Paint Gives New Life to Old Furniture

 via Pinterest

I was recently at Restore in my area and saw three beauties like the one above.  These look spetacular painted up.  Most of the pieces in my house have been found at auctions, garage sales or second-hand stores and I've just painted them.  Don't be afraid to paint wood.  It can give an otherwise dull piece of furniture a new life, and most of the time it's very affordable. 

Here's some furniture I've painted around my house.

This dresser ($40.00) and bookshelf (25.00) I found at an auction and painted for my girl's room.  The dresser was white in my daughter's previous pink room,  and the bookshelf actually sat in my dining room on a hutch in my previous house which you can see here.

The coffee tables above and below were both found at garage sales for $25.00 and were both in need of some TLC.  The one below was actually a table and we cut the legs off of it and painted it black which you can also see in  in my previous house tour.  For this house I primed it and gave it a coat of grey paint called Escarpment by Ben Moore.  These bookcases below were actually red when we "acquired" them and I painted them when we moved into this house.  I'd actually like to have some built-ins made or change up this space flanking the fireplace, but for now these bookcases will have to do.

This headboard was pine and I gave it and the matching dresser a coat of black paint about 10 years ago.  They still look amazing.

This desk I purchased for $15.00 at a thrift store and painted it for my girl's room.  (I'm not sure of the colour because I mixed it myself to get exactly what I wanted).  

This end table was found at a garage sale and I bought it for $20.00. It was also painted black in my previous house.

These are my kitchen cupboards which were a dated, light oak wood before we painted them .  I had it painted a dark brown called Obsedian from Pratt and Lambert.  This kitchen actually looks bigger and way more expensive now that the cupboards have been painted.   You can see the before and after pics here. 

This piece above was $20.00 at a garage sale and was light pine. I actually used it in my son's room before but for this house I painted it and used it in the front hall to hold keys, hats, gloves, dog paraphenalia, backpacks etc.  It's been well worth the $20.00.

When you're looking for a piece of second-hand furniture, first and foremost make sure the structure is good.  You also want to look at the lines of it and the detailing - curved legs, carving, etc.  Sometimes the detailing can show up more when furniture has been painted.  The last thing to check out when you're buying an old or used piece of furniture is the smell.  If it's been in a basement or garage and has a musty smell, 

this can be very hard to get rid of.  

I've been doing some painting lately but it's not  been walls or furniture. 

I'll tell you about it soon!!