Golden Child: How to Gold Leaf Pretty Much Anything (Including a $20 Side Table)

I’ve had this side table for ages and it’s undergone a couple of transformations over the years. It went from a glossy, semi-gross piece of furniture (when I bought it), to a matte finish color blocked little guy, to an all lilac option, and now to the golden child. Third time is a charm, right? And this one is definitely my favorite.

So, if by chance you’re interested in making your own gold leaf side table, or pretty much anything else you can think of, I have a tutorial for you.

Click through for the full gold leafing tutorial…

Materials:

• old piece of furniture, like a side table
• gold leaf sheets (I used somewhere between 20 and 25 sheets)
• metal leaf adhesive size (which is basically glue for gold leaf)
• paint brush for applying sizing + paint brush to remove excess gold leaf
• sealer

Instructions:

Make sure the table surface is free of debris. Clean with soap and water and fully dry with a rag if necessary.

Then, apply a thin coat of sizing across the surface to be gold leafed, with a brush. Smooth out thinly, without brushstroke marks, if possible. Then wait until the surface is tacky (between 15 and 60 minutes) and start applying gold leaf sheets, one sheet at a time.

Repeat this process over and over again, until the entire surface of your table is covered.

Let the glue sit and dry before touching up any areas that may need it. Then, with a dry brush, brush off any excess gold foil that did not stick to the sizing, if applicable. Let the gold leaf cure for 24 hours, then apply a clear sealer.

As you can see, the end result is a little on the glam side with all that gold. So, to tone it down, I painted the table legs a bright blue to bring in a trendy / cool vibe. Paint is a great way to balance out the shiny gold, just FYI, in case glam girl isn;t quite your vibe.

Photography and styling by Brittni Mehlhoff

You can use this technique for loads of other furniture too – dressers, shelving, chairs, etc. Even smaller projects, like trinket dishes, artwork, and planters.

Have any ideas for additional gold leafing projects? I would love to hear your thoughts.