Refinishing Furniture

Thanks to Pinterest, I now think I can refinish furniture.  I took on a major project as my first one, refinishing some awful old cabinets I inherited.  The cabinets are solid and heavy, but were (a bit) outdated.  I never did get around to posting those pictures, complete with step by steps.  I will… I promise.

I recently did a smaller project, and probably the one I should have done first.  I purchased a vegetable bin from Dick’s Wood Creations.  He does quality pine furniture, because as he says, wood furniture should be accessible to everyone.  He offers options for customization, and does them in plain or stained.  I got a plain wood cabinet.

First, I removed all the hardware.  I didn’t bother to sand or primer because it was brand new.  I did take a damp cloth and wipe it down a little.  I painted the first coat in yellow (aka Valspar Hazy Dawn).  I only did a thin coat and let it dry very well.  Then, I took candle and rubbed it all over the cabinet.  After that, I painted it again in a light coat of turquoise (aka Valspar Laguna Green).  When that was completely dry (which took awhile since we were having unusually humid weather here in AZ), I rubbed steel wool all over the cabinet to antique it.  Last, I put the hardware back on.  I thought about painting the knobs but I kind of like them white.  I’m super pleased with how this turned out.

It looks better in person… honest.  I’m really in love with antiquing furniture these days.  It’s pretty easy and I have great, custom pieces.

Painting and Pinterest

I didn’t hop on the Pinterest craze immediately.  I heard about it on a writing website, where they suggested that you “pin” things to help create story worlds.  It sounded fun, but nothing to get excited about.  Next, I worked with a girl who gushed about it and told me I’d love it.  Again, I didn’t see what all the excitement was about, but it looked cool, so I joined.  My account sat dormant for a month or two.  I don’t remember how or why I finally logged on, but when I did, ohmygoodnessitwassoawesome and Iloveit and whydidn’tIdothisbefore?!

Yes, I’m gushing.

Around the same time, my husband and I decided to clean up our home/ get rid of stuff/ paint.  We started small, with a bathroom, which moved into a small hallway.  Well, it looks great, so we moved to the loft and decided to transform that from an open area in which to gather junk to an open area in which to relax/ read books/ listen to music.  Step one: paint.

This all ties together, I swear.

I had these old cabinets from my husband’s parents.  They were a little… dated.  Large cabinets for pretty stuff are expensive, especially the heavy, large kind.  So, I decided to update them and move them to the loft.  Enter Pinterest.

I love old wood furniture, and Pinterest convinced me that I could update the cabinets.  So, my ever-patient husband bought me a small hand sander, and so far, I’ve disassembled, sanded, and primered one of the cabinets (one of five).  If they’re half as cool as my vision, they’re going to be awesome.  Thank you, Pinterest, for showing me that I can do this project.  I will post pictures of the finished project when I’m done… wish me luck!