Furniture Makeovers Archives | Page 10 of 110

Furniture Makeovers

All Things Home

painting & finishing the aviary dresser

The last time you saw this dresser, it was sanded down and prepped for painting… In case you missed that post, you can check it out HERE. Years ago, I made a video tutorial about applying the first coat of milk paint, what to expect, etc. While the information really hasn’t changed a lot, I decided to make an updated video as I worked. In this video, I cover some of the basics, like when to sand and the benefits of sanding. I also talk about application (brushes, rollers, sprayers) and some of the perks of using milk paint, especially if you’re a sloppy painter! Here’s how the dresser looked after the first coat. The variance in color that you see is partly the nature of milk paint and partly how the paint was absorbed into the surface. I debated painting on a second coat to even it out a

April 15, 2018 30 Comments

All Things Home

prepping two pieces to paint

For those of you who are missing furniture makeovers, a few are coming your way! As I was working on these pieces today, I realized my back does not miss working on furniture, but I do. There is something therapeutic about working on a piece of furniture to me. Prepping these pieces to paint was not on my “big three” list today, but I got two out of three of my biggies done and I decided to shift gears. We have had winter weather through most of March and all of April. It’s just been too cold to work outside or in the garage. I tried it a couple of times and it was just stupid. Anyway, we’re expecting some snow and a wintry mix this weekend, so I figured I needed to take advantage of a (warm) 40 degree day and do some furniture prepping, which really needs to

April 12, 2018 45 Comments

All Things Home

speckled milk-painted eggs

I told you another milk-painted egg post was on the way and here it is, just in the nick of time before Easter. This idea came about because I bought a bunch of real eggs to paint, but then I found the paper eggs and those were going to be even better for my original plan. So, I was left with a bunch of cheap white eggs. I will insert here that I eat eggs for breakfast almost every day. Big egg fan. But, I’m picky about my eggs and like ones that are free-range and organic with rich yellow/orange yolks. They just taste so much better! These were just run-of-the-mill, pale-yolked eggs that don’t have a lot of flavor. I wanted to find another use for them. So, I made these speckled milk-painted eggs, but I used quail and robin’s eggs as inspiration. This speckled milk-painted egg project was

March 29, 2018 11 Comments

All Things Home

milk painted paper eggs

After making the Pysanky eggs last week, I thought it would be fun to break out the MMS Milk Paint and make some more eggs! I selected a color palette of Mustard Seed Yellow, a custom green (2 parts Boxwood + 1 1/2 parts Lucketts Green), a custom pale blue (2 parts Eulalie’s Sky + 1 part Linen), and Artissimo. I found at Target and knew they would be perfect for milk paint. I was planning on just painting some small papier mâché eggs, but these were even better. They are larger, about the size of duck eggs, and the fact that they open up makes them easier to paint and they can actually be filled! No prep work was required. I just painted on one coat of each color. I painted the white eggs in the lighter colors and the craft eggs in the darker colors. The

March 27, 2018 49 Comments

All Things Home

five reasons you need hemp oil in your life & answers to FAQs

When you’re around something for a while, whether it’s a smell, an environment, something you created or wrote, it’s easy to not appreciate or notice it any longer. Sometimes I’ll go back and read a post I wrote years ago, that I have completely forgotten about and it makes me laugh and I can see my blog in a fresh way. It’s a reminder. Oh yeah, this is why I like doing this every day. I recently saw a piece someone finished in Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil, a product I have used, promoted, and sold for over six years now. The piece was an old wooden trunk and it was so beautiful and rich. It almost glowed. Oh yeah, that is why I love hemp oil so much. It’s not that I’ve stopped using, but I may have stopped appreciating it for how amazing and versatile and simple it is.

March 26, 2018 56 Comments

All Things Home

craigslist coffee table & playroom update

There’s some progress we’ve made on our house, but I haven’t shared it, because it’s not done or particularly photo-worthy! I’m really trying to get out of that everything-has-to-be-a-beauty-shot mindset, though. I’m working on it. So, here are some pictures of updates we’ve made to the basement, just to show what’s happening on the home-front. In January, I picked up a $25, round oak coffee table off of craigslist. It was the perfect size and just what I had been looking for. I initially was looking for an ottoman, but we really needed a spot for drinks, snacks, board games, etc. and not just another place to prop our feet. The finish is not in bad shape at all, but the wood is a little orange. Once it warms up, I am going to take it outside, strip and sand the top. I’m planning to finish the top in a

March 13, 2018 50 Comments

Before and Afters

craigslist cabinet progress

With school holidays and snow days, this week has been a short one, but I have managed to get some things checked off the to-do list. One of the main things I wanted to work on was the cabinet in my office. Since I knew it would be a time-consuming painting project (with having to paint the shelves, turn them over, paint the other side, seal them with Tough Coat, etc.), I decided to work on one side at a time. So, I got the left side completed! The first thing I did was replace the hardware with a pair of antique latches I found on Etsy. The ones that were on there were not original and made more sense for drawer than cabinets. When they arrived, though, I saw that the “keepers” and latches didn’t really match. They did, but they didn’t originally go together, so the finishes were

February 23, 2018 38 Comments

All Things Home

craigslist confession

Sooooo….about that “no spend February”… I’ve actually been doing well with it and have said “no” or “later” to many things I wanted to buy in the moment. But, I made the mistake of browsing on craigslist. Even as I was doing it, I knew it wasn’t smart. But, we’re working on my office and I needed a storage piece. I just couldn’t help myself! Well, I could, but I didn’t. And, of course, I found something that was perfect. So, the “no spend February” became a “low spend February.” What I found was an antique bookcase with original glass doors. The size was right and it’s just the sort of thing I’ve been looking for. I forwarded the link to Jeff and asked if we could go pick it up. To his credit, he did not point out my no-spend pledge. He said it was a great piece and

February 15, 2018 54 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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