Wooden Diptych Lyre Players

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.