Normally, I try to remain bubbly…I try to share tutorials, projects or ideas, but today…today I must fizzle out the bubble and vent just a little.
WARNING: Rant Incoming!
I was recently watching a youtube tutorial from fellow furniture painter Christen Bensten and I thought the video was great so I scrolled down to leave a comment but the comments below it caught my eye. Honestly, they were downright rude. In fact, one person even said 'there is a place in hell for people who paint over antiques like that'. Really? So now we are doomed to hell for painting furniture? Apparently we are all just stupid dumb monkeys who don't understand that to be a 'wood purist' is above and beyond all things. You my friends are simply paint haters.
'The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them.' ― Criss. 'Haters will broadcast your failure, but whisper your success.' ― Drake 'My mom always said that there would be haters. Not everyone can love ya.' ― Joel Madden 'Hatersare all failures. It's 100% across the board. No one who is truly brilliant at anything is a hater.' ― Joe Rogan.
Yes paint haters. You know who you are. Those of you who think you need to tell other people not to paint THEIR OWN furniture. Paint haters think they need to scream it from the roof tops…'stop painting wood furniture' or 'you've ruined that wood furniture'.
I Love My Haters
Ruined it for who exactly? If I have a piece of wood furniture that my grandmother left me and I decide to paint it white with purple polka dots…you hate it…but I absolutely love it…who exactly have I ruined it for? Oh! That's right. I've ruined it for you. I'm sorry, but where exactly does it say I'm saving this furniture for you to display in your home? Where did I say I would be turning it over to you so you could make a profit from it?
Okay, I get it. It absolutely makes your toes curl at the thought of someone painting over a decent solid wood piece of furniture, or even worse…an antique. OMG the horror!
When you leave comments on someone's website or youtube video and tell them 'they have ruined it', it just makes me want to ask…why? Maybe it's ruined for you, but why would Jane Smith who's painting her antique china cabinet care if her own personal furniture piece holds no value to you anymore? She didn't paint that furniture for you, so the only person your negative feedback is talking about for absolute certainty is you. The person painting that piece of wood furniture, I'm just taking a guess here…but probably didn't paint it with you in mind.
Wood furniture can be beautiful. Antiques may even hold a high value if they are treated well and in decent condition. Heck you might even collect those pieces and that's a business for you to turn a profit in. But I'm sorry…who are you to tell other people not to paint their own furniture? Even worse, to openly harass them for doing so! You can love your wood furniture and I won't tell you not to. But why is it so wrong for someone to turn their wood furniture into something that is beautiful in their own eyes?
Sure if I was in the business of buying and selling antiques then maybe I've just ruined it for the antique qualities (although I do own a bottle of paint stripper so maybe not). However, someone who is painting a piece of furniture to keep for themselves or someone who has a business selling painted furniture, it's not ruined for them. In fact, it's better for them.
The goal of the decorating and refinishing furniture is not to keep yucky brown boring wood furniture in pristine condition under all circumstances. Some of us don't feel like looking at brown all the time…I mean really…how completely boring is that? Isn't the goal really to create and decorate in a way that makes you happy? Painting over a side table that had monetary value and now it doesn't hold as much because you painted it, doesn't ruin it. Guess what…you can still use it. You can still display it in your home. Not everyone is buying furniture to turn a profit in the antique world. You paint haters need to start realizing this.
Don't get me wrong, if you've got a piece of furniture that is REALLY valuable, as in several thousand dollars, as much as the choice is still yours, of course I'd probably try and talk you out of painting it…though I wouldn't judge you or think badly if you if you chose to paint anyway. But for the majority of pieces out there, I say paint away if that's what you want to do and that's what makes you happy.
Cheers To All My Haters
I was recently watching a youtube tutorial from fellow furniture painter Christen Bensten and I thought the video was great so I scrolled down to leave a comment but the comments below it caught my eye. Honestly, they were downright rude. In fact, one person even said 'there is a place in hell for people who paint over antiques like that'. Really? So now we are doomed to hell for painting furniture? Apparently we are all just stupid dumb monkeys who don't understand that to be a 'wood purist' is above and beyond all things. You my friends are simply paint haters.
'The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them.' ― Criss. 'Haters will broadcast your failure, but whisper your success.' ― Drake 'My mom always said that there would be haters. Not everyone can love ya.' ― Joel Madden 'Hatersare all failures. It's 100% across the board. No one who is truly brilliant at anything is a hater.' ― Joe Rogan.
Yes paint haters. You know who you are. Those of you who think you need to tell other people not to paint THEIR OWN furniture. Paint haters think they need to scream it from the roof tops…'stop painting wood furniture' or 'you've ruined that wood furniture'.
I Love My Haters
Ruined it for who exactly? If I have a piece of wood furniture that my grandmother left me and I decide to paint it white with purple polka dots…you hate it…but I absolutely love it…who exactly have I ruined it for? Oh! That's right. I've ruined it for you. I'm sorry, but where exactly does it say I'm saving this furniture for you to display in your home? Where did I say I would be turning it over to you so you could make a profit from it?
Okay, I get it. It absolutely makes your toes curl at the thought of someone painting over a decent solid wood piece of furniture, or even worse…an antique. OMG the horror!
When you leave comments on someone's website or youtube video and tell them 'they have ruined it', it just makes me want to ask…why? Maybe it's ruined for you, but why would Jane Smith who's painting her antique china cabinet care if her own personal furniture piece holds no value to you anymore? She didn't paint that furniture for you, so the only person your negative feedback is talking about for absolute certainty is you. The person painting that piece of wood furniture, I'm just taking a guess here…but probably didn't paint it with you in mind.
Wood furniture can be beautiful. Antiques may even hold a high value if they are treated well and in decent condition. Heck you might even collect those pieces and that's a business for you to turn a profit in. But I'm sorry…who are you to tell other people not to paint their own furniture? Even worse, to openly harass them for doing so! You can love your wood furniture and I won't tell you not to. But why is it so wrong for someone to turn their wood furniture into something that is beautiful in their own eyes?
Sure if I was in the business of buying and selling antiques then maybe I've just ruined it for the antique qualities (although I do own a bottle of paint stripper so maybe not). However, someone who is painting a piece of furniture to keep for themselves or someone who has a business selling painted furniture, it's not ruined for them. In fact, it's better for them.
The goal of the decorating and refinishing furniture is not to keep yucky brown boring wood furniture in pristine condition under all circumstances. Some of us don't feel like looking at brown all the time…I mean really…how completely boring is that? Isn't the goal really to create and decorate in a way that makes you happy? Painting over a side table that had monetary value and now it doesn't hold as much because you painted it, doesn't ruin it. Guess what…you can still use it. You can still display it in your home. Not everyone is buying furniture to turn a profit in the antique world. You paint haters need to start realizing this.
Don't get me wrong, if you've got a piece of furniture that is REALLY valuable, as in several thousand dollars, as much as the choice is still yours, of course I'd probably try and talk you out of painting it…though I wouldn't judge you or think badly if you if you chose to paint anyway. But for the majority of pieces out there, I say paint away if that's what you want to do and that's what makes you happy.
Cheers To All My Haters
Then again….haters gonna hate.
Now that my rant is over, if you'd like to see Christen's hellish act of painting furniture (avert your eyes children), I thought I'd do a little share here. Rock on sister!
Attention! I am no longer writing new articles here at PaintYourFurniture.com. All of my articles and content have been moved to my new blog DIYHomeInterior.com which includes furniture painting plus TONS of other home decor DIY projects and ideas. You can find this article there as well so click here to go to DIYHomeInterior.com
