One of the questions I am asked frequently is how to decide when and if to paint a piece of furniture.  This is a question that comes up again and again, especially when I show a makeover of an old, wooden dresser that involves paint. Before we get into how I make a decision about what to paint, let me say that I love natural wood pieces just as much as I love painted pieces.  There is a place for both in a home and, surprisingly enough, my unpainted pieces outweigh my painted pieces.  I paint a lot of furniture because, for years, it’s been a key part of my business.  Painted furniture was a large part of my decorative painting business in the early days and it ended up being my favorite part, so it became “my thing”.  As my business evolved and I launched my own paint line,

On Friday, I took care of another annoying project that was so small it hasn’t even been on any to-do lists. The pie safe in our foyer needed a new latch… Ever since I bought it several years ago, it’s had a hook and eye latch on it that was functional, but it looked out of place on the old piece.  It’s one of those things that you notice each time you use it and then promptly forget as soon as you walk away.  More pressing things require attention, so the metal, hook & eye latch stayed. Over the past year, it’s been rocked in the old wood so often that it’s started falling out of its holes.  And, without the latch closed, the doors will swing open, exposing the mess inside. Today, I finally decided to add a knob that looks more fitting on the piece and a magnetic