Rain on a Tin Roof

Category: Furniture Makeovers

Furniture makeovers using various different paints and techniques. A one-stop-shop for all things related to furniture painting.

Liquor Cabinet Makeover + Adding Fretwork to Furniture
Something happened after I stripped and re-stained the buffet in the living room.

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.

I know, right. It went from flat black to vivid red.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes and O’verlays. However, all opinions and references to 90’s country music are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

It also moved from the dining room to the back corner in the living room.

Here’s what we did…

Liquor Cabinet Makeover + Adding Fretwork to Furniture

Supplies & Materials Used:
- Velvet Finishes Ready
- Velvet Finishes Vivid (Red)
- Velvet Finishes Protect
- O’verlays Cheryle Fretwork Panels (I used 4)
- FrogTape
- Wood Filler + Sandpaper (to fill old hardware holes)
- Finish Nail Gun or Wood Glue (for securing fretwork to bottom doors)
- Panel Clips (for securing fretwork behind glass doors)
Step 1:

Before doing anything, I took off all the hardware, including the “campaign” corners that I had added to the piece a while back.

I used wood filler to fill the holes and then sanded it smooth when dry (there’s a full tutorial here about filling holes). After that, I wiped the whole piece down with Ready to pick up any dirt and dust, then taped off the glass with FrogTape. This piece is so heavy that I painted it right there in the living room. Moving it from the dining room to the living room was a job, so once it was there – it stayed. For that reason, I also taped off the flooring around the cabinet.

Step 2:

After the prep work was done, which wasn’t much at all, I started painting the piece Vivid.

Vivid is a true red hue from Velvet Finishes. It took about four good coats to even out the red. If you have painted anything red before, you know it takes a while to even out the color. At my old house, I put eight, nope, not kidding, eight coats of red paint on the kitchen walls before the color evened out. Luckily, this paint didn’t require near as many coats.

Step 3:

After the paint was good and dry, I went back over the piece with Protect.

Protect is a satin poly topcoat. Velvet Finishes already has a topcoat built in, but this piece takes a good beating seeing as how we like our drinks around here, so I gave it some added protection.

Step 4:

While the Protect was drying, I painted the O’verlays.

O’verlays are decorative fretwork panels that you can add to furniture to up your makeover game. 🙂

That’s the Jenna definition anyway.

Really though, they are super cool. There are tons of designs to choose from and you can have them custom sized for your furniture. If you want to makeover an IKEA piece, they already have panels for those pieces sized and ready to go. How cool is that?

I went with the Cheryle panels. They came to me primed white. I had toyed with the idea of leaving them white against the red, but in the end, gold won out. I gave them a few coats of gold spray paint.

Step 5:

Once the panels and cabinet were fully dry, I used my nail gun to attach the panels to the lower cabinet doors. You could also use a glue as well. The top panels went behind the glass. I used these panel clips to keep them in place.

Its vivid, its bold, and I love it.

I kept the lion hardware, but I have to say, I think it pops so much more with the red and gold fretwork than it did before.

And the fretwork? Ahhh, the fretwork – well that was just the icing on the cake, darlin’.

So tell me, are you seeing red now? The good kind?

Looking for more bold and daring furniture makeovers?

DIY Tuxedo Bar – yes, it looks like a tuxedo. I’m serious.

Malachite Credenza Makeover – I like to call this one party on top, business in the front.

Bold and Beautiful Furniture Makeovers – very bold, very very beautiful.

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June 25, 2015
Dress Up Closet: Easy DIY Dress Up Storage from a Bookcase
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!

The circus has discovered princesses.

Specifically Belle and Cinderella.

She’s also discovered ballerinas and cowgirls and doctors.

And she wants to be all those things.

Numerous times throughout the day.

Luckily, she hasn’t morphed into a total girly girl. Let’s be honest – I don’t know if I could handle that.

Its more like tutu one minute and mud the next.

I’ll take that any day over constant tea parties and tiaras.

I thought I had the dress-up department confined to one box.

And then her birthday happened.

Suddenly, it was as if all of Broadway’s costume department threw up in her room.

There were meltdowns over not being able to find Ariel’s shoes to wear with Sophia’s dress – not to mention all the other princess dresses that were lost to the hurricane that went through her room.

It was around that time that a great idea finally hit me as to what I would do for the IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack that HomeRight asked me to participate in – it would become a super cute kids dress up closet.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with HomeRight. However, all opinions and love of easy hacks that prevent meltdowns are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

I can’t begin to tell you how much the kid loves her new dress up storage. I’ve only heard that many “wows” from her once or twice before.

And more importantly, mama hasn’t had to go on a mad search into a pile of never-ending dress up clothes for a missing Belle shoe.

I almost feel bad calling this a “hack” because it was so easy, but technically its not what its meant to be, so that is a hack, right? And the easier the hack the better.

P.S. The bookcase is only $40. If you have paint and a mirror lying around to use, there’s a pretty good chance you can get out of this thing for $50.

That’s a small price to pay to end meltdowns and keep your sanity.

Also, it doesn’t have to be an IKEA bookcase – any mid-size bookcase will do!

DIY Dress Up Station

Materials and Supplies Needed:
- IKEA Billy Bookcase (the smaller one) or Another Similar Sized Bookcase
- Wood Dowel Rod
- Nail Gun
- Mirror
- HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayer
- Paint Color of your Choice
- Polycrylic
Steps

Step 1:

First off, you just want to assemble the bookcase as the directions say. The only thing you don’t need to worry about is putting in the shelves.

Step 2:

Cut the dowel rod down to the width of the bookcase opening. Place the dowel where you would like it and use a nail gun to secure the dowel in place on either side of the bookcase.

You can also do this with a drill and a couple of screws if you prefer. I opted for the nail gun because it was easier. It also helps to have someone hold the dowel in place and make sure its level as you attach it to the bookcase. Not that mine wasn’t level the first go-round or anything.

If you have another kind of hanging bar lying around, you could use that too as long as it fits within your bookcase and is sturdy enough for hanging clothes on.

Painting the Kids Dress Up Closet

Step 3:

Paint the bookcase and shelves.

For this hack, I got to use one of my favorite toys and a new toy that is quickly becoming a favorite.

HomeRight just introduced their Spray Shelter. It is the best thing ever for painting in a garage or similar enclosed area. It keeps any paint overspray contained and takes less than 10 minutes to set up.

My husband only wishes they had made it sooner so that his beloved tiller wasn’t speckled with black, kelly green, and navy dots. 🙂

To paint the bookcase, I used my HomeRight Finish Max paint sprayer. This sprayer is by far the easiest paint sprayer I’ve ever used and gives a perfect fine finish. The best part is that no air tank is required – you just plug it in and go.

Since this piece is solely for the circus, I asked her what color she wanted it painted. She said blue. I had some Boheme by Velvet Finishes on hand, so that was what we went for. I thinned the paint with water before spraying it on.

To paint the shelves, I just laid them out on 2 x 4’s across sawhorses.

Step 4:

After the paint was good and dry, I gave the bookcase a good topcoat of Polycrylic, then cleaned the paint sprayer.

HomeRight has another new toy that makes cleaning the sprayer a breeze.

Its called the Rapid Clean. You hook one end up to a water hose, the other up to your paint sprayer, turn on the water and pull the trigger.

You’re all done with cleaning in a matter of minutes.

Step 5:

Once the topcoat was dry, I placed the shelves toward the bottom of the bookcase and took it up to the kid’s room.

Mama saved the day with a mirror that she had hung onto from her childhood home. To make sure the mirror was secure, I found a stud in the wall behind where the bookcase would be, then marked that spot on the bookcase and cut out a small hole. There, I drilled a screw into the stud that I then hung the mirror on.

The lower shelves hold shoes and hats.

I also made some DIY animal jewelry holders for the side of the dress up center.

I topped it off with quote art (which pretty much sums the circus up) in a DIY lucite frame as well as a DIY sunglasses holder.

And a DIY headband holder.

Well, what do ya think?

Not too shabby for an easy $50 IKEA Billy Bookcase Hack, eh?

Looking for more great projects to bring a smile to your kid’s face?

This DIY Children’s Stage with Hidden Dress-Up Storage has brought our little girls countless hours of fun!

Easiest Ever DIY Lemonade Stand – perfect for those little budding entrepreneurs in your life!

How to Create an Object and Text Feature Wall for Your Little One – the perfect way to add a punch of their own special personality to their room.

This diy wall-mounted drop down art desk has kept my little girl occupied for hours.

