Furniture Makeovers

Liquor Cabinet Makeover + Adding Fretwork to Furniture

June 25, 2015 By Jenna 96 Comments

After a few weeks, I started missing the red.

Not the red on the buffet itself, but just the color red in general.

Apparently, not only are my beloved colors kelly green and navy, but also a bold red.

This really isn’t surprising. Red was always my favorite color growing up. I’m quite sure it became my favorite color when Reba wore the red dress.

If you know the dress I’m talking about, then we are kindred spirits.

So I started hunting for something to paint red.

Que Lorrie Morgan’s Something in Red.

Sorry, I’m not quite sure how this post has become about country music of the 90’s.

And I happened upon my great-grandmother’s china cabinet turned liquor cabinet.

I know. I know. You can judge me. It won’t bother me at all.

It was time for a change.

And not just a change in color, but also a change in location.

Dress Up Closet: Easy DIY Dress Up Storage from a Bookcase

June 22, 2015 By Jenna 117 Comments

Coming up with great storage solutions for your kids’ toys and paraphernalia can often be hard – not this one though! If dress up clothes are taking over your life then make this DIY dress up closet now! A bookcase is all you’ll need to get started and create dress up storage to save your sanity and a dress up station your little one will love!

When it doubt, use all the colors.

May 20, 2015 By Jenna 32 Comments

About a month ago, I drug the kid and Bill out of bed early one Saturday morning to go yard saleing.

They hate love it when I do that. 😉

I decided to be nice for once and give Grunt Labor the Saturday morning off.

He usually gives me Saturday mornings off, so it was long overdue.

Before leaving the neighborhood, we had lucked up on a bamboo patio table for a whopping $2 and a 5×7 leopard print rug for only $5.

Luck was on my side that day.

It quickly ended when there was a meltdown with the kid when I refused to buy a creepy $7 FurrRealz Cat.

$7 for a toy cat at a yard sale? And it looked possessed? Move along child, move along.

At the next stop though, we lucked upon a play phone, a beanie baby skunk and a Care Bears nightgown that the kid just had to have.

I’ve never been so happy to see a Ty Beanie Baby in my life.

The meltdown ceased.

As we were about to leave, I spotted something that had potential out of the corner of my eye…

A vintage paper sorter.

I looked at Bill.

His eyes lit up and he said, “We can do something really cool with that.”

He’s starting to think like me.

I asked the man how much for it.

$12.

Oh honey. You must be crazy. I don’t pay $12 for anything at a yard sale unless its furniture. Let me show you the rug I just snagged for $5.

Yep, I’m that girl, y’all.

Sorry not sorry.

We started negotiating.

3 Easy Ways to Update Your Furniture Hardware

May 12, 2015 By Jenna 6 Comments

I’m the farthest thing from a tree hugger you’ll ever meet.

You already knew that didn’t you?

But I do like to re-use and recycle things.

I’m just cheap, really.

My favorite thing to re-use is furniture hardware.

This is for two reasons.

1. I don’t want to spend money on new, expensive hardware.

See, cheap?

2. I don’t want to have to potentially drill holes for new hardware.

Ok, I’m lazy too.

These are my three favorite ways to update furniture hardware while doing as little as possible and spending as little as possible.

‘Cause that’s how we roll.

The Perfect Navy Paint

May 7, 2015 By Jenna 20 Comments

The part-time child, Bill, and I have formed a sort of business partnership.

I find furniture for him to paint. He paints it. I write about it. We sell it. I get my initial investment back and he keeps the profit for his labor.

When I first presented this idea to him, he was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to jump on the two end tables that I had already picked up.

I even let him pick out the color, which in my opinion is the perfect navy paint…

How To Strip Furniture and Restain Wood

April 13, 2015 By Jenna 110 Comments

I knew there would come a day when I would want to strip the paint off a piece I had so meticulously painted.

I didn’t know that day would come so soon.

Don’t get me wrong.

I still love my boldly colored painted pieces. But…

After the black and white gallery wall in the living room was completed, I knew the finishing touch would be to make the red buffet stained once more…

11 Colorful Furniture Makeovers

March 26, 2015 By Jenna 4 Comments

As we all know, I can’t get enough color.

In my opinion, too much color is always a good thing.

I’ve never met a bold kelly green or a pop of coral I couldn’t help but smile at.

