Piece by piece...

I had a friend on Facebook ask where she could find much of my decor because we share a style.

Funny…as I walk around this house I see so many pieces I have cobbled together over the years. Pieces I bought at auctions and refinished. Some at flea markets. Some I bought new and tired of over time so I gave them a little facelift. Pieces I inherited. ( I am actually kind of shocked at how many pieces there are and how little I paid for them originally!)

Every room in this house has pieces I have refinished, refurbished or rehabbed.

My bedroom….

Twenty years ago I bought an entire bedroom set…bed, dresser, highboy and two night stands. Paid a small fortune for the matchy-matchy set so I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. Over the years I finally gave up the bed and dresser and the highboy and nightstands have had little facelifts. The furniture and our master bedroom got a full makeover HERE.

Before….

After….

My office…

I bought this desk at a junk shop YEARS ago…I think I paid $25 for it.

Still love it although it could use a little refresh!

The china display cabinet in the dining room. This is a prime example of a piece that is not my professed style but I absolutely love it all the same…LOVE!

I had a vision in my mind’s eye of what I wanted and I knew this piece could be exactly what I wanted with a little time and effort….

It took a bit more time and effort than I anticipated but it really is one of my favorite pieces.

I have several pieces in the living room I have rehabbed over the years.

This AMAZING coffee table I picked up at an auction for $22!

I sometimes wish I had a round coffee table but I love this piece so much I just can’t bring myself to part with it!

Several Lane Acclaim tables I have picked up here and there and refinished.

My grandmother’s little mid century chair has had two little makeovers. The teal chair is one I bought off Marketplace years ago and reupholstered….

My breakfast nook has several pieces as well.

The table….

The little china cabinet was a fun and relatively easy project….

They seem to work well together after their little facelifts….

There are so many more pieces I have curated and rehabbed over the years. Side tables, benches, chairs, dressers…every room has pieces I have refinished, painted or reupholstered.

It took years for me to collect all these pieces, bring them back to life and create a home I love with pieces that have purpose and meaning.

Most of the links are to the original rehabs where I share what I did…unfortunately I am NOT a good teacher so often I direct you to search the internet for good tutorials on how to repair, refinish and paint pieces. Find a tutorial that makes sense to you and begin curating your home one piece at a time.

It doesn’t happen over night! And it seems to be never ending…

Paint...the easiest way to update a piece!

When I first started this site I posted every day. Seriously. Every. Single. Day. 

That's okay when you are trying to catch up on 30 years of DIY projects...but after awhile it gets a tad tiresome. For a time I posted twice a week...very doable and since I usually have 2-3 projects a week in the pipeline, I always have something to share. 

But life has gotten pretty busy around here the last few months. Katie's senior year (and all the hoopla that goes with that!) and then she and Matt's graduations....

View fullsize

Matt graduated from the UofA with his master's degree and a week later Katie graduated from high school with "highest honors."  Precious....

And of course the apartments...seems the work around there hits in tidal waves...not just "waves" but darn near tsunamis. So the last few months I only found time to post about once a week...which means the projects have been piling up in my "blog files." 

Right now I have hutch tops-turned-display cabinets, an antique dresser, a mid century dresser, an antique table, a side table, two chairs and much more...all piled up in the garage, finished and ready to share!

Today I thought I would share a few projects to show that a little bit of time and paint can completely change the look of a piece. I've shared similar projects in the past (tons to be exact...just cruise around this site!) but time and again I see people posting on several blog sites questions about "what can I do to make this better"..."help"..."blah, blah, blah.... bitch, bitch." 

Dude. Seriously. Go buy a stinking can of paint! It really isn't hard to take a simple, "blah" piece of furniture and turn it into something worth having in your home.

Take this table for example....

View fullsize

...I see little tables like this at thrift stores and auctions for next to nothing. Or maybe your parents or grandparents gave you one when you started furnishing your own home. Solid little tables...usually in mahogany or walnut or even oak. (I have a similar one in my den that I painted and feature here.)

Let's be honest...not real appealing. I think this one sat in my booth for MONTH before I brought it home and gave it a bright chalk paint/distress treatment (My recipe for "chalk/plaster paint"... 2 1/2 TBS of Plaster of Paris, 1 1/2 TBS of water, mixed well then add 1 cup of latex paint)

View fullsize

I stuck it back in my booth and it only lasted a couple of days. Notice I didn't even invest in new hardware...I spray painted the existing handle with off-white paint!

This antique oak buffet was pretty "dated" as well. Again, something you might inherit from a family member or find in a thrift store or on Craigslist for not a lot of money!

View fullsize

(I took the picture after I had removed the mirror in the top piece)

Some people like the antique wood look and these pieces can be beautifully restored if you use this process. 

I chose to restore the top since it was solid wood and paint and distress the rest of it....

View fullsize

I changed out the hardware...again, it only lasted a few days.

And another....

View fullsize

Sorry for the picture quality...phone camera!

This empire dresser was, as you can see, a hot mess. Literally falling apart but nothing a little glue and clamps couldn't fix right up. 

Which reminds me...I was working on another dresser this week. Seriously people...dove tail joints were not nailed FOR A REASON!!! So don't try to fix them with nails. And silicone is NOT glue...so don't try to fix loose joints with silicone. My point, if you are going to fix something, fix it RIGHT. I spent over an hour just "undoing" someone else's "fix." If you don't know how to fix it right, GOOGLE IT! My daddy didn't teach me everything I needed to know about DIYing...but he did teach me to use my head and use available resources to find out how to do it RIGHT. And he didn't even have the internet!!!

Okay, rant over. So after some "rebuilding" and repairs on this dresser, I chalk painted and distressed it (again, Google it...you'll get around 1,170,000 results on chalk or plaster paint...I'm not kidding...I googled it and that is how many results I got)

View fullsize

View fullsize

The piece had nifty wood knobs...several were missing so I used a few from the buffet. I decided to give them a little facelift so I primed them and sprayed them with light blue spray paint. 

I think it lasted a week!

And lastly, a mirror. I have featured a number of mirrors on here. IMO, they are one of the easiest things to update. This wood mirror had some interesting and intricate carvings but it was a bit dated and dark!

View fullsize

I decided to forgo my usual "boring off white" and give it a little pop of color.

View fullsize

For the time being, it is hanging behind the front door in what little "entry way" I have. Not sure I actually love it there but that is where it is...for now....

View fullsize

My point...stop looking at your dated, drab furniture and growling at it. Find some inspiration and roll up your sleeves.

Don't turn your nose up at those "dated" pieces your mom and grandmother want to give you...take them...again, find some inspiration and give them a simple facelift. There are countless super awesome ideas out there for every kind of project!

There are also unlimited tutorials out there on how to repair, paint, refinish, decoupage...if you can imagine it, a tutorial is out there to tell you how to do it!