DIY Kids’ Play Table with Storage – she loves playing farm on this table! It’s great for all kinds of things!

Want to save this tutorial for later? Just pin the image below!

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June 22, 2015
When it doubt, use all the colors.
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.

I walked away with the paper sorter for $6.

It was still more than I wanted to pay for a paper sorter, but it was half of what he started at.

I’ll take it.

Once we got it home, we realized we weren’t really sure what that something really cool we would do to it would be.

But when in doubt…use all the colors.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. However, all opinions and love of all the colors are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

I know, right?!

Aren’t they all just great together?

Here’s how she started:

Vintage Paper Sorter Makeover

To achieve this uber-colorful look, we used:
- - Velvet Finishes Ready
- - Paper Towels
- - Velvet Finishes Minimalistic (White)
- - Velvet Finishes Glamorous (Bright Pink)
- - Velvet Finishes Boheme (Light Blue)
- - Velvet Finishes Stately (Purple)
- - Velvet Finishes Bold (Yellow)
- - Velvet Finishes Exotic (Coral)
- - Velvet Finishes Enchanting (Green)
- High Quality Paintbrush
Steps

Step 1:

I started by pulling the trim off the outside of the sorter to be able to get all the shelves out and easily paint them.

I did this very carefully because I didn’t want to damage the wood.

Step 2:

After the trim was off, I pulled out every shelf and primed each of them as well as the sorter itself with Ready.

This thing had a glossy finish on it and was dirty as well. Ready primed and cleaned it at the same time. I just sprayed it on each shelf and the sorter, let it sit for a couple of minutes, then wiped it down with paper towels. Bill and I tag teamed it, so that it didn’t take as long.

Step 3:

To make all the soon-to-be colorful shelves pop, I painted the outside and inside of the sorter with Minimalistic – a true white.

It took about three light coats with a good quality paintbrush to do the job.

Step 4:

I gave each shelf a couple coats of color.

I also did this with just a paintbrush – but a good one. 😉

I didn’t worry with a topcoat, because Velvet Finishes paint already has a topcoat built-in and this won’t be getting a lot of hardcore use.

Step 5:

After everything was painted, I had to sand the edges of the shelves a bit to make them fit back in the sorter, then I put the trim back on.

There was a mishap with one shelf and it was tragically lost.

I broke it. 🙁

But really, I don’t think this paper sorter makeover could get any cuter.

Those colors are just perfection.

I’m going to save it for the circus’ upcoming room makeover.

Looking for more colorful and easy home projects and crafts?

Here are 9 unique and colorful ways to makeover a side table.

Here is a super fun, easy and colorful step stool makeover.

And here are bold and colorful furniture makeovers you’ll love!

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May 20, 2015
3 Easy Ways to Update Your Furniture Hardware

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.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

1. Spray paint

Spray painting your hardware is the cheapest way and probably the easiest way to give it an update. It will only set you back $3 – $5 for a can of paint, but if you are a spray paint fiend like me, chances are you may even have a can laying around the house you can use. I tend to spray paint hardware when I want it to really pop off the furniture piece.

White is actually one of my favorite colors to spray paint hardware – especially when its against bright colors like the nightstand makeover above.

If I want a really bright gold on my furniture hardware, I will spray paint it. The crowning jewel on the magenta dresser above is the gold hardware. If you want a really great gold, go for Design Masters spray paint in Gold Medal. Its one of the best gold spray paints I’ve found.

If you can’t decide what color to spray paint your hardware, white or black is usually a safe option – they go with just about anything.

2. Rub ‘ N Buff

If you want a true metallic look for your hardware, your best bet will be to use Rub ‘N Buff. Rub ‘N Buff is a wax type product that you literally just rub onto your hardware and then buff it to as much of a shine as you would like.

The pulls on the red buffet above went from black to a muted gold with Rub ‘N Buff.

The hardware on my dresser and chest in my master bedroom were in rough condition when I got them. There were a few rusty spots. I didn’t want to spray paint them because I knew that would take away from the beauty of the dresser and chest. Instead, I used a brass colored Rub ‘N Buff and it worked like a charm.

Rub ‘N Buff comes in just about every metallic color under the sun – gold, brass, pewter, bronze, and more.

3. Restore your hardware

Instead of painting or waxing your hardware, it may just need a really good cleaning. I found Bar Keepers Friend about nine months ago, and in all honesty, I consider it a miracle product for hardware. There’s no doubt in my mind they are working some kind of voodoo magic into that little can.

The first time I used it was on this vintage radio turned bar cabinet and I was shocked at just how well it cleaned up the pulls. Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

Baffling, right? Now, those pulls probably had close to 50 years of grime on them. I’m not kidding. I have a complete how-to here for using Bar Keeper’s Friend.

Do you have any favorite ways to update furniture hardware?

You might also want to read these posts…

9 Unique Ways to Makeover a Side Table – smart and creative ideas!

The Best Painting Tools for Furniture Refinishing – a list of my tried and true favorite tools for painting furniture.

FAQ: Painting Furniture – got a question about painting furniture? This post probably has the answer.

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May 12, 2015
The Perfect Navy Paint

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…

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

But then something happened.

I brought one of the finished tables upstairs to photograph.

And it was like it was made for my living room.

Even Grunt Labor came home and said, “That table isn’t going anywhere but there.”

So it appears that Bill’s first furniture sale is to me.

Let’s hope our actual business model goes according to plan the next time around.

This navy beauty started out like this:

I actually scored two of them for $15 each at Goodwill. I think what pulled me to them the most was the drawer hardware.

We started by removing the glass top, taping and papering off the inlay of caning (I think that’s caning?). I thought it might be nice to have just a touch of contrast with the navy. After that we sprayed down both tables with Ready.

Ready, by Velvet Finishes, is essentially a spray-on primer. You don’t always have to use it with Velvet Finishes paint, but if the surface you are painting over is shiny or dirty, you should definitely prime it. These tables were both. We sprayed the Ready on, let it sit for a few minutes, then wiped the tables down.

Next, we gave the tables about three light coats of the navy paint, which is called Handsome.

Or as I like to call it, The Perfect Navy.

You can see why it needs to stay in my living room, right? Seriously, it just goes perfectly with the rug.

I need you to back me up here and make me feel better about my furniture hoarding tendencies. Mkay? Thanks.

I didn’t worry with adding on an extra topcoat, since Velvet Finishes already has a topcoat built in. I knew the glass part of the table would get the most action and all we can do with that is hope the circus doesn’t break it. I did clean up the hardware with Bar Keeper’s Friend (you can see how I clean hardware here).

Oh, and this is also the same color I used on my base kitchen cabinets that you saw in my home tour.

See, it is the perfect navy.

Am I right or am I right?

Do you have anything screaming for navy?

Find more furniture makeover inspiration here and see how I used this gorgeous navy on my cabinets here.

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Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes paint. However, all opinions and love of the perfect navy are 100% mine.

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May 7, 2015
How To Strip Furniture and Restain Wood
Stripping paint or stain off an old piece of furniture can seem daunting. It is a bit of a messy job, but it’s not too difficult though. This post will walk you through step-by-step of how to strip furniture and then how to restain the wood – or paint it if that’s the route you want to go.

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…

When I announced to Grunt Labor that I was stripping the buffet, he nearly fell out of his seat. He – A. couldn’t believe that I wasn’t just painting it a different color and B. couldn’t believe I would actually be able to get off the multiple coats of paint that were on this piece.

Never doubt a woman.

Never, ever, ever.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

When this buffet first came into my possession, it was in its original stain job. It was part of a dining room set that belonged to my great aunt and then my father and now me. When we moved into the beloved foreclosure, I opted to paint it a blue color – almost periwinkle.

At the time, I loved that color. Also, at the time, I had no clue really what my decorating style was.

The buffet eventually got painted red…

The red was bold. I loved it. But then the black and white gallery wall happened and I didn’t want the buffet to take away from the wall.

So here we are now:

And here is how we got there…

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with HomeRight. All opinions are 100% mine.This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

How to Strip Paint or Stain off Furniture

(with less mess!)

What You Need:
- Heat Gun – This makes stripping furniture so much easier with much less mess. I used my HomeRight Heat Gun.
- Metal Scrapers – Mine came with my heat gun.
- Sander – You will have to do a bit of sanding after the stripping to smooth everything up. I highly suggest using a power sander. I used my Dewalt Sheet Sander. If you aren’t familiar with using power sanders, I’ve got a How To on them here.
- Tackcloths
- Wood Stain
- Lint Free Rags (Optional – I prefer to use them when applying stain.)
- Topcoat (I would go with either a Polyurethane or Polycrylic.)
- High Quality Paintbrush
- Breathing Mask
Step 1 – Stripping Paint From Wood:

The first thing you want to do is move the piece you are stripping to a location that can get messy and is well ventilated. I do this kind of stuff in my garage. Remove all doors and drawers and take off any hardware. Plug in your heat gun.

