American Colonial Windsor Chairs
Wood
Antique 19th Century English Country Cupboards
Pine
Antique Early 19th Century Swedish Blanket Chests
Pine
Antique 1880s Romanian Blanket Chests
Steel
Antique 18th Century American Primitive Painted Furniture
Brass, Steel
Antique Early 19th Century Swedish Country Blanket Chests
Pine
20th Century English Country Dining Room Tables
Metal, Brass
Recent Sales
Antique 19th Century American Blanket Chests
Pine
Antique Mid-19th Century American Folk Art Blanket Chests
Wood
Antique Early 19th Century North American Folk Art Painted Furniture
Wood, Paint
Antique 19th Century Painted Furniture
Antique 19th Century American Painted Furniture
Antique 19th Century American Folk Art Painted Furniture
Wood
Finding the Right painted-furniture for You
Vintage, new and antique painted furniture enhances a room through patterns, blocks of color and ornamental flourishes. Decorating furniture with paint was especially prominent in the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States when folk artists used chairs, chests, tables and cupboards as their canvases. Although a later trend involved stripping antique pieces of their paint, early American homes were vivid with furniture painted in an array of colors.
The practice of painting furniture has a rich heritage, with remnants of pigment identified on a 12th-century painted chair from Sweden. It has come in and out of fashion over time — in the design of 17th-century Mannerist furniture, paint was lightly used to enhance carved ornamentation, and painted furniture gained popularity with designers working in the chinoiserie style, as 18th-century European artisans mimicked Chinese lacquer in furniture motifs. In France in the 18th century, furniture was lavishly painted or gilded in gold.
Now painted furniture is popular for pieces that are both utilitarian and works of art. A color from a pattern can inform the whole design of a room, or, as bold and saturated tones are in vogue, a vibrantly adorned piece can be a bold focal point. Muted palettes can contribute to an air of calm for a study or bedroom while bright reds, yellows or blues can enliven a dining room or living room.
On 1stDibs, find a variety of vintage, new and antique painted furniture to match any space or taste.
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