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Before and Afters

All Things Home

furniture makeover | painting an old stool

We had an uncommonly warm weekend, so I decided to finally work on painting this stool that’s been hanging out in my garage, waiting for some attention, for almost a year! I picked it up on one of my first antique outings when the stay-at-home orders were lifted. I had no idea what I was going to do with this stool, but I think it was $12 or $15, so it was hard to pass up. It’s sturdy, has a great shape, and pretty turned legs, and I almost always find a good use for an old stool. They are a great size and height to use as a small side table or a plant stand, so I have them all over the house! I liked the shape but I did not like the beige paint color. It wasn’t the worst beige ever, but I wanted to change the color.

May 4, 2021 21 Comments

All Things Home

farmhouse white chair makeover

A couple of months ago, I picked up this sweet vintage chair from a local antique shop for $25. It was just the kind of chair I had been looking for to use at my sewing desk. I don’t typically sit and sew for hours on end, so it didn’t have to be super comfortable. My sewing desk is also vintage and smaller in scale, so I needed a vintage chair that would be sized appropriately to pair with the desk. I liked the idea of how the cutout in the back of the chair would stand out against the pine desk. It was a little grubby, though, and the paint could use a refresh, so I gave this chair a quick and simple makeover with Farmhouse White Milk Paint. I started out the makeover by wiping the chair down. It had clearly been stored for years and would benefit

October 14, 2020 23 Comments

All Things Home

easy ticking footstool makeover

Remember this antique footstool I purchased a few weeks ago when my mom was visiting? Well, I finally gave it a makeover! I was planning on making a slipcover, but this footstool makeover turned out to be much easier… I decided to try to pull off a couple of the tacks to see how easy the footstool would be to strip. I’ve stripped several pieces finished with nailhead trim before and they can be so tedious to remove. These just popped right off, so I proceeded with the footstool makeover right on the spot. I was able to strip it in about 15 minutes and discovered that contemporary leaf design was hiding delightful antique blue and white ticking! This layer is obviously the equivalent of the footstool’s undergarments, but I still love it. It was a little dusty, so I cleaned it thoroughly with a vacuum. I still might reupholster

October 7, 2020 52 Comments

All Things Home

stripping & waxing antique pine

A few weeks ago, I dragged this old cabinet outside to sand it down. It had been in Marshall’s room for a few years in this house and our PA house. It had some water damage on top as well as sticker residue on the sides. I mean, it has been living in a kind-turned-teen’s room for a few years and they aren’t the best at furniture care! It was getting to the point that stripping and waxing this antique pine piece was going to be the best way to bring it back to life. Striping Antique Pine This cabinet had a very thin, yellowing finish on it that was easy to sand off with an orbital palm sander equipped with 100 grit sandpaper. I opted to go that route instead of using a chemical stripper, which is usually my preference. It would be faster and a little less mess

September 23, 2020 25 Comments

All Things Home

make-do custom mattress for an antique daybed

Remember the antique Jenny Lind daybed I bought off of Facebook Marketplace a few weeks ago? Well, I finally received the foam and batting I ordered to make a custom mattress for it. antique jenny lind daybed My plan is to make a french-style tufted mattress, but I starting wrapping the foam in the cotton batting I ordered and I realized I would need to make a cover to hold the cotton batting in place. Poly batting is much easier to slide a fitted cover over, but I went with cotton because it gives a softer appearance to the cushion. It was one of those afternoons when I was determined to get this done. I knew it was irrational to think that I could finish an entire custom mattress in an afternoon, but I felt this push to try. I cut down the 3″ upholstery foam with an electric carving

September 21, 2020 39 Comments

All Things Home

How to Clean Stinky Furniture

One of the questions I’m asked most often is about how to clean stinky furniture. Here is the most recent e-mail I received about that… “I have an older dresser that smells awful! I have no idea what to do to alleviate the smell. It was my mom’s and now it’s mine. There hasn’t been anything smelly stored in it but I’m stumped as to what to do to have fresh-smelling drawers without having to sand the inside of the drawers down or douse it with chemicals. My only other thought is to spray or paint it with KILZ. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for your time!” Having bought and sold thousands of pieces of furniture over the past 10 years, I have done battle with many pieces that were stinky, musty, smelled like smoke or animal pee, or were just completely dirty and gross. Sometimes it’s

September 10, 2020 29 Comments

All Things Home

milk painted dresser makeover

I know that my followers love a good furniture makeover and I have a good old fashioned painted dresser makeover today! This is a dresser I bought in the spring of 2019 when my mom and I were working on the guest room makeover. We went out to a few local antique and consignment shops to see if we could find dressers to use as storage/nightstands and we ended up finding one for each side. This is one of those dressers that was now replaced by an almost identical dresser we found when they were visiting a few weeks ago. Are you tracking with me? We ended up swapping out the one we bought last March with the recent find because the drawers work just a little bit better. Since Jeff will be using it daily as a nightstand, it made sense to use the slightly sturdier one. Be also

September 9, 2020 67 Comments

All Things Home

studio chair slipcover

I wasn’t able to get my post up yesterday, because I was shooting a local home in Rochester. It was such a fun day! I love photoshoots, styling, tweaking, etc. Anyway, today I’m going to share about a slipcover I made for my studio desk chair. Remember this desk chair that I got a couple of years ago when I rearranged the furniture in my studio and office to make both spaces more functional? | | I moved this chair into my studio when Jeff was working out of my office during the stay-at-home orders and I liked it in there. It’s a pretty comfortable chair and the small scale suited the antique teacher’s desk I use as a work surface in the studio. I just wanted to customize it a little bit and while I was playing with fabrics to make a slipcover for my office chair (you can

September 3, 2020 37 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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