I turned the fan speed up to 2, and the temperature to high.

**Note: This heat gun has been discontinued at HomeRight and replaced with the Digital Temperature Heat Gun. It works basically the same way – I even did a post on how to use it here.

You may not need to turn the heat up that high for your piece. I knew that I had two different paint colors with multiple coats of each, so I would need a lot of heat to power through it.

Put on your breathing mask – you don’t want to inhale the fumes.

Now, get a metal scraper. Place the nozzle of your heat gun on your furniture, with the scraper just behind it.

Slowly, but constantly move both the heat gun and scraper at the same time. Your paint should come off like butta’. In the photo above, you can see a few little remnants of paint – that’s ok, it will sand right off in the end.

Be sure to not leave your nozzle in one place for too long – this can cause you to burn your wood.

Step 2 – Removing Paint From the Nooks & Crannies:

Stripping the flat edges on furniture is pretty easy, it just takes some time. The nooks and crannies are a bit more complicated. For those, instead of a flat metal scraper, you need one with more points. I used the triangle one that was included with my heat gun.

Use it exactly the same way you did with the flat scraper. Place the nozzle of the heat gun right in front of your scraper and move them both at the same time slowly, but constantly.

Step 3 – Sanding Paint Remnants

This is what one of the doors looked like after I had stripped the paint off with the heat gun:

To get rid of those remnants of paint, sand your piece with a medium grit sandpaper. It will come right off. You will probably have to do a little hand sanding in the nooks and crannies. Here’s what it looks like after sanding:

Notice the little dark spots in some of the nooks and crannies. That’s ok – you won’t really see them once the new stain is on. There were a couple spots that I sanded too much and the stain didn’t adhere there as it did on the rest of the piece. You’ll see that in a minute.

Step 4 – Clean the piece

Wipe down the piece with a wet rag and then go back over it with a tack cloth to pick up any extra bits of dust.

How to Restain Wood

Step 5 – Restain the Wood

I prefer to stain with a lint-free cloth, instead of a paintbrush. Just open up your stain, dip your cloth inside (don’t need much at all), and wipe the stain onto the furniture.

Work in small sections. Go back over the area with a clean cloth after a minute or two to pick up any excess stain.

Step 6 – Protect it.

While I haven’t done this yet (I know – I’m so bad), you need to protect your piece. You can do this by giving it a coat of polyurethane or polycrylic with a good quality paintbrush.

Here’s a closeup of the piece now. Its looks lighter than what it really is, as the sun was shining right on it at this time.

It took a while, but stripping and refinishing this piece of furniture was so worth it.

It works perfectly by lending a vintage / rustic feel to the very modern wall.

You can see a couple of small spots on the top and bottom edges of the small drawer where I sanded too much. Be careful not to repeat that mistake. 🙂

Have you ever stripped and restained furniture before?

Looking for more staining and stripping tips?

How to Make Colored Stain for Wood – in any color!

How to Refinish Wood Furniture & Cover Stains without Sanding or Stripping – a great way to update stained furniture if it’s not in too bad of a condition.

How to Use a Heat Gun and 15 Things to Do With It – more things that you can tackle with a heat gun.

Why your paint is peeling and how to stop it! – Peeling paint on a furniture makeover? This post will walk you through what might be happening and how to fix it.

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April 13, 2015
11 Colorful Furniture Makeovers

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.

11 Colorful Furniture Makeovers

Glamorous Dresser Makeover

Yes, my darling, you. are. glamorous.

Literally. That’s the name of the paint.

Orange, Black and White Chair Makeovers

I’m not a huge fan of orange, but when its only $6 a gallon, you buy the paint and find something to paint with it!

French Country Chair Modern Makeover

This chair was made for me. It calls my name. It whispers sweet nothings in my ear. I. am. in. love.

Coral & Gold Confetti Table Makeover

Instead of confetti in her hair, she has confetti on her coral table.

She likes it that way.

Pink & Houndstooth Chair Makeover

Not a fan of pink? Pair it with a classic print like houndstooth to anchor the piece.

Vintage Radio turned Bar Cabinet

Did you know that was once a radio? And my Hey Bud makes it play to remind me he’s still got my back…

Table Makeover with Wrapping Paper

Because you should never pass up a $2 end table even if it has a ruined tabletop.

Just cover it with wrapping paper.

Duh.

IKEA Tarva Dresser turned Drink Bar

Hello lover.

Coral & Mint Nightstand Makeover

What to do when you accidentally mess up the paint job?

Just distress it and say you planned it that way…

These two are not actually furniture makeovers, but it would have been a sin to leave them out of such a colorful post….

How to Make Furniture Glaze in Any Color

And that was the first time my life changed forever.

How to Make Colored Stain

And that was the second time my life changed.

I have no idea why you think I’m so dramatic.

Don’t you just feel a good colorful furniture makeover coming on now?

You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.

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March 26, 2015
Make Wood Stain in Any Color
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.

After the amazing-out-of-this-world-discovery-that-changes-everything a few weeks ago (when I found out how to make furniture glazes in any color – ok. maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. Just a little bit though.)

I wanted to see if it would work as a wood stain too – on unfinished wood.

It did…

So now you will not only know how to make glazes in any color, but you’ll now know how to make colored stain too.

I KNOW.

AMAZING.

Disclosure: This post is a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. All opinions and color craziness is 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

How to Make Colored Wood Stain

Supplies Needed:
- Velvet Finishes Enhance Clear Glaze
- Velvet Finishes Colour of Your Choice
- Unfinished Wood (I picked up that cute tray and box at Hobby Lobby.)
- Paint brush
- Lint Free Cloth
- Paper Cup or Plate
Steps

Step 1:

You mix up the stain the same way you mix up the glaze, because, well its the same stuff. The difference is in how you apply it.

Pour a small amount of clear glaze into your cup or plate. Dip your paintbrush into the paint you want to turn into your stain color. You don’t want much at all – then mix the glaze and paint together.

If you are worried about getting too much paint, then start with just a little bit, then add more if needed. The consistency should be pretty watery – similar to a stain. This is a water based stain.

If the stain seems too thick or too saturated with color, you can add water to it.

Step 2.

Using your paintbrush, brush the stain onto the wood. Unlike with painted wood, the unfinished wood will absorb the stain super quickly, so do light coats so you don’t get more color than you want.

If you want more color, do more coats. Wipe off any excess with a lint free cloth.

Take note: Different types of wood and wood grain will yield different results.

Step 3:

Let it dry. Since there isn’t much paint in the stain, I would suggest a coat of Protect or finishing wax to keep your piece pretty.

I created colored stains using the Clear Glaze and:

Enchanting (Green)
Modern (Blue)
Glamorous (Pink)
Bold (Yellow)

You can see with the yellow that I put a bit too much paint in the glaze. You can’t see a lot of the woodgrain.

I think this cute little tray may end up in the circus’s big girl room. Its colorful – like her.

What would you use colored stain on?

Are you a color lover? Here’s more colorful furniture makeover ideas…

DIY Ottoman Coffee Table – a gorgeous deep teal blue hue paired with upholstery full of color.

DIY Side Table Makeover Ideas – nine colorful ideas for making over a side table.

How to Create a Beachy Color with Paint – give furniture a washed-out beach feel with this tutorial.

Polka Dot Chair Makeover with Painted Upholstery – navy, pink and white polka dots collide in this fun makeover!

Want to remember this colored stain recipe for later? Just pin the image below!

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March 23, 2015
How to Make Furniture Glaze in ANY Color
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 this happened.

That would be the IKEA Tarva drink bar that I used Baroque and Enhance Dark Glaze on.

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

We experimented. We plotted makeovers.

We worked together on a dresser…

That’s the glamorous dresser….

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….

Disclosure: This post is a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. All opinions and references to having an affair with furniture glazes are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Before you ask me, no I was not drinking during the writing of this post. That’s shocking, I know, especially seeing how I just wrote about having a love affair with furniture glaze paint and then cheating on it with another one.

I’m a special person.

But…

Its true.

You can make furniture glaze in any color – I like to call it color glaze.

And its so easy.

