Refinishing Old Furniture

Refinishing Old Furniture – This dresser has been in our family for years. To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about it until I tried the milk paint furniture refinishing project.

When I first photographed the Carriage House, I found myself cropping out this chest of drawers in every photo. It looked yellow. When I took a closer look, it was obvious that it had been painted a yellowish-gold color many years ago. When the Carriage walls were painted sage green (many years ago), I never noticed the color. But with the new white walls, I knew I had to complete another furniture repair project.

I’m sure you remember last week I painted a cheap mirror with milk paint. It turned out so well and it’s my favorite DIY mirror ever!

Furniture Refinishing With Milk Paint

I pulled out the milk paint again and painted this dresser. The dresser turned out so well and the new Mercury Glass Knobs I bought look fantastic!

I originally shared the Carriage House Remodel a few weeks ago. I cut out the dresser on the left because the color looked terrible with the new white walls.

The original handles were wood and I thought it might be fun to change them. I found these Mercury Glass Knobs and love them! They add so much interest to a dresser.

Here’s a close up of the dresser as I sanded it. This is a really important step when using milk paint. If your piece of furniture has a lot of paint or varnish on it, it needs to be sanded. If you don’t, most of the paint will come off.

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Milk paint automatically produces a bubbly texture to the paint, which is the perfect “chippy” distressed look. Creates the perfect vintage look for DIY furniture and woodworking projects.

No. Milk paint comes in powder form and will bubble and create a thin look when dry. You also need to sand your piece of wood to remove the varnish when using milk paint. The chalk has a heavy smooth finish and you will need to sand it if you want any kind of colorful look.

Pin the image below to your decorative Pinterest boards (just click the Pin button in the upper left corner). You can also follow me on Pinterest!

Rae Dunn has gone crazy in popularity this past year. Due to high supply and low demand, many of us have invested a lot of time (and money) into our collections. (Remember this post about my six tips for finding Rae Dunn?) But more importantly, we appreciate our Rae! So should it just be displayed? Or use it? Today on the blog I have a little Q&A with Rae herself about what goes into caring for precious Rae Dunn clay!

Pricing Your Painted Furniture

I updated the kitchen decor for fall and added pink pumpkins. Today I’m also sharing kitchen decor ideas like DIYs for making fall cross-back aprons and painted wooden-handled spoons. I love the fall season. I think it’s because of the fun and seasonal cooking that lies…

I found my favorite vintage item…ever! And negotiated the deal of the century. Read on to find out more!

I had a day off yesterday. So what did I do? I spent the day making crafts and it was the best day ever. So why do I love crafts so much? I love handicrafts because I love making things and giving them from the heart. I have quite a history of making crafts that…

Today I’m going to teach a very fun DIY to paint your own Valentine’s Day card. These hand painted cards look fantastic and are very easy to make! You don’t have to be an artist or have exceptional artistic talent to make them. I promise! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. what better…

How To Fix Up Old Furniture Without Refinishing

Well, it’s week five of the One Room Challenge, which means the final reveal is next week. Oh my God. That doesn’t seem possible. (If you want to read my previous One Room Challenge posts, you can go to weeks one, two, three, and four.)

Would you like to receive an email when I write a new blog post? Sign up here and you’ll also have access to all my ebooks, tips and even Christmas party menus. Transforming used furniture is a simple and economical way to redecorate your space! In this post, you’ll discover the best places to find used furniture, along with our TOP tips on what to look for when buying used furniture.

Then we’ll give you step-by-step instructions on how to properly paint used furniture so YOU can have nice-looking furniture and save some money while you’re at it!

Once you’re done, head over to our Furniture Renovation Resources page to see our most popular thrift store furniture makeovers and get more inspiration!

Easy Furniture Makeover You Can Complete In A Weekend

Many moons ago, before the chalk paint®craze and before I tackled furniture painting, I was scrolling through Craigslist ads looking for a used kitchen table.

I had two young boys at the time and knew I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on an old table that may or may not be abused for the next few years.

But just because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a used piece of furniture, it didn’t mean I didn’t want a nice table for my family to look at or eat at.

Without searching too much on Craigslist, I discovered a used farmhouse style table and four chairs offered for the low price of $65.

When Is Okay To Repair And Refinish Antique Furniture?

I grabbed them, ran to the store and bought myself 12 cans of white spray paint (smack on the forehead), too thick foam pads to reupholster my chairs, made a lot of mistakes along the way, and then gave the table a royal scratch to achieve the perfectly distressed and worn look country houses (sarcasm).

I’m a little embarrassed to share my first furniture flip with you, but I think it’s really important to learn from other people’s mistakes.

So today I’m happy to be an example of what not to do! Plus, I’m going to stick my gut out and share some of the most valuable tips and tricks I’ve learned from refinishing used furniture!

P.S. If you’re interested in taking a peek at that first farmhouse table project I talked about above, I’ll leave a picture of it at the end of this post – it’s a great reminder that we all have to start somewhere in the learning how to paint furniture journey! 😉

How To Paint Furniture White

Before we talk about how to transform a used piece of furniture, let’s first talk about some of the best places to find used furniture…

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links to products that I love and use every day. You can view our full release here for more information.

You may be wondering where to buy used furniture. Here are our favorite places to find the best deals on used furniture!

Browse your local craigslist ads in the comfort of your jammies. My experience is that you’ll see an increase in listings from Friday to Sunday as people use the weekend to clean/shower their homes/get ready to move.

Refinishing An Old Bar

However, 75% of the time they can negotiate the best prices on a Monday or Tuesday – those who aren’t patient enough to wait another weekend want to get rid of their furniture fast!

If you live in a small area, your Craigslist listings may seem sparse. Expand your search to the next major city and you might just find what you’re looking for!

But there are a few additional online options you can try as well. When looking for used furniture for sale, don’t overlook OfferUp, VarageSale, Krrb and Bookoo.

This is probably my least favorite way to find used furniture. I prefer not to waste my time driving around looking for the next possible gem…

The Best Ways To Update Old Furniture For A Fresh New Look

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t stopped along the way and found some nice used pieces this way.

You will find that most owners are willing to negotiate prices. If people have a sale to downsize before they move, people will quickly cut prices to get rid of their stuff.

If you decide to go this route, be prepared to get up early. The early bird gets the worm!

Search your area for “used furniture stores near me” and you might be surprised to find a thrift store you didn’t know existed.

How To Refinish Furniture With A Raw Wood Look

Ask your local thrift stores when their sale days are and which days have the most stock.

Estate sales can be hit or miss, but they are another great source for finding high-quality used furniture.

Generally speaking, estate sales are usually advertised on your local Craigslist page, but you can also sign up for alerts for your local area at EstateSales.net.

Be sure to check out Kelly Elko’s post on Real Estate Selling Tips. She reveals some of her best kept secrets to make sure you have the best real estate buying experience.

My Complete Guide To Staining Furniture

The most

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