Repainting the Kitchen Stool with Behr Marquee Paint in just ONE COAT!

When I went to California last month to meet with the team at Behr Paint, I was shocked to see that the new Marquee line can completely cover previously painted surfaces with just one coat. I thought I’d put it up to the test by painting over the brightest paint in our little apartment – our red kitchen stool.

Back in 2012, as part of the 10 Tasks in 10 Days Challenge, I painted our unfinished wood IKEA BEKVÄM step stool with bright red paint. At the time, I was using lots of red accents in our kitchen decor.

Over the past two years, my colour palette has gone more towards calm blues and greens – and the big red stool just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I decided to freshen it up with a coat of Behr Marquee Paint in Recycled Glass – a cool light green colour.

I was able to pick up a sample size of the paint in flat finish for less than $5. It took about 3/4 of this container to paint the whole stool. Given that the stool is in a high traffic area and will be used often, I also picked up a matte polyurethane to apply after the paint was dry. This will give it extra protection, while still keeping the flat finish.

Based on some of the tips I got from my trip to see the folks at Behr, I grabbed a new fabric smaller roller and ditched my usual foam ones (they slide too much!) and got a new good quality 1-1/2″ brush.

I started by washing down the stool with a rag and hot soapy water, and then wiped it again with a clean wet rag. The stool sits in our kitchen area, so I didn’t want to risk that it had any grease marks that could affect the paint. I set up my painting area in the living room, on top of some plastic to protect the floor and carpet. Behr Marquee paint is low VOC, so I wasn’t worried about painting indoors. I did keep the windows open while I painted just to be safe (and because it was a beautiful fall day!)

Even with just the first few brush strokes I was so happy to see that it really did cover up the bright red paint in just one coat.

I used the roller to do all the flat areas and then touched up any seams and bolt holes with the brush.  The whole piece was painted in less than 30 minutes. Talk about a quick DIY furniture makeover! I let the paint dry overnight and then did two coats of the matte polyurethane for the extra protection.

Now the stool is happily back at home in the kitchen and it’s unanimous that we love the new colour. It’s fresh, light and fits more with our new colour palette. This project was so easy that it already has me looking for more furniture that I can paint in the apartment!