How To Make Furniture Glaze In Any Color

Supplies Needed:
- Velvet Finishes Enhance Clear Glaze
- Any Velvet Finishes paint color of your choice
- Paintbrush
- Lint free cloth
Steps

Step 1.

Combine a little clear glaze with a little paint.

I mixed mine up on a styrofoam plate to show you the process better, but it would be easier to use a cup. You want more glaze than you do paint. I poured out about 1/8 – 1/4 of a cup of glaze and just dipped my paintbrush into the paint.

Step 2.

Mix it together.

Just mix the two together until all the glaze is tinted with your color.

Step 3.

Brush it on.

Brush the glaze on, let it sit for a minute or so, and then wipe off the excess with a lint free cloth. Repeat this process if you would like more color on your piece.

The video below shows a turquoise colored glaze being made and then painted onto a piece painted white to get a beachy colored vibe.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”EyicUR72″ upload-date=”Fri Jul 22 2016 19:16:29 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Rain On A Tin Roof – How To Create A Beachy Look With Paint” description=”Learn how to create a beachy colored look with paint! Use any color you want!”]
Step 4.

Bask in the new-found possibilities.

The Modern glaze has a great beachy vibe. I think it would look great “washed” over white patio furniture if you are into that beachy look.

I was planning to use the modern glaze above on an actual piece of furniture, but got so excited about all the color possibilities, I just pulled out more paint and started making glazes in all different colors to show you.

A.K.A. my ADHD took over.

I love the Glamorous glaze – I think it would be so fun in a little girl’s room. Enchanting glaze is bright and seems very boyish.

The Vivid glaze reminds me of faded lipstick – which I like the look of – I know – I’m weird. The Exotic glaze is pretty light – I think it has a beachy feel too.

I’m dying to try these glazes out on some glass jars too.

What do you think they would be good for?

What glaze colors would you make?

P.S. Velvet Finishes Glaze also doubles as a protectant topcoat!

More colorful furniture makeovers to get you inspired…

How to Get a Layered Caribbean Blue Look – a gorgeous layered look for furniture makeovers.

How to Make Colored Wood Stain– yep, in any color too!

How to Create a Beachy Colored Look (with Video Tutorial) – a washed out beachy feel on furniture makeovers.

Want to remember this furniture glaze paint recipe for later? Just pin the image below!

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March 12, 2015
Painting 101: Topcoats and when to use them

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.

The first few pieces of painted furniture I did, I had no idea what a topcoat was or that I was supposed to use them to seal and protect furniture.

I quickly learned that if you paint a piece with a flat sheen of paint, you will eventually wind up with a bruised and scratched up piece of furniture – that ain’t pretty.

You live. You learn.

And then get Luvs.

Not really, those diapers were never great for us.

It took a few more tries, but I finally realized the benefit of a topcoat and when to use one.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Topcoats and When to Use Them

Polyurethane

Polyurethane is most typically used on stained wood and gives a very durable finish. I don’t recommend polyurethane for painted furniture, because it tends to yellow the paint over time. Its also oil based, which works best on top of stained wood and other oil based paints. I do use Minwax Polyurethane to protect stained pieces like the inside of my front door. I typically brush on a light coat with a high quality paintbrush, followed by a light sanding, another light coat, light sanding, then a final light coat. I haven’t tried the wipe-on poly, but I have heard good things about it. I usually go with a satin polyurethane because the gloss is pretty glossy. If you don’t use the fast drying version, it usually takes a few days for your piece to fully cure.

Velvet Finishes Protect

Its no secret that my new favorite furniture paint is Velvet Finishes. Velvet Finishes paint already has a topcoat built into the paint. However, if you are painting something that will get a lot of use, like a tabletop, dresser, end table, etc., you should still use a topcoat on it. Velvet Finishes topcoat is called Protect. Its a polyurethane, but unlike Minwax, it is non-yellowing and water based, which is why I love it. Its gives great protection, without the yellowing. With this one, I brush on one light coat and let it dry- that’s it.

The vintage radio turned drink bar got a coat of Velvet Finishes Protect after it was painted.

Furniture Wax

There are many people that are crazy about furniture wax. I am not one of those people. In fact, this is my least favorite way to protect furniture, but I still do it on occasion when necessary. Wax gives furniture more of a flat finish, but still protects the piece. Most people will rub it on with a cloth, let it sit and then buff it. However, I have a much easier method to waxing furniture when I have to. Anytime I have waxed a piece, I have used Minwax Paste Finishing Wax.

When I made our laminate counters look like stone, I used wax to finish them because it gave the flat stone like finish I was looking for.

Polycrylic

Where many polyurethanes (except Protect) are oil based and go on stained wood and oil painted furniture, polycrylic is water based and can go on wood or paint. It can be applied the same as polyurethane – brush on, light sanding, brush on, light sanding, brush on. However, polycrylic can also be sprayed on with a paint sprayer. This is what I typically do, because it takes a lot less time and I usually only need one coat with my sprayer. I use my HomeRight Finish Max to do this.

I used polycrylic on this DIY Industrial coffee table over the stained wood.

Clear Topcoat Spray

I only recommend using spray topcoats over spray painted pieces. Most of the time, spray painted pieces don’t need any extra protection. If you are spraying something that is decorative and not going to get a lot of hands-on action, then I wouldn’t worry with top coating it. That being said, if you spray paint something and want to make it really glossy, you can spray a clear gloss topcoat on it to achieve the look. Spray a gloss topcoat or any other spray topcoat on in light coats. Fair warning – it can be tough to get semi-gloss and gloss spray topcoats even on large pieces. This is why you do multiple light coats, otherwise you could end up with streaks. I have always used Rust-Oleum spray topcoats when I needed a spray topcoat.

After I spray painted my barstools, I knew they would be getting a lot of use, so I gave them a couple coats of clear spray topcoat.

Some Glazes

This is a new one to me. When I found Velvet Finishes, I learned that their glazes also function as topcoats for added protection to your furniture – which is pretty sweet. They have two glazes, a dark and clear. The dark is great for aging furniture and you can make any color of glaze you want with the clear glaze. I actually have a post on that coming up soon. To apply the glaze, you brush on a small amount and then wipe off any excess. You can see how-to photos of this from this recent dresser makeover.

I used a dark glaze on this IKEA Tarva Dresser turned Drink Bar.

There are some cases in which you may not need a topcoat, like:

•Pieces painted with high-gloss or semi-gloss paint. These sheens are pretty durable and are easily wiped clean.

•Spray painted pieces such as lamps, photo frames, wall decor (things that don’t see a lot of hands-on use)

•Accent chairs / tables that don’t get a whole lot of use.

Do you have any tips or tricks about topcoats and when to use them?

Looking for more painting help?

What kind of paint do I use on that? – A guide to different types of paint and what kinds of surfaces each can be used on.

Why is my paint peeling? – Tips & Tricks to Keep Your Paint from Peeling & Scratching Off Your Furniture.

Prepping Furniture to Paint – when to sand, when to prime, when to degloss and when you can skip it.

How to Paint Walls – how to do it in less time with less mess.

And here’s everything you’ve ever wanted to know about painting just about anything.

Want to keep this list of best top coats for painted furniture handy for later? Just pin the image below!

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March 2, 2015
French Country Chair Modern Makeover

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.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. All opinions and love affairs with color are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you may remember this chair.

This is the second time that its gotten a makeover. First, it looked like this:

Then it looked like this:

Apparently, I feel that this chair should always have some green on it. I didn’t dislike it painted white with green velvet upholstery, but I wasn’t attached to it either and it seemed like this chair had the perfect lines for my new love affair.

I started by removing the cushion and upholstery on the arms, then priming it with Ready.

Ready is the primer in the Velvet Finishes paint line. Lots of times you don’t have to prime the pieces you are painting with Velvet Finishes, but this chair had a semi-gloss finish, so priming was recommended.

I sprayed Ready over the entire chair and let it dry.

After the chair was dry, I used Enchanting to paint it.

Enchanting is one of my new favorite colors in this line. It. Is. Gorgeous. I used the other green color, Baroque, on the IKEA Tarva dresser turned drink bar last fall and fell in love with it. Its a darker green. Enchanting is brighter than Baroque. They are both stunning and I’ll never be able to choose between them now.

I used a good quality paintbrush to apply the paint.

With all the curves and nooks and crannies on this piece, it took about five light coats to get the color even, but it was so worth it. I didn’t put a topcoat of any sort on this chair – there’s already one built into the paint. Since this chair doesn’t get a whole lot of use, I didn’t think it would need anything extra.

