How to Hand Paint Oriental Designs on Furniture

Sand the piece of furniture you are painting. This will prep the area so that it can receive the paint more easily. Paint the main panels of the furniture with black lacquer. Let the paint dry.

Paint the trim and molding of the piece with your gold paint. Select only the molding that frames the piece of furniture. Do not go overboard with the gold paint. While this is a traditional color in Oriental design it can look garish if overdone. A good rule of thumb is to never apply gold paint to and area that is wider than 4 inches. If the molding is wider than 4 inches paint an 1/2 inch line of gold along the top and the bottom of the molding. This will allow the gold to accent the molding without dominating the color scheme.

Trace out the Oriental pattern onto the furniture. It's best to apply the pattern centered in the section of the furniture that has the most black lacquer. For the purposes here this would apply to all for door sections of the cabinet. A classic Oriental pattern is provided here as an example.

Paint the pattern with very neat brush strokes of red lacquer. Take your time and follow the pattern exactly. Neatness counts most at this point. Let the lacquer dry.