And if you can’t smile at these bright spring colors that are popping up, then honey, you ain’t livin’ right.

Here are some of my own favorite colorful furniture makeovers.

Make Wood Stain in Any Color

March 23, 2015 By Jenna 24 Comments

Want to kick your wood finishing techniques up a notch? Try making your own bright colored wood stains then! With this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make custom stain colors easily.

How to Make Furniture Glaze in ANY Color

March 12, 2015 By Jenna 67 Comments

Up until last October, I wasn’t a big glazed furniture kind of gal.

Glazed donut kind of gal…abso-freakin-lutely….glazed furniture…not so much.

But then I used dark glaze on the IKEA Tarva drink bar.

At that point, dark glaze and I started to become friends.

We experimented. We plotted makeovers.

We worked together on a glamorous dresser makeover.

Dark glaze and I were skipping happily along off into the sunset….

And then I met clear glaze….

And he swept me off my feet….because he can turn any color into a glaze….

Painting 101: Topcoats and when to use them

March 2, 2015 By Jenna 102 Comments

Wondering what top coat to put over paint? Specifically what kind of top coat for painted furniture? Consider this guide the holy grail for just that. It will walk you through all the different types of top coats and when to use each.

French Country Chair Modern Makeover

February 23, 2015 By Jenna 44 Comments

I’ve begun a new love affair.

Grunt Labor doesn’t mind a bit.

Its more beautiful than I ever dreamed.

Its with green.

And black and white stripes.

Really, its just with the green, black and white combination in general.

I never considered the combination until my Enchanting green paint swatch accidentally fell on top of some black and white fabric and I was like…

Oh My Gosh.

Of course, I totally said that in the style of Usher’s song.

At that point, I did a walk-through of my house to determine which piece of furniture would be my next victim.

The lucky guy was this french country chair which ended up with a modern makeover.

Glamorous Dresser Makeover

January 29, 2015 By Jenna 178 Comments

Have I told you that my dad claims the title of “Rain on a Tin Roof Middle Tennessee Marketing Manager?”

I’m not kidding.

He even signs his emails to me that way.

And he hangs my business cards at the post office.

And tells all his friends about me.

And the people he works with.

I’m sure they loathe me by now.

One of his co-workers, Shannon, (who is forced to work right beside him – poor girl), offered me a dresser she had in her garage. Thanks, Shannon!

Seeing as I never turn down free furniture, I went and picked it up.

In my not-so-big SUV.

With my dad, the kid, and Will.

That was a tight squeeze fun ride home.

It was well worth it though for this glamorous dresser makeover.

Painting 101: Why is my paint peeling? Tips and tricks to keep paint from peeling and scratching off your furniture.

January 16, 2015 By Jenna 55 Comments

If you read the longest blog post in history (a.k.a. the reader survey results), you know that there were some questions about furniture painting – what finish to use, why is the paint peeling, etc.

Since I am a woman for the people and cannot let my people down, I decided to start a little Painting 101 series with basic tips and tricks for painting furniture.

The first thing we are going to chat about is:

Why is my paint peeling?

Tips and tricks to keep paint from peeling and scratching off your furniture.

DIY Marble Top Table for $30 or less

December 31, 2014 By Jenna 33 Comments

This one will be as short and sweet as possible, friends. The flu has struck our house and its first victim is me.

I love marble. Have I told you that before? I mean, I’m sure its apparent by looking at my bathroom.

I also love little side tables that can be moved around as needed to hold drinks and what not.

And I love a classic black – paired with gold.

The three loves combined in this DIY Marble Top Table.

How to Restore Hardware in 5 Minutes

December 15, 2014 By Jenna 61 Comments

I am kicking myself, y’all.

Kicking myself.

I’ve spray painted and Rub ‘N Buffed so many pulls and knobs over the years – I had no idea how to clean them.

Don’t get me wrong – there are sometimes when you want a bold colored knob, but sometimes I just want that hardware restored to its former glory.

I had no clue how to restore hardware to its former glory though.

Until a few weeks ago.

Vintage Radio turned Bar Cabinet

November 25, 2014 By Jenna 76 Comments

Grunt Labor has a man cave.

Did you know that?

But really, its only been his man cave for the past three months or so.

Prior to that, it was the dumping ground for yard sale items, the kid’s toys, an outdated computer, and just crap in general.

Said crap was moved elsewhere (a.k.a. shoved in the attic) and he is finally getting the room that he deserves.