The black and white fabric is some that I had left over from the shower curtains. Its quickly becoming my go-to fabric that works with anything. You also saw the outdoor version of it in action on my colorful screened-in porch makeover. Does it not pair beautifully with the Enchanting?

Am I right or am I right?

And yes, that black and white wall is also new – details coming soon…

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is on that little bit of upholstery on the arms. I totally wasn’t thinking and made the fabric vertical on it, instead of horizontal across the arm. Thus, I got one big black stripe and no white there. I didn’t realize my mistake until after one arm was completely done and I wasn’t changing it at that point.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

It doesn’t change how I feel about this chair one bit though…

This is going to be an ~~fabulous~~ enchanting love affair.

Do you have any pieces begging for some enchantment?

Need more?

Be sure to see these 11 Colorful Furniture Makeovers.

And if green’s your thing don’t miss these favorite green decorating moves or these gorgeous emerald green decorating ideas.

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February 23, 2015
Glamorous Dresser Makeover

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.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. All opinions and overuse of the word Glamorous are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Isn’t that color glamorous?

Literally – that’s the name of the paint.

Before I started on the dresser, it looked like this:

I ended up stripping the top of it with my heat gun because of where the paint was already coming off on top. See that white spot? I didn’t want the paint to be uneven there, so I just stripped off the top and gave the rest of the piece a good cleaning before painting it – no priming needed!

As I said earlier, I used Glamorous by Velvet Finishes – a rich pink hue, one of my favorites in their paint line.

And yes, the whole time I was painting it, I was singing the G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S song by Fergie.

You’re quite welcome for having that song stuck in your head now.

I just brushed the paint right on.

I did about four light coats of paint.

After the paint was dry, I wanted a little more depth to this piece, so I layered on Velvet Finishes Enhance Glaze.

Y’all, typically, I suck at glazes. This is one I can actually do.

You just slap it on with a paintbrush and wipe it down with a lint free cloth. If you wipe off more than you want, go back and add more, then wipe again. Just work in small sections because this stuff dries pretty quickly.

The glaze actually works as a topcoat for added protection as well.

Score.

And the after…

Hello ~~Gorgeous~~ Glamorous.

I kept the drawer hardware that came with the dresser and just spray painted it gold. There weren’t knobs for the doors, so I spray painted some extra ones I had laying around and put them on.

I am cra-cra about the gold with the glamorous. Its a very glamorous combination.

Have I said glamorous too much in this post?

Never.

Need more colorful furniture makeovers?

Here are 11 of them.

Also, find out how to make colored furniture glaze in any color and how to make colored stain here.

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January 29, 2015
Painting 101: Why is my paint peeling? Tips and tricks to keep paint from peeling and scratching off your furniture.
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.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Usually the reason paint ends up peeling off a surface, is because it didn’t fully adhere to the surface as it was supposed to do.

There are a couple reasons why it may not have adhered correctly:

Reason 1. The surface wasn’t clean.

Anytime you paint something, it is so important to clean it first. You don’t have to do soap and water (unless its really nasty), usually just a wet cloth will do the trick. With any piece of furniture I paint, I always wipe it down first with a wet cloth to remove any dust and dirt. If the piece is really gross, like has been sitting in my garage for months, I will pull out the shop vac and run that over it first, then come back with the wet cloth.

After you have wiped down the surface with a wet cloth, you need to go back over it with a tack cloth. A tack cloth is literally just that, a tacky cloth that feels a little sticky. You just wipe it over your piece and it will pick up any remaining dirt and dust.

Mint + Coral Nightstand Makeover

Reason 2. The surface had a topcoat or finish that kept the paint from adhering as it should have.

There are some paints out there that you can paint directly onto just about any surface. One of those is Velvet Finishes, which if you’ve been around here for the last few months, you know that’s my new favorite furniture paint. Depending on what type of surface you are painting though, you may still need a primer with that paint and you will most likely need it if you are painting with regular latex paint. If the furniture you are painting has one of these types of finishes, you will need to sand and/or prime it before painting:
- A thick waxy finish
- A shiny, glossy finish
- Laminate
- A polyurethaned finish
I recommend doing a quick sanding if the piece has any uneven spots or if its just really super shiny. Does that make sense? You won’t need to sand it down to the bare wood, just rough it up a bit. After you have sanded, run the tack cloth over the piece and apply a primer.

If you are painting a piece of unfinished furniture, there is no need for sanding. However, depending on the paint you are using, you may need to prime it. If you are using a regular latex paint, you will definitely want to prime it with something like Zinnser or Kilz primer. All you will need is one coat. It will just keep the furniture from soaking up your paint and taking coat after coat after coat of paint. If you are using a paint that requires no priming first, you can skip that part.

Vintage Radio turned Bar Cabinet

After you’ve prepped your piece as needed, its important to remember a couple of other things when you get ready to paint:

3. Apply Thin Coats of Paint.

I’m guilty of it too – trying to put on thick coats to minimize my work time and because I’m just plain lazy. You will get the best protection and finish on your furniture if you apply thin coats of paint. To speed up the process, I will often use my HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayer when the weather permits. If I can’t spray a piece, I use a high quality paintbrush and/or roller.

IKEA Tarva Dresser turned Drink Bar

4. Protect It.

Some paints already have a topcoat built in, such as the Velvet Finishes paint that I mentioned before. High gloss paints are usually pretty tough too, but not everyone likes that super shiny look. If your piece is going to be seeing a lot of use, you need to put a good topcoat on it. I like to use Protect or a Polycrylic. With this step you can also use a paint sprayer or a high quality paint brush. A good topcoat will make your paint job stronger and hold up against little circuses that may be roaming around.

5. Let It Cure.

Just because the paint or the topcoat is dry to the touch doesn’t mean that its fully cured. It can take paint and/or a topcoat up to three weeks to fully cure sometimes – this is especially true when its really hot and humid. Typically, once a piece is dry to the touch I will move it to its “spot,” however I try not to put anything on it until 2-3 weeks later – especially no magazines and papers, they will easily stick to paint that isn’t fully cured and leave some of their ink on the piece.

Do you have any tips and tricks to keep paint from peeling or on protecting painted furniture pieces?

Need more painting tips and tricks?

Painting 101: Topcoats and when to use them– a guide to topcoats and when they should be used.

FAQ: Painting Furniture – questions I’ve been asked over and over again about furniture painting and then some.

A Guide on What Types of Paints to Use on Various Surfaces – all the different types of paints and what surfaces they work best on.

How to Paint Walls in less time with less mess – a great little tip for getting your walls painted in less time.

And you can see all of my furniture makeovers here.

If you want to come back to these painting tips easily later, just pin the image below!

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January 16, 2015
DIY Marble Top Table for $30 or less
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.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. All opinions and love of black, gold, and marble are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

I came up with this idea, but I have to give Grunt Labor credit for building it. Preschool is out until after the first of the year, so while I chased the kid, he worked on the table. Thanks, Grunt.

How to Build a Marble Top Table

Supplies & Tools Needed:
- 1 marble tile (Mine was leftover from my bathroom reno, but they still have it at Home Depot)
- 2 square balusters
- 12 x 12 piece of MDF
- 1 x 3 wood – 8 ft piece
- Finish Nails
- Nail Gun (that’s what we used, but you may be able to just use a hammer and nails)
- Wood Glue
- Circular Saw and/or Miter Saw
- 4 – 2 1/2 inch L brackets
- Caning or something else for the bottom
- Velvet Finishes Luxurious Paint
Steps

Step 1:

Trace out the tile on the MDF.

Cut out the traced piece with a circular saw.

Ignore that other square. We were going to use it for the bottom, but it didn’t work out.

Step 2:

Cut the ends off the square balusters and then cut both in half – approximately 20 inches long and set aside.

Step 3:

Frame the tile with the 1 x 3s and cut as needed to fit the tile.

Put wood glue on the ends, then use your nail gun to nail the frame together on the edges. Be sure not to nail where the tile is.

Step 4:

Place the cut MDF piece on top of the tile, but still within the frame you just nailed together. Take the balusters and place one in each corner. Nail them to the frame of 1 x 3s.

Step 5:

At this point lift the spindles and frame (they should be nailed together) off the MDF and tile, and flip it over. Set the the MDF and tile aside.

Cut 4 more pieces of 1 x 3 to create a square around the base of your table. Nail these pieces to the balusters at the bottom.

Step 6:

Take your cut MDF square and place it in the top of the frame. Nail it down in the corners onto the spindles.

