Category: Furniture Restoration

The Beast

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This armoire is a beast. Not only is it huge and heavy, it had some serious problems when I first got it. I was going to do a whole Beauty & the Beast analogy, but this transformation became so much more than that.

This armoire taught me lessons about how faith can move mountains.

I spent months searching for some storage options for the craft room, and decided this Pennsylvania Dutch piece from the FB marketplace had all of the storage space I needed.

But I felt buyer’s remorse the minute after I paid for it. The door hinges were stripped and falling off, and I underestimated just how huge and heavy it was. It took two trips and every ounce of muscle we had to bring it home. It barely fit in our garage, and I had to constantly nudge it a few inches so I could squeeze around to work on it. And the whole time I was worried about hanging those stupid doors.

My husband suggested not putting any work into the armoire until I could get the hinges right… but I knew once the doors were hung, they’d break or fall off when we moved the beast into the house. Based on the size of this thing, I also knew that once it was moved inside, we’d never move it out again. I was feeling so much remorse, that I almost put it on the curb, and I was stuck wondering if I should even move forward.

But then I heard President Russel M. Nelson say that one way to use faith, is to ACT in faith, so I pushed forward.

And after a lot of prayers, and tears, and research, FaceTime sessions with my dad for advice, an injured arm, painting set backs, 4 different kinds of hinge fails, a wallpaper fail, and a 2-hour move job by my amazing men, the Beast was painted and in the room!

Sigh… I’m still tired thinking about it!

But through it all, I learned a few new things about hinges. I learned how to repair stripped holes, and I learned about just how much my hubby and boys love me.

I learned that it’s often the journey of moving forward that makes our faith grow the most. The affirmation of our faith comes after the struggle.

And maybe there still is a Beauty and the Beast Analogy here too…. after all, Belle had to move forward not knowing the outcome, as well!

So if you’re struggling and not sure how to move forward or what choice to make, my advice is to begin.

Try.

Act.

Go for it.

President Nelson said, “Your growing faith in Him will move mountains — not the mountains of rock that beautify the earth — but the mountains of misery in your lives… Your flourishing faith will help you turn challenges into unparalleled growth and opportunity.”

I’m so pleased with how this beast transformed. The doors still aren’t perfect, but they’re close enough. And through it all, I truly saw faith move this mountain.

Painting Low-Traffic Furniture: The Easy Way

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Every piece of furniture is different so this isn’t a fail-safe formula, but it’s great for most low traffic items like end tables, armoires, beds, accent chairs, sofa tables etc.

Sanding the pieces even a little helps the paint stick, but isn’t necessary for low traffic items. Again, every piece is different so use your own judgement about whether to sand or it. High traffic item like kitchen tables turn out better with more prep work and more durable paint.

Steps:

1. Clean the piece with water or mineral spirits and let it dry.

2. Paint Zinnser Shellac base primer with a disposable brush. It’s super runny so make sure you have a heavy drop cloth or plastic on the floor.

3. Paint with a flat or Satin sheen paint. I love sample sizes of paint from Sherwin Williams because they are cheap and come in a pint size.

5. Paint one or two coats for desired coverage.

7. Glaze and or distress as desired.

9. Top coat with Polycrylic. It gives the piece a smooth finish. I like Minwax or Stays Clear from Benjamin Moore

10. I recommend letting the piece “cure” for about a week before you set items on it.

Dentist Chair Secrets

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One of my favorite designer friends asked me to recover 7 chairs for her dentist office makeover!

You might think that office furniture couldn’t tell a story, but hidden under one of these chairs was a sneaky little stowaway that gave me a good laugh.

First, the before:

And the stripped bare picture:

When I removed the seat on this particular chair I couldn’t stop giggling! Can you see that sneaky little piece of green gum?

I can just imagine the patient who left it there while he was prepping for his dentist appointment. Maybe he was late, and he didn’t have time to brush his teeth before his visit. Maybe he didn’t want to be the patient with the horrible breath… so in his mind, gum seemed like a perfectly reasonable choice! Heck, he thinks, I’ll rid myself of this afternoon’s salad particles and my onion breath in one shot!

He checks in for the appointment, fills out the paperwork, and settles in for the inevitable waiting room game, when suddenly he remembers his gum.

He looks around for the trash can, but can’t see one anywhere!

What kind-of waiting room doesn’t have a trash can?

In agony he wonders how to rid himself of the gum! Any second now, the attractive hygienist will call his name, and his every oral action will be scrutinized mercilessly! Even worse, he could face an awkward moment of spitting out the soggy mass in front of the bicuspid beauty!

He makes a quick decision and places the gum underneath the chair. After all, no one will ever know, right?

Wrong!

So, I just have to say thanks to the soul who gave me that giggle… but in all seriousness… please don’t put gum underneath chairs!