That he deserved a long time ago.

His words to me were, “Just do your thing.” when asked what he wanted done to the space.

So I’m doing my thang.

Because I like to do my thang, rather than my thing.

And I started with this vintage radio turned bar cabinet.

5 Knock-Your-Socks-Off IKEA Tarva Hacks

November 3, 2014 By Jenna 3 Comments

Remember when I turned that IKEA Tarva three drawer dresser into an awesome drink bar?

And remember how I mentioned it was part of a challenge presented by HomeRight to five of their bloggers?

Guess what?

All five of us ROCKED this challenge.

If I do say so myself.

And now, you can vote on whose is the best.

And the winner gets $500.

And one lucky voter wins a Finish Max Pro (You just have to be a registered user on the HomeRight website to be eligible for winning the Finish Max Pro).

So……….

Obviously, I would LOVE your vote.

And greatly appreciate it.

But……

All of these girls totally kicked their challenges outta the park.

Here are all of our projects:

The No Priming, No Topcoat, Way to Paint (Seriously, I’m not even kidding.)

October 16, 2014 By Jenna 46 Comments

Let’s be honest about a couple things:

1. I’m lazy on occasion.

2. I’m impatient.

How does this effect my furniture makeovers?

I hate having to prime a piece before I can put some glorious color on it.

Hate it.

I need instant gratification.

Anyone else?

And when the color is finally on, I can barely wait to get the piece back in its place.

Oh, but wait….it needs a topcoat.

That means I have to wait more.

Did I mention I was impatient?

Did I also mention I found a solution for this problem?

Well, not a solution for being lazy and impatient, but a solution for the priming and top coating.

There is a way to paint that requires no priming and no top coating.

Boom.

World altered.

IKEA Tarva Hack: Drink Bar

October 14, 2014 By Jenna 114 Comments

If you follow me on Facebook, you may remember a month or so back when I posted a picture of an unfinished three drawer chest.

HomeRight offered a challenge to their brand ambassadors.

They offered to send us one of the IKEA Tarva 3 drawer chests and then have at it.

There are three things I have never passed up in life:

1. A Good Challenge

2. Free Furniture

3. Cheap Beer

My fingers and toes and arms and legs were crossed in hopes that I would be one of the five chosen ambassadors drawn from a hat for this challenge.

And I was.

*Insert 7th grade girl squeal here, along with fist bumps.*

So what did I turn my chest into?

A drink bar.

A green one.

With pretty gold accents.

DIY Leopard Print Table A.K.A. The (Almost) Bee Table

June 3, 2014 By Jenna 27 Comments

I’ve had this table in my basement for nearly a year. I loved its shape so much, but just couldn’t decide what to do with it. When I finally did decide what to do with it, it was an utter failure (I’ll get there in a minute). Luckily, it made a spectacular comeback with the help of a little leopard print goodness.

Industrial DIY Coffee Table from a Yard Sale Cart

May 20, 2014 By Jenna 62 Comments

Remember how I confessed that my latest chair makeover was a roadside find that sat untouched in my basement for nearly a year?

Yea, ummm, the same is true of this cart turned industrial DIY coffee table. I picked it up at a yard sale well over a year ago now. From the time I bought it, I had planned on turning it into a coffee table, but one thing led to another and it just now got completed.

Just like the chair though, I think this one was worth the wait.

Pink & Houndstooth Vintage Chair Makeover {Roadside Rescue}

April 29, 2014 By Jenna 51 Comments

This chair was a monumental find for me.

It was my first roadside find. I found it even before I found my metal cabinet that I turned into craft storage.

I was just, ummmm, slow, very slow about getting around to fixing it.

I think the wait was worth it though – I love how this chair makeover turned out.

Army Locker turned Toy Box

April 17, 2014 By Jenna 86 Comments

My in-laws have totally been holding out on me. A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law and I were wondering through the garage gathering items for a yard sale and what did we stumble across? My father-in-law’s old army locker. Just sitting there. Waiting to be made into something awesome. Disclosure: I am a Brand Ambassador…

Coral and Mint Nightstand Makeover

March 13, 2014 By Jenna 27 Comments

You guys, Spring is finally starting to show up around these parts! I can hardly contain my excitement! I hope its warming up wherever you are as well. I thought I would share this nightstand makeover with you because its cheerful colors just beg Spring to come!

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