Sit your marble inside the top frame. You can glue it down with something like Elmer’s Advanced, but I opted to just sit mine in there in case I ever want to change it out.

Step 7:

Paint it, baby!

So, I really really really wanted to paint this piece with Velvet Finishes Glamorous, but when I got it on the table, it just didn’t work with the marble.

Instead, I opted to go with a classic never-fail black, Velvet Finishes Luxurious.

I just slapped it on with a regular paintbrush and it only took two coats – even on the raw 1 x 3s. That kind of shocked me, because raw wood usually just soaks up paint and it takes coat after coat after coat if you don’t prime it. No priming here though and still only two coats. Holla.

Step 8:

For the bottom, I cut some leftover caning to size, spray painted it gold, then secured it down with 4 L brackets.

I love the classic combination of black and gold – it never fails me and it can work with just about any decor.

Another thing I noticed with this paint is that even though I used a brush to put it on, there were no brush strokes.

Cheers to the new year, friends – and black & gold marble tables!

Looking for more easy DIY builds?

DIY Modern Rustic Bookshelf – customize in any color you like!

DIY Chippendale Desk – probably my most favorite build of all time, and an easy one too!

DIY Clothes Rack – an easy build and perfect for extra clothes storage or selling clothes at yard sales!

You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.

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December 31, 2014
How to Restore Hardware in 5 Minutes

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.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

First off, thank you to Jennifer from Dimples & Tangles for sharing this product when she cleaned up some silver trays. She’s just awesome, y’all.

How to Restore Hardware

The hardware in the photo above is what was original to the vintage radio that I just turned into a bar cabinet. I almost spray painted them, but decided first to give Bar Keeper’s Friend a try.

I had only used it to clean real brass before, and I was pretty sure this hardware wasn’t real brass. I wasn’t sure if it would work or not, but it SO did!

First, I ran some water over the hardware, then sprinkled the Bar Keeper’s Friend on.

Next, I took an old cloth that was a little damp and rubbed it around the hardware. These pieces had some nooks and crannies, so I took an old toothbrush to really get into those. Then, I just rinsed it off and let it dry.

The top pull is from the same cabinet, just not cleaned yet.

Is that not crazy?!

I was totally baffled. And it took less than 5 minutes to clean it up!

Have you used Bar Keeper’s Friend before to restore hardware or clean anything else? I want to know what else this bad boy will accomplish!!

You can see this hardware in all its restored glory on the Vintage Radio turned Bar Cabinet.

Also guys, this IS NOT a sponsored post for Bar Keeper’s Friend – I just wanted you to know how easy it can be to restore your hardware – put that spray paint down!

Need another cleaning tip?

Got rust? Here’s how to get rid of that…

Or need to know how to cover old hardware holes?

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December 15, 2014
Vintage Radio turned Bar Cabinet

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.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Velvet Finishes. All opinions and love of rat’s nests infested pieces are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

This won’t be shocking to you I’m sure, but this piece was my great grandfather’s.

I know, well as we all know, the motto in my family seems to be, “Just give the stuff no one wants to Jenna. She’s a hoarder.”

It’s true.

I actually got this piece eight or so years ago in my former life. When Grunt Labor and I moved in together, there wasn’t enough room for all my furniture so I left it with my dad.

So I guess technically, I’m an indian giver since I wanted it back?

Dad wasn’t using it though, it was in a storage shed.

Where rats also live.

I know this because there were multiple rat’s nests in this piece.

I can hear you through my computer.

“First she kills snakes, now she’s taking home rat’s nests, God help the poor girl, all the cheap beer has finally gotten to her.”

I gave it a thorough cleaning, so don’t worry.

Here’s what I started with:

The top two photos are of the front of the piece. The bottom left door didn’t open – it was glued shut and was made like this.

And I’m sure you can see the break in the right door.

And that’s the back. There wasn’t a back for the bottom left cabinet either.

And one of the drawers…

Well, it wasn’t such a drawer anymore. My dad said it used to hold a record player. It had a piece of cardboard for the bottom that was rotted out.

Fun times, y’all. Fun times.

I started with the doors. First, I took off the one that was broken. I removed both of their backings and just left them out – they were gross. On the broken door, I glued it together and clamped it where needed.

After it dried, there was still a little chunk of wood missing in the design. I filled it with two coats of wood filler and then sanded it smooth.

I pried off the door that was glued shut, which wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

I also pulled out the actual radio and cut out a thin square piece of plywood to be the backing on the radio where there wasn’t one before.

And then we were finally ready for paint.

I will say that there was a small part of me that didn’t want to paint this piece – once upon a time, it had a beautiful glossy stain. It still looked ok far away, but closer up, it was covered in scratches.

Since it did have a glossy finish, I primed it first with Ready and then painted it with Velvet Finishes Modern.

To apply the Ready, you just spray it on your piece, let it sit for a minute, then wipe it down with a paper towel. Repeat until the shine is gone from your piece.

Yea, I’m not even kidding. Most of the time you don’t even need a primer with this paint, but for glossy surfaces its recommended.

After the Ready was dry, I spray painted the trim on the drawers and doors gold and let it dry.

Next, I painted Modern over the piece.

Normally, I would use my paint sprayer on this type of makeover, but it was unusually cold here last week. I just didn’t want to freeze my tail off with my garage door opened for ventilation. I was worried about seeing a lot of the brush strokes, but you can’t see that many at all.

It took three coats of Modern to do this piece. I had a full quart to begin with and used about half of it. The paint had pretty good coverage.

Since this piece is going to be used as a bar of sorts, I wanted to make sure it could stand up to drinks and spills. So, I gave it a coat of Protect after the paint dried.

Protect is a polyurethane that is non-yellowing. All you do is brush on a thin coat.

And it is sitting pretty in the man cave now.

I love the gold with the Modern blue. Imagine that.

I kept the piece’s original hardware and restored it with Bar Keeper’s Friend.

What do you think of the new bar cabinet and its bold hue?

Love a good furniture makeover? See these then…

11 Colorful Furniture Makeovers – glorious, glorious color.

Here’s my complete guide to painting furniture – any question you’ve ever had, answered.

And see all my furniture makeovers right here.

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November 25, 2014
5 Knock-Your-Socks-Off IKEA Tarva Hacks

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.

Here are all of our IKEA Tarva Hacks:

IKEA Tarva Hack turned Drink Bar from Rain on a Tin Roof

IKEA Tarva Dresser turned Hutch from My Repurposed Life

IKEA Tarva Honeycomb Dresser from Simply Designing

IKEA Tarva Dresser turned Bar Cabinet from Addicted 2 DIY

Gold & White Greek Key Dresser from 11 Magnolia Lane

Aren’t they all amazing??

Looking for more great furniture makeovers and flips?

Unique DIY Side Table Ideas – bet you haven’t seen all of these before.

The Bold and the Beautiful Furniture Makeovers – better than the soap opera. 😉

Turn a Bookcase into a Dress Up Station – an easy furniture hack that will occupy your little one for a loooong time.

You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.

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November 3, 2014
The No Priming, No Topcoat, Way to Paint (Seriously, I’m not even kidding.)

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.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Velvet Finishes. However, all opinions and hatred of priming are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

So how can you paint without having to prime or give your piece a top coat?

There aren’t any special tools involved. Just one thing.

Paint.

Velvet Finishes Paint.

Velvet Finishes paint was created by Kellie Smith who just so happens to live about 45 minutes from me. How we didn’t find each sooner I don’t know, but I’m so glad it finally happened. Anyway, she couldn’t find the finish and color palette she wanted while working on a client’s project so she just decided to invent her own paint.

How cool is that?

And can we just talk about the colors for just a minute?

They are all gorgeous. There are 21 colors and not a one of them that I don’t like.

I went to her studio a few weeks back and got to see a lot of the colors on real life pieces and y’all the colors were even more jaw-dropping then.

The darker colors are a little thicker than the lighter colors, so you can thin them if you want to. I actually did that on the IKEA Tarva Hack turned Drink Bar that I just posted about. I used Baroque and the Dark Glaze on that piece. I just thinned the Baroque and sprayed it right through my paint sprayer.

Let’s talk about how this works.

Like I said, I got to visit Kellie’s studio and actually painted a piece with her, but I really wanted to put this stuff to the test.

I decided to paint over a side table I used in our master bedroom beside our little reading nook chair.

I had spray painted this side table metallic gold when I first got it.

Have you tried to paint over something with regular paint that has been spray painted?

