I get it...I've been there. You are on a tight budget and all you have is cheap furniture that you hate...and you are looking at all these Pinterest projects and blogs and saying to yourself "I wish my stuff could look that nice."

It can. Even if all you have is simple fake wood tables and thrift store furniture, you shouldn't have to live with drab, outdated stuff. You don't have to have antique waterfall dressers or have the space and ability to completely transform a tired old dresser. No special tools or skills to turn a dresser into a tv cabinet (although my goal is to get you there eventually!)

A simple can of spray paint is all you really need to turn the drab into fab!

This is an inexpensive particle board table...you know...that wood that isn't really wood...it's like cardboard with a little more substance. The kind of thing you buy at Wal-Mart or Target and put together with the little allen wrench that came with the fasteners.

I found this one in one of my apartments, but I have seen them for next to nothing at thrift stores. A little Kilz and a pretty spray paint and it is as good as new!

This table needed a little more TLC...some wood putty for the hinge cut outs. I chalk painted and distressed the bottom so I did spray it with poly sealer. But again, you can just clean it, prime it, hit it with a little sand paper and spray paint the whole thing. Simple project that took a tired, out dated table and turned it into something pretty and desirable again!

Do you have an old mirror that has an ugly frame or the color is just "not right?" Tape it off and SPRAY PAINT IT!!!

Are your bedside tables disgusting? Okay, so this one was pretty disgusting...but it shows what a good cleaning and a little primer can do!!!

Nasty old wood shelves? Chalk paint them or spray paint them! The natural wood shelf was chalk painted white and distressed. I spray painted the green shelf with one of my favorite yellows!

Lamps and frames are perfect projects for spray paint! No need to pay hundreds for "pretty" lamps when you can buy cheap lamps at the thrift store and give them a little "makeover!"

Here you can see I even tackled the bigger task of painting light fixtures and paddle fans. The post also shows the bedside table lamps I painted!

The other day I was working at my booth in Midtown and a precious girl asked me about a little table I chalk painted. She asked if she could pay me to paint her tables because she didn't think she could "do it right."

Seriously, it's not hard...and there is no need to be afraid of picking up a can of spray paint or mixing up a batch of chalk paint and giving it a try! Like I always say, the worst thing that can happen is you STILL don't like it and it ends up in a garage sale. Trust me, it won't bring any more or less and I would almost bet you will not only like it, but you will gain a new sense of pride in your accomplishment.

A few bits of advice for the "simplest" project. First, always clean the item first. If you are going to spray paint it, use a primer. It makes the paint stick better and you are less likely to have chips and dings in the future. I like Kilz spray-on primer...$5 a can and worth every penny!

Second, don't buy spray paint at "discount" stores. Buy a good quality spray paint from a home improvement store, like Lowe's. The paint really is a better quality and the VERY few extra pennies you will spend will be worth it!

Lastly, make sure you tape everything off you don't want painted. No need to buy expensive paper...just use old newspaper. I love the Frog tape, but you can buy inexpensive masking tape when you are starting out! Just make sure you CAREFULLY pull it off before the paint is completely dry!

I love "oops" paints at the home improvement stores and I have learned to shop places like Habitat for Humanity and thrift stores. Look at old furniture with a "new eye." What could it be if you chalk painted it or spray painted it?

You will be shocked at what you can find for next to nothing and what YOU CAN DO with just a tiny bit of time and effort!