Tuesday, March 30, 2010

furniture makeover HELP!

I am sooo impressed when someone takes an ugly old piece of furniture and turns it into something amazing! I love the blog Better After for this very reason...so inspirational!  I have an old solid wood dresser with mirror that's been in my garage since we've moved in.  I have big ideas for this dresser, but unfortunately I don't know how to do it.  It 's a medium brown color now, but I want it to be white.  Does anyone out there know how to do that??  Can I just spray paint it?  Does it have to be a certain type of paint?  Do I have to sand the whole thing, then paint it?  The weather this weekend is suppose to get up to 80, so i'm ready to hang out in the garage and tackle that beast!  Wish me luck, I hope I have something to show you next week!

8 comments:

Expressions by Heather said...

I would say sand it first, just so that the fresh paint goes on nice and smooth. Once it's sanded, if there are any nicks or dings in the wood, you can fill them with wood putty, then sand it down smooth once that's dry.

Sawyers Family said...

I have refinished a kitchen table and kitchen cabinets. I have not sanded anything. If the brown is glossy, buy an oil based primer. This will help your white paint not soak into the wood itself. Refinishing furniture is tons of fun!
Good luck!

Kelli @ WhimsiKel said...

It depends on the condition of the paint. I agree that you should sand, but you might want to try a chemical stripper first if the brown is the 12th color that's been painted on. Just a warning about an oil-based primer - they're a PAIN. Research how to clean up. But you should also check if the brown paint is oil-based or latex. Simple check - put some acetone fingernail polish remover on a cloth and rub the dresser. If the paint comes off, it's latex. If not - it's oil and you definitely need to use an oil-based primer. Otherwise, I LOVE kilz primer (latex, I much prefer latex). I actually read a really great post from someone who did something similar, and now I can't find the reference! She went to Lowes or Home Depot or wherever and told the guy she didn't want to do ANYTHING. So what would he recommend? He recommended a specific primer, which she applied with a roller so she wouldn't have brush marks, and it looked GORGEOUS. If I find the post, I'll come back and give you the link. Good luck! I love tackling a project when I know I'm in over my head at the beginning - it's my favorite way to learn. :)

Nick Ashley Reagan Coen & Ike said...

Kelli is talking about Chris @ just a girl. I just tried the roller idea on a desk and it worked awesome! Also, I tried, for the first time, the oil based primer and it REALLY helped it not get scratches once it was finished. You can use regular latex paint on top of the oil based primer. Anyway, good luck & here's the tips for painting furniture.
http://j-a-girl.blogspot.com/2010/03/painting-furniture.html

Kelli @ WhimsiKel said...

Thank you, Ashley! Yep, this is the post I was thinking about:
http://j-a-girl.blogspot.com/2009/10/you-ask-you-receive.html
I guess I might have to brave the oil-based primer one day. I had a bad experience with cleaning up oil-based paint when I was 10 and haven't touched the stuff since. ;)

Julie Thompson said...

definately sand the dresser first and use primer! kilz is an awesome primer and we just used it when we refinished a chair. i do not recommend spray paint for something as large as a dresser. i tried it once on a dresser and it was disasterous...i ended up painting it (again) with a roller. spray paint is good for things like mirrors. good luck!

Life in Rehab said...

A light sanding and spray paint is all I've used on MANY projects, from kitchen cabinets to my daughter's armoire. It's easy, dive on in!

jack said...

Nice pictures!!!Designer Outdoor Furniture