Kind of bubbles up on ya and takes coat after coat after coat after coat, right?

This didn’t.

Velvet Finishes laughed in the face of spray paint.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA.

Ok, I’m also a little over dramatic.

I didn’t prime the table, I didn’t sand it, I didn’t do anything to it.

Well, I did wipe it down with a dust rag because well, ummm…..its been a week or eight since I’ve dusted our bedroom.

The paint went on perfectly.

If you do have a piece with a very shiny surface, you can use another Velvet Finishes product called Ready before painting the piece. It comes in a spray bottle and all you do is spray it on the piece, let it sit for 10 minutes or so, then wipe it down with a soft cloth.

After three light coats of Velvet Finishes in the Exotic color, I had this beauty.

I kept little touches of the gold for some contrast by cutting pieces of FrogTape down in width a bit, placing them on the table and then just painting right over the tape.

I didn’t do any type of topcoat! This paint already has a topcoat built in!

How freakin’ cool is that?

Its finish is like a low matte sheen.

If you were painting something that is going to get a lot of use, like a kitchen table or coffee table, it is recommended that you use Protect on the piece. Its just a non-yellowing polyurethane.

You can find more information on the Velvet Finishes website.

Need more great furniture makeovers?

Love color? Then see these 11 Colorful Furniture Makeovers.

Find out how easy it is to make your own colored furniture glaze.

Learn how to get a beachy washed out color look on furniture here.

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October 16, 2014
IKEA Tarva Hack: Drink Bar

If you follow me on Facebook, you may remember a month or so back when I posted this picture.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by HomeRight. However, all opinions and love of the color green is 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

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 – An IKEA Tarva Hack.

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.

To say that I’m happy with this piece is an understatement.

I am still bouncing off the ceiling, throwing confetti, fist bumping the air excited about this piece.

IKEA Tarva turned Bar Cabinet

Steps

#1: Put the “frame” together

First off, I put the piece all together just as the directions from IKEA said to with the exception of the drawer slides. I just skipped that part. When the directions started telling me to put together the drawers, I stopped and had this:

#2: Construct the doors

The second thing I did was construct the doors. I wanted to use as much of the wood as I possibly could from this piece so I used the drawer fronts to make the two doors.

I made the doors by first lining up all three of the drawer fronts and clamping them together. I measured to the middle of the top drawer front, then used our miter saw to cut right down the middle of all three drawer fronts. This left me with six pieces – three for each door. (#1 in the photo above.)

Next, I found some pieces of wood that could be used to hold all three pieces of wood together to make a door. I used two drawer sides (that came with the Tarva) for each door and some scrap pieces I had laying around. (#2 in the photo above.)

After I laid out the wood pieces to hold the backs of my doors together, I put glue on the pieces and clamped them down to the door front. (#3 in the photo above.)

Finally, I ran some glue along the backside seams of the door as well (where the old drawer fronts meet). (#4 in the photo above.)

I let the glue fully cure for one day, then I flipped the doors over and filled in the gaps of what were the drawer fronts with wood putty. I also filled the holes that had been pre-drilled for the hardware as well. After the putty was dry, I sanded it smooth.

#3: Construct the Shelves

The bottom shelf is pretty easy. All you do is measure the inside bottom of the frame and cut out a piece of MDF to that size. Leave about a 1/2 inch of clearance in the front so that those wood pieces (I’m sure there is a technical word for those, but you know I don’t do technical) on the back of your doors will have room. After you have your piece cut, run wood glue along the bottom inside edges of the chest and place your piece of wood on top.

The photo above doesn’t show it, but you will need to put some weight on the shelf to make sure it gets a good grip with the wood glue and the chest’s frame. I did this with the super ~~technical~~ resourceful method of stealing landscape bricks from my yard and placing a few around the edges.

For the top shelf:

Take two of the remaining drawer sides that came with the chest and cut 3/4″ off the short sides. I once more clamped them together and did this with my miter saw. (#1 and #2 in the photo below.)

After they were cut, I measured 8 3/4″ down from the inside top of the chest and put the pieces there. Apply wood glue to the back of the pieces first, then clamp them to the chest’s frame making certain they are level. Use small screws to attach them to the frame and then remove the clamps. (#3 and #4 in the photo above.) Do this on both sides.

Make the top shelf the same way you made the bottom one by measuring the inside of the chest. Apply wood glue to the wood pieces on the edges and then place your shelf on top and weight it down for a little while.

#4: Paint It, Baby!

Here’s the fun and easy part – paint it!

I used my HomeRight FinishMax Pro (which as you can see in the photo above works overtime for me) to paint this piece. The paint I used is a new find for me. It is called Velvet Finishes and requires no priming or topcoat. I used the Baroque color in my sprayer and gave the chest three light coats. The paint worked just fine in the sprayer – just needs watering down a bit. The sprayer gave the paint a flawless finish. After the paint dried, I used a dark glaze over the entire piece to give it a bit more dimension.

#5: Attach the Doors

I Grunt Labor did this with simple utility hinges that I picked up at our local hardware store. Screw them onto your doors first and then onto the edges of the chest that are facing you. (Make sense?)

*I must pause here and give a big thank you to Grunt Labor and Bill. Remember how I said the easy part was painting the chest? It totally was. Making the doors and shelves were pretty easy too. However, for me the hardest thing was lining up the hinges correctly to make sure the doors were even. Grunt Labor and Bill swooped in and saved me from an imminent meltdown on that one. Thank you, guys.

#6: Add the Hardware

I used two of the knobs that came with the chest, but I gave them what I’m proclaiming to be a “gold nugget” look with my HomeRight Heat Gun. I’ll post the tutorial for those soon. I also added flat L corner braces to the corners of each of the doors.

And the result is…

Gorgeousness.

Sheer gorgeousness.

See those gold nugget beauties?

I added a towel hook on the back of one door for easy towel access and (more importantly) easy bottle opener access.

I also spiced up the back interior of the cabinet with black and gold polka dotted wrapping paper.

Love a great home decor hack?

Be sure to see how I turned this bookcase into a dress up closet for my kiddo.

Don’t miss these 14+ painted rug hacks either.

And here are five more IKEA Tarva hacks!

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October 14, 2014
DIY Leopard Print Table A.K.A. The (Almost) Bee Table

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.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

This piece is the last one that my sweet neighbor gave me before she moved. Remember how she gave me the navy chests, the chevron tray, the coral and mint nightstand, and so much more? She’s such a sweetie and we miss her dearly. This table sat in my basement for a while because I couldn’t decide what to do with it.

I was absolutely in love with its retro feel and would have been completely fine keeping it wood toned. But upon close inspection, the finish was peeling – and the top of it wasn’t real wood – it was laminate. No re-staining for this baby.

And then one day, it hit me. The perfect combination of colors and I already them on hand – black and mustard.

Guys.

Seriously.

The next time I think that black and mustard (I swear the color was more mustard in the can and was called fresh mustard) work well together please remind me that they work well together on a bumble bee. And a caution sign.

Not on a table.

Mkay? Thanks.

So we went back to square one. I primed the table all over again. It sat around for a while.

One day I finally said to myself, “Black and Gold. Its never failed you. It looked great on that french desk. Put it on the table.”

So I painted.

I painted the whole piece black with my paint sprayer. Next, I topped it off with a gold leopard print using the stencil from the accent wall in my guest bedroom and office.

I finished it all off with my usual coat of Polycrylic. If you look closely in those pictures, you can see a sneak peek of my porch floor I’m working on – reveal coming next week!

I was thinking I would put this inside somewhere, but I’m loving the feel of it on the porch.

Every room needs a little animal print, right?

Need a little more furniture makeover inspiration?

Find out how to make gorgeous colored glazes in any color for furniture flips and colored stains here!

Get all my tips, tricks and techniques and more for furniture painting here!

And see my complete gallery of all my furniture makeovers right here.

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June 3, 2014
Industrial DIY Coffee Table from a Yard Sale Cart

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.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Elmer’s ProBond Advanced. All opinions are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Industrial DIY Coffee Table

We started with this:

I had used it to do painting on, so there were lots of different colors on it. After taking off the old wood top, I had this:

I painted the metal frame with copper spray paint to keep that metal look, but add a bit of color. After that, we started the process of cutting wood for the top and bottom.

We started with 1x6s for the top. We made them overhang slightly on each side, so they were each about 29 inches long. On the bottom, we used 1x4s. The cart was divided into three sections on the bottom by the bars, so each bottom side was 23 7×8 inches long and the middle was slightly smaller at 23 3/4 inches. As we cut the wood, we placed it on the cart to make sure it would fit. After it was all on the cart, we began the process of gluing down the wood.

