This coffee table has been on the docket for a makeover for….let’s just say, awhile. I had a chance to tackle the re-do while the l’il guy was at Summer Camp last week.
Here’s a before shot of what I started with:
I picked up the coffee table at my local Salvation Army for $24. It’s a solid wood piece, but wasn’t in great shape – lots of scrapes and scratches, marker stains on top, and generally well-worn.
And after:
Here’s the step-by-step process I followed, which spanned several days:
My son and I created this personalized calendar for the summer. It was a super fun project to work on together, and he’s thrilled with the end result. The best part is that he’s actually excited about rushing over to the refrigerator to see what part of his day it is.
I started by jotting down what we do on a daily/weekly basis. For the most part, it’s the same things every day: eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, feed and walk the dog. Our morning and bedtime routines are similar. It’s what we do during the middle of the day that varies.
Once I had captured our daily routine, my son and I searched for free clip art together. That part was really fun. He had a great time deciding which images looked most like our family.
The tedious part was figuring out what size to print the pictures, how to arrange them on paper, and then come up with a finished product that we could color together.
Here’s the process I used:
I recently transformed this antique buffet that I snagged at the local Goodwill for $10!
Here’s what it looked like when I brought it home:
I’m pretty sure that this lovely piece had been stored outdoors, maybe in a backyard shed. It was porous from having been exposed to high doses of humidity, and the glue on some of the ornate scrollwork had disintegrated. Sadly, I had to remove the scrollwork that remained with my putty knife, and sand the entire piece thoroughly with 80 grit sandpaper.
Note: when working on a piece this old, I wear protective safety glasses, a dust mask, an apron, and gloves, and I work outside or in my garage with the doors open.
After sanding, I cleaned it thoroughly with TSP, then let it dry.
My son and I found this weathered and worn easel on the curb of a neighbor’s house. They had put it out for the trash pick-up. My sweet little guy has compassion for discarded furniture (wonder where he gets that from), and asked if we could rescue the piece. He envisioned transforming it into a chalkboard to practice writing his letters.
As you can see in the before pics, the easel had been sitting outside for a long, long time. The wood had mildew in some places and the whole thing was d-i-r-t-y.
I used Windex to clean it, filled in some of the cracks with caulk, and sanded away. My l’il guy helped every step of the way.
Windex works great on removing dirt and grime from wood, and the drying time is super short.
I then taped off the whiteboard surface. I knew I’d be transforming it into a chalkboard, and wanted to keep it free from any primer grit.
I typically use small, square bricks wrapped in wax paper as furniture risers. They’re sturdy, re-usable, and paint doesn’t stick to the wax paper.
I just finished updating this sweet little schoolhouse chair as a gift for my mom. She acquired it from the university where she retired, and has been using it as a desk chair. I was thrilled when she asked me to give her chair a new “do”, and told me to surprise her with the color!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
This chair is probably close to (or more than) 100 years old. The finish was not in great condition, and the structure was a little rickety. Hubsters reinforced the chair (thanks, Honey!), so it’s now much sturdier than it was.
As with some of my previous furniture projects, such as this antique vanity bench, vintage hexagonal table, and little red chair, I sanded with 180 grit sandpaper to even out the surface. After sanding and cleaning, I applied Kilz oil-based spray primer.
A note about using Kilz – it can be a bit gritty, especially in warmer weather. I just use a 220 grit sanding sponge to lightly smooth the surface after priming and before my first coat of paint.
Ahhhh….I just love the fresh, clean slate that primer provides:
I think I’ve found a new favorite spray paint: Rustoleum Painter’s Touch. It is soooooo easy to work with, and I found that the paint did not run as much as Krylon has for me in the past. It also costs much less per can than Krylon, and provides amazing coverage. I applied three solid coats, and I only used one can of spray paint!
For my mom’s chair, I chose the color “Seaside”. Here it is after three coats of paint:
Then I performed a clean-glazing technique with Tobacco glaze by Ralph Lauren. I began by applying some heavy glaze with inexpensive chip brushes, and then wiped it off with wet rags. I carefully worked the glaze into all of the cracks and crevices. Glazing tones down the vividness of a piece, and accentuates wood grain and blemishes, providing a distressed look with lots of character.
Here are some of my favorite shots of the final result!
Well, Mom, I’m delighted with this fun little makeover, and I hope you are too!
Thanks for stopping by today,
My friend Lori is a brilliant DIY-er and she made this amazing headboard out of wooden pallets. Lori agreed to let me feature her work on the blog today – just for you!
There are actually two pallets here – joined together by metal brackets. Lori and her husband found them at a construction site in their neighborhood and brought them home to create something amazing!
There were only two colors used, both Rustoleum products: one coat of Colonial Red paint applied with a brush, followed by one coat of Kona stain:
The stain was applied with a rag and then the surface was wiped down with a clean rag, which is sort of a “dry-glazing” technique, but with rags instead of brushes. For more tips on how to glaze furniture, visit this post.
The last step was to apply a heavy grit sandpaper to give the piece a weathered-looking finish:
Recently my son had a friend over and they made these darling treasure boxes (with only the tiniest bit of “Mom” help):
My little guy loves to paint – I wonder where he gets that from?
So, we dug through my stash and found two small wooden boxes, along with some fabric scraps, and 2 oz. bottles of acrylic paint.
Perfect.
All of these supplies were purchased at craft stores – the wooden boxes were 99 cents!
My name is Melanie Bolke and I created this site as a resource just for you! Here you'll find quick and easy recipes, tips for cleaning and organizing, budget decorating ideas, DIY furniture transformations, gardening must-haves, and lots of other simple things I enjoy Around My Home. Welcome!
DIY Chalkboard for Back-to-School or anytime! Near-instant gratification with this super easy and inexpensive project. Click here for the tutorial.
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