DIY Project: Furniture Facelift

One of the DIY's we love around here is updating old pieces of furniture with a new, fresh look. I love this idea for the fact that it gives you something that feels brand new, with less cost than actually buying something brand new. Plus, it's GREEN to recycle & repurpose! With Earth Day just around the corner, we thought now would be a perfect time to give you a few ideas for updating those unsightly or perhaps, just plain boring furniture pieces you have around your home and most the time all it takes is a couple coats of paint!First up is this lovely little cabinet/shelf. Like many furniture pieces of its time, it was sporting a less-than-appealing dated oak finish. I knew right when I spotted it on KSL.com, that it was destined for fabulousness and that I just had to have it. (side note: your furniture pieces should be like that-- something that speaks to you from the beginning. Pay attention to the lines/shape of a piece and do your best to picture it in a different color since most of the time that is all that is needed. Also ignore the hardware or try picturing the prettiest knobs you can think of in place of what's on there). Anyway, after spotting my little shelf/cabinet beauty, I picked her up and paid the asking price of $75 (which I normally would have  bargained down, but the little old lady selling it was just too cute to bargain with). Here are the updates I made to take my furniture gem from the 80's to chic modern day:

• Sanded down old finish to remove polyurethane coating and get to raw wood (I often use a primer coat now to avoid sanding and I NEVER use wood stripper-- just seems like too much dirty/dangerous work!)
• Removed backer board & replaced with a sheet of beadboard (you can buy beadboard at most local hardware stores-- Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. and it's surprisingly reasonable and can be cut to size & nailed or staple gunned on)
• Removed knobs and painted in a soft Buttercream tone (do 2 coats if needed)
• Used a "dry brush" technique to apply some deeper golden/mustard toned paint to add a little detail (basically just take a wide dry brush, dip the ends of the brush in the paint wipe excess off so that there is just a little on the ends of the bristles that you can brush onto the piece for added interest)
• Let dry, then add new hardware (the knobs I used were 50% off at Hobby Lobby-- so just $2 per glass knob on sale!)
• Total cost: approx $97 ($75 for cabinet + $12 (plus tax) for knobs + about $10 for beadboard, and I already had the paint)

Next up was a dresser that I unfortunately don't have a before photo of. I picked it up for $15 at a yard sale & it was in a old wood finish that originally was painted black for my son's nursery and more recently was painted coral for my baby girls' room. I actually used a different way of painting it the second time around, here are the steps I took to update it:

• Remove hardware and pull drawers out
• Use a spray primer to coat the drawers & dresser base (if you want to make your drawers look cute on the inside, then make sure you prime all the sides & inside too
• Use your chosen color of spray paint (mine happened to be Krylon's Coral Isle, which can be purchased at JoAnn's Fabric Store (it isn't a standard color, so a lot of stores do not carry it). I did a couple thin coats.
• After the spray paint dried I applied a coat of Satin Finish Spray Sealer (This was both to preserve the paint also to dull down the gloss finish of the Coral Isle spray paint)
• I added white ceramic knobs (also from Hobby Lobby-- I am a little bit addicted to their knob/drawer pull aisle!)
• I decided to add a fun little pattern pop to the inside of the drawers with wrapping paper which I actually found at Macey's Grocery Store-- it was about $10 for a 200 yard roll (I chose polka dots + chevron). If you wanted a more durable finish you could use wallpaper. I just went the cheaper route cause I'll probably change it out when I get bored!
• I measured the drawers & cut the paper to size, then used a spray adhesive to attach-- make sure to start on one end and smooth the paper in a single direction as you attach it to the drawer. Then you can coat the paper with your spray sealer to give it more durability.
• Total Cost: approx $116 ($15 for dresser, $58 for primer + paint, $20 2 rolls of wrapping paper-- plus I have lots to use for other projects, $12 (plus tax) for knobs-- $2 each ceramic knob on sale, $11 spray satin sealer)