PeaHen Pad: Furniture rehab

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Furniture rehab

At the start of the new year I started thinking about ways in which I can use my free time more wisely. I can only Pinterest gaze for so long before my brain is swirling with ideas. It is my hope that I can use my time to rehab furniture into pieces that can be again enjoyed by another person or family. These cast away furniture pieces no longer fit into someone's lifestyle. I want to take them and bring them back to life. My first finished piece is this beautiful Vintage Broyhill dresser/armoire. It has great bones, was well in tact, and I knew it didn't need much, just a facelift.

BEFORE

Even though certain paints claim that you don't need to sand before painting, I'm a purest when it comes to quality and best methods for paint adhesion. I chose to completely sand this down using 220 grit sand paper. I removed the hardware first and used a Brass Cleaner to get the years of tarnish cleaned off. After it was sanded, I used a DeGlosser to remove any dust and shine left over. This cleaner also claims to eliminate the sanding step. Maybe? But I'd rather be safe than sorry.

AFTER

I painted this with Annie Sloan's chalk paint found at a cute store in Apex, NC called "Two Old Birds." When you get a chance check them out. Super cute store! The color on the outside is called "Antoinette." I used two coats and finished off with Annie Sloan's finishing wax. For a special surprise on the inside I used gray chalk paint on the upper cabinets. The drawers were all lined with vintage rose pattern paper.

Quality furniture has distinctive dove tail joints and the furniture maker often stamps their mark on the inside. Something to pay attention to when shopping for used furniture.

The inside cabinet doors were painted with three coats of chalkboard paint and then primed with chalk. It's a super fun way to write notes to your kids or have them write notes to you.