Tip: Coconut oil will safely remove gum from chairs, clothing and even hair!!

What funny places have you found gum lurking and hiding?

Faith and Furniture

Posted in DIY, Furniture Restoration, Project Restorations1 Comment

This mirror has been left in a packing box, tucked way back in a closet for 4 years. It has nagged at me, but I’ve never known what to do with it. Lately, I’ve been trying to use it as a free-standing mirror, but it’s just not working out. I think it’s time for some paint, and maybe a new location on a wall.

But this mirror got me thinking…

Furniture is a lot like faith.

We first get it and it’s exciting and shiny and new… but if we don’t care for it, problems sneak in. A nick here or a scratch there, and eventually that piece becomes less needed in our minds.

How many times have we stuck a piece in the corner, garage or attic and forgotten about it? Having it is good, but it’s easy to forget the importance of it.

When we do find that piece again it almost becomes a burden, and something that was so wonderful at one point, now requires tedious, time consuming repairs and fixing.

I’ve had this happen many times, with furniture and with my faith… and I gotta say, taking the time is worth it.

Whenever I refinish a piece, I’m amazed at how wonderful it looks in the end. Yes, the work is messy and frustrating, and always takes longer than I think it should… but it’s worth it because when the work is done, I’m left with a piece that is better than it was to begin with. A piece that is stronger, updated and ready to serve it’s ultimate purpose of supporting me!

My faith is like an old piece of furniture because it gets better and better as I work on it and care for it. It looks completely different now than it did when I was a child, but the scratches and dings of sin and doubt are beautiful reminders to me of how I’ve grown.

I’m reminded that the One who heals all our wounds was a carpenter himself. And as we turn to Him, all of our scratches and dings can be strengthened and repaired. And our ever evolving pieces of furniture can be better than they were to begin with, full of hope and strength as we put our trust in Him.

Another Before and After Piece

Posted in A Little Paint Please, DIY, Furniture Restoration2 Comments

While we were in Utah for Thanksgiving my mom and I refinished her hutch. She liked the green, but felt like it was too much color for her room.

We mixed Annie Sloan’s Old Ochre with Sherwin William’s Pure White to create a custom white color.

We weren’t concerned about the consistency of flat paint and chalk paint, and we didn’t prime this time. The paint went on smoothly and covered very well.

We finished it with General Finishes topcoat in satin. It was my first time to try it and I really liked how smooth it went on.

The white is now a fresh happy updated piece that matches the rest of her neutral simple decor!

It was a fun little project to do while we celebrated time with family!

The “Not Me” Console

Posted in A Little Paint Please, DIY, Furniture Restoration, Project Restorations1 Comment

We’ve established that furniture speaks to me… right? Ok, good. (We’ve also established that I’m a little crazy too… right?)

This little Pottery Barn console was a great FB Marketplace find. It was in pristine condition and the owner had taken perfect care of it! I was going to use it in my hubby’s office with lots of dark woods, but then we chose some different furniture, and I had this extra piece. I decided to paint it white and place it behind my sofa.

But when I began sanding it, and realized it was 100% mahogany, I suddenly heard it scream at me. Most pieces are happy to get new life, but not this one.

“NOT ME!” It screamed.

“I’m not one of your cast-off’s needing to be refinished! I’m one of Pottery Barn’s best! I’ve been kept in perfect condition! Look at me! Not one scratch! And I would work in thousands of homes! I’m just fine the way I am, thanks!”

I stopped my sanding for a minute. Was I ruining this piece?

Most furniture these days have some MDF or cardboard hiding in the back or underneath. And if not, they’ll have a gorgeous hardwood top, with cheap poplar undersides.

But not this piece. It was mahogany everywhere.

It was beautiful.

Whether or not painted wood is better than stained wood is a matter of opinion. And yes, this piece was just fine the way it was… but if it wanted a place in my house, it needed to go through the change.

I sanded on.

And it pouted.

I began painting it white, but didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. So I started painting it blue.

“Really?” It complained. “I hope you know what you’re doing!”

I painted on.

The drawers were fun to figure out. I sanded off the original stain, painted a layer of white, then sanded off the white after it was dry. I left just enough paint on, then stained it with a weathered gray stain, and got this fun distressed look.

I absolutely love how it looks now!

The console was very happy when it was all finished. In fact, it’s quickly becoming my favorite piece in the house! But the whole experience got me thinking…

I’m so often just like this reluctant console.

I go along in life, thinking things are just fine. I’m happy! I can handle my own craziness. But then life happens and I get hit with a curve ball. I’m suddenly forced to change, to deal with something new and unexpected and I don’t like it.

Not me! I complain.