We used Elmer’s ProBond Advanced glue to adhere the wood to the metal. This glue is known for bonding Mixed Materials like wood to metal. The great thing about it is there is no foam residue left after it dries. We glued down the wood on the bottom first. All I did was simply run a bead of glue right along the metal rails and then placed the wood on top of the glue. I did the exact same thing on the top of the cart. To really push the wood down onto the glue, we raided our nearby retaining wall for a few concrete blocks to weigh down the wood. I let the table sit like this overnight. The next morning, I removed all the blocks and started staining and painting it.

First, I sanded it to smooth rough edges and round the corners a bit. Next, I stained all the wood and let it dry overnight. I liked just the wood stain, but ya’ll know me, I wanted it to stand out a bit more, so I added some decorative “arrows” with white paint and FrogTape. I used a piece of tape to space between two pieces of tape, cause I’m lazy (or smart ) like that. Then, as shown in #3, you want to remove the tape where those two x’s are so that you have clean lines on your point. I did this by taking another piece of wood, lining it up on the tape, and running my X-Acto knife over it. After cleaning up my lines, I painted between the tape, let it dry and finished the whole thing off with a coat of polycrylic.

The ProBond Advanced glue worked perfectly – not one of the wood pieces will budge at all.

What do you think? Was it worth the wait?

Do you have any carts that could become a DIY coffee table?

If you liked this furniture flip, you should see these too…

How to Turn a Side Table into a Chic Bench – this can double as a coffee table, bench, end table and ottoman!

Bookcase turned Kid’s Dress Up Closet – grab an old bookcase and turn it into a magical destination for your kiddos!

How to Build a Desk Using an Old Kitchen Table – this desk might be slim, but it has loads of storage!

And you can always see all my furniture makeovers here.

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May 20, 2014
Pink & Houndstooth Vintage Chair Makeover {Roadside Rescue}

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.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Where I live, there just don’t seem to be many roadside finds. I’ve been on the lookout for the better part of ten years and have found two to date.

I was so excited about this that I had my friend snap a picture when I was picking it up.

I’m a dork like that.

As with all things that seem too good to be true, this chair did have a flaw. The back legs looked to be missing their feet. They were both angled off.

To fix them, I chopped them off to make the back legs flat, then drilled a hole and put in feet from a table I had bought at a yard sale that I didn’t need.

After I fixed the feet, I stripped all the fabric off the chair, then gave it a coat of primer, then a couple coats of Dragon Fruit by Behr in a gloss finish. I used my HomeRight Finish Max Pro to do all the painting.

Next was ~~the fun part~~, upholstering. I was really excited about the fabric I chose – Houndstooth Black Fabric.

However, I was worried about upholstering this chair – perhaps why I had put it off for so long?

If you noticed the back of this chair was tufted. I was terrified of tufting. I had never once attempted it.

Now, I am so mad at myself for not trying it before – it was so easy!

Before attempting the actual tufting, I took the old buttons and wrapped them in the houndstooth fabric with hot glue.

‘Cause I’m a professional like that.

For the tufting:

First, I cut a piece of fabric that was about double the size of the back. You don’t need that much – I was just worried about not having enough. Then, I poked my buttons through, starting in the middle and working my way out.

You can see in #3 how it looks on the backside. You put a little disk through the metal prongs, then spread them out. After I had all the tufting done, I trimmed the fabric and stapled it around the edges, then trimmed it out, like I did on my Jonathan Adler inspired chair.

Next, I started on the seat. You can see the layers of everything below. Because I hate to sew anything that isn’t a straight line, I used the old seat cushion to trace out a new piece of foam and just made the whole seat one piece.

Before doing any of the main seat upholstery, I did these little patches on the side.

Then, I just cut a large piece of fabric, pulled, and stapled around the bottom of the chair as necessary.

I love the combination of the pink paint with the houndstooth fabric. I think it would be perfect for a little girl’s room.

I kept the trim a simple black just because there was so much color going on with the pink.

Have you ever done a chair makeover with a roadside find?

More Chair Makeovers & Upholstery Posts You Might Want To See:

How to Waterproof & Repel Stains on Fabric

How to Upholster a Cane Chair (Jonathan Adler Inspired)

French Country Chair Makeover

Restored Rocking Chair

Upholstered Box Spring

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April 29, 2014
Army Locker turned Toy Box

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 for HomeRight. However, all opinions and trouble comprehending how amazing this sprayer is, are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Here’s how this baby started out.

Well, maybe I shouldn’t say that’s how it started out. Of course, at one time it was the standard army color for lockers. Then my father-in-law said he plastered paisley fabric on it during his hippie days. And at some point it was yellow? So, the photo above is how it looked when I got it.

I sanded it down and scraped off some remaining glue left behind from the paisley days, then gave it a coat of primer.

What did you use to prime the piece with, you ask?

I used Kilz primer on this one and………

The new kid in town.

You guys.

You guys.

I’m seriously having trouble with this.

I thought that nothing could top my HomeRight Finish Max paint sprayer. As you well know, I had been through other paint sprayers before and they were terrible. I had given up hope on ever finding a good paint sprayer. Then fate stepped in, and I fell in love with my Finish Max the first time I used it on this project.

Yes, I just referred to fate having a hand in my love for my Finish Max.

The Finish Max wasn’t just good, it was great. No runs, no drips, no messes.

And then fate stepped in again.

In the form of the new HomeRight Finish Max Pro.

Just when I thought that HomeRight products couldn’t get more amazeballs, they proved me wrong.

This new paint sprayer is essentially the same as the regular Finish Max, it just has even more of a fine finish than the regular one.

I know – that’s hard to imagine.

If you have a HomeRight Finish Max, you know what I’m talking about. The finer finish comes from this hose that continually blows air through the sprayer.

All you do is attach the hose to the gun and turn it to lock it in as shown in the photo above. The other end goes into the main housing of the paint sprayer.

You still mix your paint as you normally would with the regular Finish Max and you can still adjust the spray pattern and volume of paint coming out.

And it still works by simply plugging it in, flipping the “on” switch and pulling the trigger.

No air tank needed.

So, back to the army locker. After priming it, I gave it a coat of mint green and then a polycrylic top coat.

I gave the top a few coats of chalkboard paint to grow the budding artist’s talent.

I added a cute little “L” to the bottom corner of the chest.

Everything needs a monogram or initial on it.

Just sayin’.

Don’t worry about the clean-up of the new kid. The Finish Max Pro is still just as easy to clean as the regular Finish Max which you can read about here. I know what you’re thinking – paint doesn’t go through that long tube, just air. You don’t have to wash it out every time.

And no, you can’t have my regular Finish Max. Its still amazing.

See more furniture makeovers here.

See more of my favorite tools and products for DIY projects here.

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April 17, 2014
Coral and Mint Nightstand Makeover

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 on now!

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I actually did this makeover last fall. I just never got around to posting about it. And then when I started to post about it, it was winter, and I thought it would just be a better spring post with its colors.

This piece was seriously heavy for a nightstand. It was solid wood, but had a laminate-ish top and sides. Strange, but it had potential.

Anytime I makeover a small piece of furniture like this, I try to use paint I already have. I hate going out and buying a can of paint for one small piece. In other words, I’m cheap. Luckily, I had enough of the salmon pink from the kid’s dresser in her nursery, and mint green from another project to do the job.

Since there was some laminate, I gave the entire piece a coat of Zinnser primer first, and then the mint. I used my HomeRight FinishMax to paint the entire piece except the drawers.

I just brushed the coral paint on them while the mint was drying. I kept the original hardware and updated it with white spray paint.

And did you notice I distressed this piece?

And I hardly ever distress any furniture, unless I have to.

You see, I accidentally bumped into it while the paint was drying and smudged it. So, rather than having to paint it again, I just waited until it was dry, sanded the smudge a bit and then the rest of it. I sprayed the whole thing with a coat of Polycrylic afterwards.

Lazy, I was. But, I actually love how the distressing turned out on this piece. What do you think?

Need more furniture painting tips and ideas? You’ll want to see these then…

How to Make Furniture Glaze in Any Color – the possibilities are endless and this is easy!

How to Create a Beachy Colored Look on Furniture – this gives furniture a cool washed-out beach look!

Painting 101 – Everything you could ever want to know about painting furniture – tips, tricks, FAQ, and so much more!

And you can always see all my furniture makeovers here.

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March 13, 2014