the magic of paint

Do you have any pieces of furniture in your house that you look at and ask, why? Why did I get that? Why do I still have it? Why haven't the ugly furniture police come and taken it away?

Of course you do! We all do, right? Pieces that we acquired in college that have made every move with us. Pieces that entered the marriage with our spouse. Pieces that were passed on by family members when we were trying to furnish our first home.

Fortunately, there are no ugly furniture police and, fortunaely, paint can do wonders for some of the sad pieces sitting around our home!


One of my favorite re-do's from my own home is a honey colored Thomasville dresser that my parents passed along to us. This piece is not ugly, the color was just a bit dated for my taste. I knew with her great lines she would look great all dressed up. Here's an example of what a little paint can do.

This very easy change totally updated the dresser, the room and the total cost was a can of paint. What? $30 or so? I don't remember. The color is Behr's Paint and Primer in One, Creamy White. The top is stained with dark walnut and the handles I spray painted a hammered bronze. I love this dresser now, it's one of my favorite pieces in the house. And it's oh-so-satisfying to know that I was able to get the update I wanted without spending much money. It was also what really set me off on my love of painting furniture.

So, look around. What do you have that could use a face lift?

One of my client's is taking the plunge with painted furniture. She is expecting her first baby and wants to create a beautiful nursery with pieces she and her husband already have, many of which have been collected through the years from various sources. I stopped by a couple weeks ago to take a look at her space.

We decided to take an old liquor cabinet and turn it into a changing table.

The cabinet was being used as something of a catch all anyway and is the perfect height for a changing table. It's a little dated and not very babyish so we loaded her up to get a makeover. After two weeks in my studio, aka garage, I am getting to work. Let's take a look at this thing.

Look at that. The top opens up. You know, so you can mix and serve the drinks. Not really necessary for baby's room so we are just going to ignore this little feature and leave it closed. The top is in pretty rough shape but that's nothing a little sanding and paint won't take care of.

Here's a look at the inside. On the left is a pull out shelf thingy for. . . drink paraphernalia, I guess? I thought about removing the whole thing but then decided it will make for nice organizational  space.

I think the right side is big enough for a small trash can and the cubicles are perfect for small baskets to hold diapers, burp clothes, etc. And I'm on the hunt for some small cups (would love to find something silver) to drop into the holes up top for cotton balls, alcohol pads, cotton swabs, etc. won't that be perfect?

I'm excited about fixing this up for my client.

I brushed Valspar's Farmhouse Blue over one of the doors today to see how I liked it. Here's a sneak peak.

I think it's going to look great! And I have the perfect knobs, too!

Now I have to get to work. Monday is my self imposed deadline, but I know three little guys who might have something to say about that.