I’m a good person! I try to do everything right, I try to help others, and take care of my kids… I don’t intentionally try to hurt anyone, and I’m happy just the way I am! Why do I need this trial? Why do I need to change anything?! When things are going well, why do we so often get hit with trials?

It’s easy to ask an old broken piece of furniture to change. It needs to be fixed anyway. But it is hard to change a piece that is in excellent condition the way it is. In fact, many of you may be thinking that I ruined the piece, and that it was fine the way it was! And I would agree with you!

But this piece didn’t fit with my décor unless it went through the change.

I think God’s plan for us is like that too. Yes, we are fine the way we are. But maybe He knows we could be better. Maybe He needs to refine us because we can’t see the other side of the trial and the joy we could be feeling. When I look back on my trials, I realize I wouldn’t know the joy I feel now, had I not experienced those challenges. And to be honest, who knows where I’d be had I not submitted to change.

Change does make us better.

Trials do help refine us.

The console would never have known the beauty it is now, had it not undergone the sanding and distressing.

There will come a time that we’ll all scream, “Not me! I’m fine the way I am, why do I have to experience this change?”

But if we can have just a little faith that there is a plan for us, and can endure some painful sanding and distressing, we too can come out more beautiful than before.

I hope that wherever you are, and whatever trial you’re experiencing, that you’ll feel a little relief today and know that you are loved

Repurpose an Old TV Armoire 

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It’s so easy to look at a piece of furniture that was designed for one thing and not be able to see another purpose for it. Take the TV armoire for example. Back when we all had big box TV’s, this piece of furniture was incredibly popular because you could load your TV and VCR combo player, and stack all the boxy movies on the shelves or drawers, and close the doors to hide it all! So now that technology has given us the ever expanding flat screen TV, entertainment centers have become buffet-type cabinets meant to go under the flat screen. 

And now there’s a surprising surplus of old TV armoires! I’m not kidding! Run to your local thrift store and see for yourself!

There’s actually quite a lot you can do with an old TV armoire! At their core, they are pieces of furniture designed to be a storage solution. And with a little creativity, they still can be! 

I have two old TV armoires! We purchased one for the TV in our bedroom years ago, and I use it now for blankets, sheets and table linens! It sits here as a decorative piece in my living room! 


My 2nd armoire was given to me by a dear friend who needed it gone! I was thrilled! I’m using it for my office station to store all of the binders, books, bills and school paperwork that tends to clutter my counters. I also keep our laptop and charging dock there. In fact the holes in the back of the armoire create an excellent place to hide the charging cables! 

Before:


The piece was originally black, and it has a fun story:

When my friend’s home flooded a few years ago, this piece sat in 4” of water. It’s MDF legs swelled up and the paint cracked off. The insurance appraiser said it couldn’t be fixed, and he’s right. There is no good way to repair MDF. Since the legs are still structurally sound, I painted and distressed the area. It’s unoticeable with it’s coat of new white paint. 


To create more organized storage, I found crates at IKEA and used them to create some shelving. 

The paper organizer is from Target and there is one for each child’s school papers. When I have more time I may build legitimate shelves for this spot, but this is working great for now. I cut a board to go on top of the crates to create another shelf! All of this new shelving hides the cardboard backing piece that has a large hole in it. Eventually, I’ll attach a new piece of thin plywood there and cover it with wallpaper. 

Here’s another brilliant idea: my friend installed a rod at the top of this armoire so she could use this piece to hang all of her table cloths. Just think, with a curtain rod in an old TV armoire, the piece could be used as a true closet for clothes! 


My favorite part about armoires is that they provide a beautiful way to hide the mass quantities of stuff we have! We have a lot of people in our home, and there’s just a lot of stuff that goes along with it ! I absolutely love being able to close these doors and hide the clutter. 

Your turn to share! What ideas have you seen for old armoires? 

The “All Things” Nightstands 

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I love that my friends keep watch for furniture for me! It makes me feel so loved!
A few months ago, my friend and her hubby were out on a run and came across this pair of nightstands that someone left on the curb for the trash! My friends were the cutest thing ever to stop their run and carry these back to their home to ask if I wanted them!

And boy did I ever want them!!
The paint was flaking off really bad, so I chose to sand it completely down. This revealed that the nightstands were solid oak, which was exciting but it also revealed a few problems.

One nightstand must have been dropped at some point because it had a crack running down the sides and middle. The feet were also cracked. I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to salvage them.

I let fear set in a little as I realized I didn’t know how fix the problems, and I even considered putting it back on the curb.
In my scripture study one morning I read:
Mosiah 4:8. It says, “Believe in God; believe that He is; and that He created all things , both in heaven and earth; believe that He has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all things which the Lord can comprehend.”

