Old furniture is easily salvaged with a lick of paint and a creative approach – try this easy to create geometric pattern.

Old wooden furniture is readily available from secondhand stores and Trade Me, or work with an item that you already have around home. The first step is to prepare the surface.

Most wooden furniture needs a light sand before painting. If you are repainting over an exisiting colour use either an electric sander or paint stripper to reveal a smooth surface.

Apply a layer of primer to ensure paint adheres to the surface, this will also increase durability. Next, apply a layer of acrylic undercoat and allow 2-4 hours to dry.
Paint two coats of your base colour and allow to dry. Use low tack masking tape so the paint doesn't peel. Apply diagonally to achieve the geometric pattern. Using two contrasting colours, paint in your triangles; depending on the colours you will need 3-4 coats to cover the base colour. Once dry carefully peel back masking tape.
Depending on the final use of the furniture, apply a top coat of varnish to protect the surface.

If updating a piece of furniture and vibrant, bold colours aren’t quite the way you want to go, try using subtle neutrals on parts of the item to achieve a mix of old and new.