A few weeks ago a young lady contacted me with a question. How do I make my apartment look good when everything is a hand me down and really doesn’t match. Believe it or not that is a question I get a lot. The answer, connect it all with color. It really is that simple. If you have wood or Ikea type furniture that is mix and match of what family and friends have given you it’s not a problem. It’s really not about the style of the set that will pull it all together it’s the color you pick to paint it that will do the trick.
In a perfect world money wouldn’t be an issue for any of us. We could all go out and buy beautiful furniture in the stores. Most of us are on a budget and need to find away to make our homes beautiful in a way that makes us happy. Restoring older furniture that still has character and good bones is the best way to do just that. I found 2 pieces in my storage that I’m going to restore so it can be used as a group set or individually.
Up first is an end table that really had seen better days. It’s a typical 1990’s pine furniture that was in many homes. New it was great and served it’s purpose but today it’s outdated and needs a restore for sure. My dear friend Rylie gave this piece to me. She found it on the side of the road.
Oh the coffee table. This table is still very usable today without updating. It has great bones and the size is spot on for a family room. The stain color can still be found in furniture stores so really it could be used as is but if you are trying to match up your hand me down furniture painting is best. This piece was passed on to me by another friend. She had it in her garage and her husband said get rid of it or it’s going out on trash day. I was the lucky trash troller that got that piece.
Both pieces were sanded down to the natural wood on the top only. I lightly sanded over the base and legs. The base and legs were painted with Annie Sloan Graphite color. On the end table I stained the top once, then added the stencil inside the carved out rectangle. When dry I sanded it lightly. I added a second coat of stain over the top of the stencil and table top. This gives it more of an aged look and not so new. I wanted the coffee table to match but I also wanted it to have its own identity. So I decided that less was more and only stained the top without any extra artwork. The stain I used on top was stain with a sealer all in one, so no extra clear coat was needed. Once the base was dry and I sanded a light coat of wax was applied.
You would think the magic stopped there but on my way home from the gym last Wednesday someone gifted me a trash troll treasure. I found this great side table with 2-drawer storage. I painted and stained it out to match the other 2 pieces. Now it’s a great set of 3 with a new updated look. Not all the same style but pulled together by color and stain. It’s one Blue Happy set now! All 3 pieces are at Doc Holliday’s in my new and restored booth at 113 S Birmingham Wylie.
