Not just another pin!! Furniture Revamp!

First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination. -Napoleon Hill



For me first came my obsession with change. Just like I cannot keep my hair the same for too long before I get bored, neither can I keep my house the same. I am one of those restless souls, filled with too much imagination. Then came my passion for Pinterest. I pinned all these amazing things and finally got inspired, thus turning my pins into realities.
 
About a month ago on a walk with the family, we stumbled across an estate sale. We found and bought a beautiful china cabinet made in the 60s or 70s. The quality is beautiful and it was so well made, back then they built things to last. The only problem was the color. Brown. We are not natural wood brown kind of people. Here we had this amazing piece of furniture that would never go with anything we would own. I began my search to paint it. But quickly realized that I did not want to start with such a large project.


after

After

 So, when two weeks ago a friend offered me his Hunstville dresser and nightstand for free, I said, " challenged accepted". Lucky for me my kids needed it.






I decided on a key lime green. The two pieces were in great shape and were built to last, you just can't get furniture built like this without spending close to a grand. I took off all handles and then drawers and got to priming..


graveyard of drawers

STEP #1: 

I used about 2 cans of primers for both. Klilz spray paint primer is the best!!!  

 

Then I sanded down with a 320 grit in between coats of the primer, it took two. cans



sanding block with sanding paper: use this before priming if any uneveness and after all layers of paint.

I bought a tact cloth to wipe down the dust from the sanding and general dust and dirt that accumulated during the entire process. helpful hint: clean out the dresser well before starting, you would be surprised how dusty it can get.
 
STEP #2: spray paint with color of choice. I used this:

spray in back and forth motion about a foot away from furniture

It took about 2 cans for both pieces. The thing with spray paint is that you have to have patience to let it dry in between coats which is great when you have little ones, because you can spray and leave to dry and take care of their needs.
 
 Remember that your first coat will show part of the primer underneath. In between coats make sure you lightly sand down any rough edges or areas where bubbles appear or drips occurred. There is no mistake that can not be fixed with some gentle sanding. So don't be scared of the sanding aspect or the spray aspect if you never have done it before. Keep spraying until fully covered.

this nightstand had sracthes and nasty stuff on top we clean and sanded, but left it uneven. so we used wood spacle and filled it, even it out and sanded it after it dried. This will give you a smooth even surface to paint. So don't be scared of furniture that is in not ideal condition.

I didn't want to invest in new hardware, so I just sprayed the rusty one I had with the white primer and left it at that. When the drawers are dry and the dresser/nightstand was dry I placed it all back together.  Then comes then last step.
 
STEP# 4: spray your furniture with polyethurane or lacquer. One can was enough fomr both. The oily and lacquer come in spray form. The poly helps protect the painted furniture and the lacquer gives a beautiful shine. The trick with this step is that you must sand very lightly in between each layer. Use at least a 1,000 grit paper if you can find it. I used a 2,000 one. It takes about 3 coats of lawyer on any piece of furniture to get a nice shine.

  This was a super cheap and fun project that totally changed the looks of a frumpy piece of old furniture. I got so inspired by my success that I even painted my IKEA night stand from white to the new hot color of the season, Tangerine Tango.

 

I took my boring tables and turned them into the pop of color that I needed.






 
Painted my headboard wall grey and with my Black and white furniture it makes for great statement pieces.

  Don't be afraid to take on a DYI project, do a little research take on a small project first and be inspired. Don't let those Pinterst pins stay pins only anymore...happy pinning! Let me know what you think. And be on the look out for the china cabinet post, I am going to paint it coral, with gold hardware and a pale grey back and a fun twist that i am keeping a secret!!