Paint Brush vs. Paint Roller

Do You Use a Brush or Roller to Paint Furniture?

Do you use a brush or roller to paint furniture? I get asked this question often. I paint a lot of furniture—tables, chairs, hutches, cabinets, dressers, and more.

So I’ll tell you the answer is — I use both.

Glidden Paint on furniture

Angle Brush or Foam Roller?

I use either a high-quality angled brush made for latex paint or a foam roller with rounded ends. The rounded ends keep roller marks from occurring in the painted finish.

Paint brush and paint roller

Each Piece Of Furniture Is Different

Each piece of furniture is different and requires a different plan. I use a brush most of the time, but a roller comes in pretty handy and speeds up the process of painting large pieces of furniture.

Where to use a brush and roller on dresser

Where To Use A Brush And Roller

This is a dresser I painted for one of my daughters. I used a 1-1/2″ angled brush to apply the primer coat and the paint to the detailed molding under the top of the dresser. I used a foam roller with round edges to prime and then paint the large flat areas of the piece.

I also use a roller when I paint the front of a dresser and the drawers. If the drawers have detailed or rounded edges, I use the angled brush. After rolling the paint on I fix any drips or excess paint with a few dabs of the paint brush.

Painting furniture with grooves

Painting Furniture With Grooves

When I am painting a piece of furniture that has grooves in it, I use a roller first and then use a brush to paint into the grooves.

If you are thinking of painting a piece of furniture, it’s best to have both a brush and a roller handy. Along with the brush and roller, you should have a small clean container or tray to pour your paint into. Keeping it small allows you to hold the container in one hand and the brush or roller in the other as you work around the piece.

To keep your brushes and rollers in good shape so that you can continue to use them, wash each out thoroughly with soap and water and hang them upside down to dry after each use.