Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores are a great source for project pieces. Whether you are looking to revive a piece for your home or to resell, here are 4 considerations that I keep in mind when purchasing. material A solid piece of furniture is a good basis for a project piece. For me, this usually means a piece made from wood (entirely or at least the top and face frame). Below is an example of a piece made from wood that just required some sanding. This sanded down nicely! Check out this blogpost for the “after”. A material with a surface...
Furniture Fixes
Five Reasons to Add Jewelry (Hardware) and Make Your Furniture Sparkle
Ready to add a touch of sparkle and style to your furniture piece? Look no further than fresh hardware! Whether you’re updating a dresser, cabinet, or side table, swapping out old hardware for new can instantly transform the look and feel of your furniture. From sleek and modern pulls to vintage-inspired knobs, there’s a wide range of hardware options to choose from to suit your style and preferences. Here’s how fresh hardware can breathe new life into your furniture: 02. Updated Look and Feel: Give your furniture a modern and updated appearance by replacing outdated or worn-out hardware with new,...
DIY Spray Paint Workspace Must Haves
If you are a DIYer there is a good chance you are painting in your garage. I love a sprayed finish, so I mostly use a paint sprayer to apply paint. Over the years, I have found several tricks that work well when setting up your painting area. paint booth If you are spraying smaller pieces, this DIY spray booth is easy to make and assemble/disassemble as you need it. I used it to paint kitchen cabinet doors and it worked well as I was painting a cabinet door at a time! From time to time, I spray larger furniture...
Top 10 Estate Sale Flips!
I love a good estate sale find! And, an estate sale flip is even better! Here are my Top 10 Estate Sale Flips! DOLLHOUSE This little dollhouse was on the garage floor and begging for a reno! ($35) This would fall into the category of “an unexpected find”! Below are the “before” and “after”. I have several blogposts on the dollhouse reno. Links are below. Dollhouse DIY Bathroom Details | Dollhouse Kitchen Details | Dollhouse Bedroom | Dollhouse Window and Window Boxes | Dollhouse Living Room Details | Dollhouse Flooring Option | Dollhouse Flooring Option Oak Table & Chairs This...
Reviving an Antique Table & Chairs
I got a set of table and chairs from a property that my nephew was selling. (Free!). I had a creative block when thinking about what to do with them. In the end, I just took the plunge and started with the table. I let the condition of the wood guide my approach. The wood is oak and was actually in pretty good shape considering the age. There are signs of the period it was made. The edges show wear from where families rested their forearms. It took several hours to sand, but sanded up nicely! The pedestal was more...
Furniture Painting Tips to Ensure a Quality Finish!
I have painted a lot of furniture over the years and found a few tips that lead to greater success in achieving a professional paint finish. FURNITURE PREP As with any painting project, preparation is the key to a good finish! Do NOT skip preparing the surface for paint! This is the most time consuming part, but, in the long run, it will save you time. (Painting is the speedier step!) Clean the Surface – This seems obvious, but applying paint on a clean surface lends to better paint adhesion. If you are painting a furniture piece, there is a...
Particle Board Bedside Table Refresh
These sturdy pieces are still alive and well and looking for some updates! A friend of mine has two of these bedside tables and a dresser and wondered if anything could be done to freshen them up! Fresh paint, trim, new legs and hardware can update just about anything so here we go! Prep The particle board was mostly in good shape. (No water damage, etc.). I used a bit of Bondo to smooth out a couple of edges along the bottom. I also removed the bottom platform to make room for new ”legs”. I also added trim (shoe) to...
Vintage Twin Bed Frames Turn Daybed
A few moths ago, I refinished some bedside tables in exchange for a twin bedroom set and a couple of tables. (I got a bargain.) The bedroom set is 100 or so years old, so I was hesitant to materially alter the head/foot boards in the event someone was interested in using these as twin beds in the future. But, I was able to fashion these head/footboards into a daybed! The idea was to use the two footboards for the sides of the daybed. And, the headboards are for the back. The side rails, already a perfect length, hold the...
Furnishing with Previously Owned Items | Living Room
If you have been with me for awhile, you know I renovated a villa in Florida which I intended to flip. The more I was there, the more I enjoyed being there and decided to keep it. Along the way, I collected some items intended for staging, but, later became items to furnish a winter home. I had a lot of fun finding pieces that would work together. In many cases, I refinished some pieces. In other cases, the pieces were already in good shape and worked well in the room. In this picture below, only the drapes and area...
DIY Dresser Hardware
Adding furniture hardware is like adding jewelry to an outfit. It can definitely add interest and sometimes “bling”! I have refinished a lot of furniture over the years and this time, I decided to fancy-up this piece with new legs, paint and, yes, hardware. I removed the feet; sanded, primed and painted! The paint is SW Emerald Urethane in a color match – Limousine Leather (color from Behr). This is my favorite paint and the finish is great. I applied with a paint sprayer. I was inspired by the hardware on this Ballard Design piece. The hardware nearly covered the...
New Furniture Function & Design with Six Simple Changes
Ever look at a dated furniture piece and wonder how to give it new life? This piece was a handmade sideboard and needed a bit of a transformation. (I only tackled the bottom piece.) I took lots of inspiration from several intragramers and furniture manufacturers and cobbled together great features into a single piece! Reduce the Height I thought this piece would work well as a TV console. The height was reduced 8 inches to 28 inches. I also removed the panels in the small doors. Shelf I used wood from my scrap wood pile to add a bottom shelf....
Vintage Vanity & Storage Made Classic & Current
Sometimes it takes some vision to repurpose vintage pieces while preserving the charm and making them work in newer spaces. These two pieces were gifted to me by a good friend and are about 100 years old. I really deliberated over what to do with these. After some research, I found that while these are old, they were only worth about $150 each. This is what they looked like when I got them. I held onto these for several months and coincidentally, the china cabinet was the perfect size to fit in a nook in the master bath and the...