When I came across this older dresser I knew it had so much potential for a custom makeover. The softly curved drawer fronts and pretty feet were a big part in my deciding to paint it in a soft buttercream and rose blended color palette and to apply a colorful floral transfer to the front. I always begin a custom project with a full check of the condition of the … Read More
Looking at an old oak table and chairs can make you feel like you are stuck in the 1970’s but it is possible to update an old finish that will look right at home in todays dining rooms. This set had some big positives going for it like all solid wood and a 24″ self storing leaf. What it really needed was to get rid of the old orange finish … Read More
When is it better to save the original finish on a piece instead of stripping or sanding to bare wood? That is what I ran into with this old dresser where the finish had darkened and alligatored over the years. There was much work to be done inside. Beginning with gluing loose dovetails and replacing drawer bottoms to adding missing drawer guides and drawer stops to prevent drawers from tipping … Read More
I want to share with you a fairly straightforward process for painting formica with a stained wood look. I will walk you through the steps that I used to finish the tops on the Redesigned Dresser with Barn Doors and End Tables. The surface of this formica was smooth and very shinny, so using my orbital sander with 60 grit paper, I sanded to cut the shine and give a … Read More
What do you do when you have quality furniture with sentimental value that just really isn’t your style? A customer came to me with exactly that situation, three pieces of Stanley furniture that was gorgeous in its day but was in need of a fresh update to be beautiful today. We talked through ideas and possibilities for redesigning and decided on a Modern Farmhouse Restyle. The three pieces would be … Read More
This was a small project that made a big difference in the look and function of the piece. When I first saw these end tables they looked old and tired, and I personally don’t like having only drawers to hold all of my bedside things. I like having my favorite book or books on a shelf to inspire me to pick them up and read. So taking a new look … Read More
This project has been part hard work and part exciting adventure. It began with a dresser in need of an update and finished with a sliding barn door cabinet painted in clean white with a carbon grey stained top. Before I get in to all of the details involved in this redesign, here is a picture of the finished Barn Door Cabinet. I began by removing all the drawers and … Read More
I found this very simple cabinet and wanted to make it into a small coffee bar/buffet but it was too short. The shorter height made it look and feel like it was missing feet. For this project I turned the cabinet upside down to work on adding an additional base to it. So in the pictures to follow remember that you are looking at the cabinet upside down. You can … Read More
I couldn’t pass up this pair of classic styled walnut wood tables and I thought they were the perfect pieces for a Natural Sanded Finish. Although they were pretty, the dark stained wood was scratched and had water damage on the tops. My plan was to uncover the beauty in the natural wood tops by careful sanding to reveal the wood grain and to paint the bases in a complimentary … Read More
This project is a simple repaint and stain that will give this buffet a classy and current style. It is a perfect piece for this update as its smaller size is very versatile in todays decorating. Prep work for this included washing with TSP and scuff sanding with 220 grit before painting with General Finishes Alabaster Milk paint. If I do this again I will prime with BIN first to … Read More