I love this because it says that I don’t have to know everything. It says I don’t have to have anxiety about not having all the answers, and I don’t have to pretend that I have it all figured out!
And then I started thinking about that scripture in relation to the nightstands, and I realized that “all” is a really encompassing word! And if He knows all things, then He would know the story behind these nightstands. And He would know how I could fix them!

So I asked Him.

Now some might think that praying over a nightstand is pretty ridiculous; but if you believe that God is a loving father who cares about “all” aspects of our lives, then surely he would be interested in “all” that we’re doing, right? Furthermore, if I believe that this loving Father has “all” wisdom (both in heaven and earth), then who better to ask?
So I asked. And I researched, and I listened for promptings.
And I got answers! Since it was solid wood, and the breaks were clean, I felt prompted to remove the broken pieces, glue them, clamp them and reattach the parts!
And it worked!


You can still see where the crack was on the top, but the piece is rock solid. It’s not going anywhere! And the distressed look adds to the character and story of the piece.


I’m calling these the “All Things” nightstands because of the lesson I learned that I don’t have to have all the answers myself. Furthermore, receiving answers to prayer about something so inconsequential as a nightstand helped me see just a little more that God really does care about “all things both in heaven and earth!”


These are quickly becoming my most favorite pieces! And I love that when they are pushed together they look like a buffet!

The Old Things

Posted in Family Life, Furniture Restoration2 Comments

I’m constantly amazed and inspired at how incredible women are these days. We raise children, hold jobs, run businesses, give service, volunteer, exercise and everything else in between, all while the main bulk of running a household, raising and growing children is still a vital part of our role. 
I’m proud of my gender’s progress, but sometimes, the lover of old things in me longs for a simpler lifestyle. I’m talking about the pioneer woman of the 1800’s. She knew her roles, worked hard and slept soundly at night knowing exactly what needed to happen the next day. She didn’t have a thousand errands to run, and soccer games to attend, or waste late night hours on Instragram! (I’m so guilty of this… I’m currently writing this at 1:00 in the morning!)  

No, her roles were vital. Skipping a chore could lead to serious consequences, even death! For example, failing to dust or wash my windows simply means things are just a little dustier that day… or month! I get my milk from the store, and clean my toilets once a week! And procrastination at those things doesn’t affect anyone too badly. But if the frontier’s woman didn’t pick the veggies before the storm she risked starvation for her family! If she didn’t milk the cow, it would stop giving milk… And not collecting water from the well just wasn’t an option. 

Do you ever wonder what their lives really were like? 

Maybe that’s why I love old things. Furniture and items that survived that time period connect us to the people that worked hard for their families. For their children, and their children’s children. 

For us! 

And I like to think that they watch over us. That they are our silent cheerleaders carrying us through the tough days, thrilling over the triumphs and hoping for our future! 

I love the Chinese proverb that says, “To forget one’s ancestors is to be a book without a source. A tree without a root.”

Russell M. Nelson said, “When our hearts turn to our ancestors, something changes inside us. We feel part of something greater than ourselves.”
I kind of love the idea of being a part of something greater than myself! 

So I’m going to keep on hunting for old things! Because the antiques and treasures help me feel just a little closer to the amazing people that came before me. 

What old things make you feel connected to your ancestors? 


Finally, can you believe the amazing chippy goodness on this old table? I spotted it during a reunion at my aunt’s farm and begged to take a pic! It’s over 100 years old and has handmade nails! It belonged to my Uncle’s Grandmother! A truly strong, single mother who raised 4 amazing children on her own! Just Amazing!

Another Humble Chair Story

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When a piece of furniture finds it’s way to me, I often don’t know much about it other than someone didn’t want it anymore. 

As I delve into the restoration I’m always trying to learn it’s history. A ding here or a knick there… extra rubbing in one spot… a crack down the middle… layers of paint or fabric… all clues to the history of the piece. 

But I generally don’t learn much beyond an idea of the date and that someone thought it wasn’t worth saving.

But I love getting to be a part of the item’s future story! 

This little French Fiddleback Chair wasn’t selling until I tried this graphic:


I loved it so much and secretly didn’t want to sell it.  Makes me want to put graphics on everything! 


A sweet lady purchased it for her daughter’s apartment! She was so excited because she had found a table to match! I loved watching her joy in purchasing something for her daughter. 


This Carver’s Chair also sold to another mother/daughter duo. The daughter was a sweet lady who was moving her mother into her home. She had been looking for a sturdy chair for her mother who was partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair. It just melted my heart when she told me how excited her mother was at seeing the chair. She told me that she had been to several furniture stores, but couldn’t ever find something sturdy enough.

I just love that a chair built in the 1930’s, went through 4 different refinish projects, found its way to me, and eventually to this sweet client! 

Both chairs are on their way to a new home to be loved, and I’m so grateful to get to be a tiny part of their “Humble” story.