One of the questions I get asked the most often is if our house bed frames come in different colors.
I'm so happy to finally be able to offer them in a variety of colors! However, I rotate through these colors and sometimes the one you're looking for may be out of stock. So my recommendation is often to paint a natural one any color of your choosing!
So let's take a second to discuss painting kids furniture! Because this is totally something you can accomplish on your own at home! Are you up for a little project?!
I came across this amazing article from Vintage Revivals. It is hilarious, so spot on, and she really took the time to do some research and provides a lot of great details and information! So if you want a more in depth look - definitely check that out!
I'm going to go through a little bit of the process to paint your house bed and then briefly touch on the paint you can use that she goes into much more depth on in that article!
Sanding is typically one of the first steps when it comes to painting, but our beds come fully sanded, so you won't need to worry about that annoying step!
Choosing a color
The first step is deciding which color you want to paint your bed! Here are some colors that I think would look great on one of our beds!
My favorite color if you want a black bed is SW tricorn black! We used this on the doors and kitchen island in our home and it's such a pretty color and true black! Eggshell is my favorite finish!
Time to paint!
I used to recommend painting the beds before assembling. But I've since had a friend paint her son's bed. She had a natural bed and left it like that for awhile, so when she decided to paint it was already assembled so she just painted it that way! And she said it was super easy so that's what I recommend now. But I'll give you some tips for both!
*** No matter which method you choose, a roller brush is the best one to use for this project! It goes on a lot smoother and creates a more professional finish.
Painting BEFORE assembling
Lay out some cardboard - a few amazon boxes broken down will do the trick. If you're anything like me, you've got a few too many of those lying around! ;) If you don't have any cardboard you can even use a couple garbage bags. Cut them down one of the side seams and along the bottom seam so you can open it up to cover a larger space!
If you're painting before assembling, start by painting 3 sides and allowing them to dry the amount of time suggested on the paint can. Then flip all of the pieces over and paint the last side. I suggest at least 2 coats of paint. So you'll do these steps twice.
Painting AFTER assembling
You'll obviously want to make sure your bed is assembled in the room you'll be using it in! You can get a paint tarp at a local hardware store, or walmart, and lay it down to protect the floor. Then assemble the bed on top of that. (Or have someone help you slide it under the bed if it's already assembled)
You can use a foam craft brush for the corners where it might be hard to get a roller brush into.
The only downfall to this is you wont be able to paint the bottom or the insides where 2 boards meet up. But this doesn't matter too much since you can't see those spots when your bed is assembled anyway.
Clear coat
Once your second coat has dried, it's up to you if you want to do a clear coat.
I like the idea of a clear coat because it seems like it would prevent chipping of the actual colored paint. But I read in this article that a clear coat doesn't provide anything extra that another coat of the colored paint couldn't. So you make the call on this one!
Finish up!
Based on the first article, you'll likely want to give your pieces about 48 hours to dry before assembling your bed. This can vary per paint brand, so check your can!
Take note though that the longer you wait, the more time the paint will have to fully cure and therefore the more durable it will be! She also talks in that article about how it will put off less chemicals when the paint is fully dry. So plan on painting ahead of time if you're worried about this!
She suggests using Sherwin William's Pro Classic water based paint because it's durable enough for high traffic areas like furniture! This is a non-toxic and low VOC paint. It will give off some VOC gasses while it's curing, but it's low (it has 37g of VOC per liter. If it has less than 50g/liter it's considered low.) But she points out that the formula is a little more important than completely VOC free. Which I agree with! I want a durable paint that will hold up on the furniture even if it gives off a small amount of gas during the curing process!
She also talks about how most brands of water based paint are non-toxic (meaning no silica is added and it is lead free) and low VOC. So if Sherwin Williams isn't your preferred brand of paint, then check on the one that you like the best and my guess is that it's likely non toxic and safe to use! Just double check that it is durable enough for furniture!
The right choice for you is whatever is best for your family! So feel free to research further and definitely check out that first article I linked above for a more detailed description about painting kids furniture!
Do you have any other questions about painting one of our beds?! Feel free to reach out to us via instagram (@rubyryeco) or email (hello@rubyrye.com). I'd love to help answer any questions I can!
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