Finally, Refinished Furniture

two piece VanityFlash back to three weeks ago and my backyard was a DIY testing ground for nine painted-furniture projects. The paint has since dried, the hardware been screwed back on, the bugs picked out of the air-dried paint, and the furniture has been moved inside. Some of the projects were just paint touch-ups and others, you’ll see, were a decorative overhaul.

(Above) This desk and mirror just needed a fresh coat of white paint. They go so nicely together, I think I’m going to buy a little stool for it and use the setup as a vanity in the master bedroom.

after red mirrorThis antique beveled mirror was originally a natural wood color, but we painted it poppy red to match the wallpapered accent wall in our guest bedroom.

before yellow tableWe loved this Macky Blue sideboard’s tin top and exposed tin bread drawers—despite its brutally chipping framework. We bought it knowing that, even with serious sanding, this piece couldn’t be smoothed over. So we vowed to try our best and chalk the remaining rough spots up to “character.”

process purple table horizontalThough the original paint job had a palette like a Greenbay Packer, the two-tone legs were really inspiring. We painted the piece plum but left the feet primer-white to match the tin top.

after purple tableI still have dreams of having a tall chinoiserie china cabinet in my kitchen, but for $100 and a fun weekend project, this is a cute placeholder.

process buffet paint stripping anneThe greatest lesson I learned from Painted Furniture Weekend Part 1 was: NEVER strip furniture. It was the most disgusting, toxic, arduous yet deceptively easy project I’ve ever attempted for my home. The majority of the paint may gum up and peel off nicely, but the other 40% is a battle to get off the wood.

before buffetAfter stripping two sides of this piece, I abandoned ship and just went on to sand the front and top.

after buffet
Note: Please ignore heinous boob tube TV on top of sideboard and ugly equipment below.

As you can see, our entertainment center is not ready, but we’d like to ultimately use this sideboard as a media console (when we buy a TV from the 21st century). To do this properly we’d take the top two drawers, cut off the fronts, and reapply them with hinges so they fold down for easy access to the DVD player and fold up to cover unsightly equipment.

Another project added to the list.

One Comment

  1. Anonymous said:

    Interesting post. It is great idea that to refine the furniture and make it new.  Really this is nice blog for me. You done a great job and your furniture are looking so new and stylish after renewing.
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    June 15, 2011
    Reply

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