One of my very favorite things to do with my time is to build or work on furniture. Whether it be reclaimed, repurposed or refinished, I love it. In fact, some of my favorite places to shop are garage sales and flea markets. You can find so many treasures in those places. You just have to breathe some new life into them!
Furniture Re-do
With all of the construction that we have been doing here on the farmstead, I had new places to decorate and of course that requires bits and pieces of furniture. Yea! Below, are several of the cool furniture projects that I’ve been able to work on recently.
1. Furniture Repurpose – DIY Daybed
In my She Shed, I wanted to have a daybed. Since it will double as a guest house, the daybed is a perfect option. I can use it like a sofa while I’m working in there and it can be a bed when needed. I had a few pieces on hand that I used as a starter for the project. I had some parts of my son’s old bunk bed and I had a queen size headboard that was part of a set that I bought at a yard sale.
I used the bunk bed box as my initial starting point because it was already the right size for a twin bed. The end pieces from the bunk bed, I put together as the end pieces for my daybed. I had to add extra framing to tie everything together and make it sturdy enough. I then attached the headboard to the back side of it. I added the bunky board to the main frame which is where the mattress will rest.
It needed arm rests at the tops of the end boards so I added those and painted the whole unit with an ivory chalk paint and antiqued it with the dark wax sealant. My last step was to add locking casters that I ordered from amazon. I knew that I would need to move it around so that I could get to my wall easels so that was the perfect touch. The first video is concerning my daybed.
2. Furniture Refinish – Antique Vanity
Antique vanities are one of my furniture weaknesses. I love them! My sweet daughter gifted me one and I just couldn’t wait to get going on it! It would be a great fit in my She Shed. The video and pics below explain that process.
Antique Vanity in Disrepair
Structurally the vanity was mostly ok. It had a couple broken pieces that weren’t hard to fix, just a little wood glue and nails. The main thing that needed to be done was to repair where the wood veneer had come loose and peeled up.
The first thing I did was to finish peeling up any lifted veneer all around the whole piece of furniture. Once that was all done, I used a wood filler and a putty knife to smooth and level all the surfaces of the vanity. Some areas needed a couple of coats but it wasn’t too bad.
The next step is sanding it all to a smooth surface. The wood filler had to be sanded anyway, but so did the rest of the vanity in order for it to be ready for paint. I used the same chalk paint that I used for some other furniture pieces in the She Shed because I wanted to pull it all together as though they were all from the same suite of furniture.
Chalk paint dries very quickly. I was able to give it that antiqued look that I love so much with the dark wax sealant. The final touch was to add new handles that matched the other furniture pieces. I love the way it turned out!
3. Furniture Refinish – Tea Cart
My husband and I stopped by a second hand furniture store, looking for something specific and stumbled into this little gem. My husband immediately rolled his eyes at my excitement and interest but I knew that it would be an awesome piece to have in our new family room.
It really was in terrific condition. The only problem was the peeling veneer on the tray surfaces. No problem – easy fix! Once again, I peeled up the loosened and lifting veneer, added wood filler, sanded and got it all ready for paint.
This time I used a latex paint in a slightly off-white to match other furniture in our family room and gave it a touch of antiquing with a dark walnut stain just here and there. I only painted the two flat surfaces, leaving the frame the original dark stain. The tea cart also has a glass tray that sits on top and I love that you can see the surface through it.
4. Furniture Refinish – Buffet
My husband and I found this peach of a buffet at a yard sale for $25! I had to have it. I could see exactly what it would be and where we could use it. Our new dining room would be the perfect spot.
This piece had a few spots of peeling veneer. It also had some issues on the inside of the drawers plus a couple of the bottom boards had clearly been chewed on by a teething dog. No problem – easy fix. I fixed the peeling veneers the same as I always do.
The inside of the drawers just needed some strong scraping, sanding and painting and the bottom rails were kind of charming; like the history of the piece was visible. I tightened the loose boards and used wood filler in just a few areas so that some of that history was still visible. I then painted and antiqued the same as I did for the tea cart above. I added a few new pulls and Voila! I absolutely love the way it turned out!!!
5. Furniture from Scrap – Kitchen Island
In my She Shed, I knew that I was going to need an island for extra counter and storage space but one that could also be tucked out of the way. I came up with a designed that would be useful and would also fit in the shelving unit that I built in my She Shed previously.
It was an easy build and I used all repurposed materials except for the locking casters that I ordered from amazon. (I love casters! Seriously, every time I see some at a yard sale or flea market I grab them….and then I use them up.)
For this project I started with 4x4s for the legs. I used 2×4 pieces to build a frame on the bottom as a good starting foundation. I cut 45 degree angles in them to make the strongest bond possible. I added in framing lumber at the top edge as well, giving me a basic cube.
The next step was to choose a level for the middle shelf and add 2×2 framing pieces on which the 1×4 slats could rest. Prior to installing the slats, I put a couple coats of white paint on the island and red paint on the slats. When they were dry, I installed the slats with a finish gun. The butcher block top was a leftover piece from other projects. It worked out so well. I placed it so that one edge had an overhang so that my barstools could sit up at it.
The last two items on the agenda were adding the locking casters and a couple of coat hooks that I had that work perfectly for holding cup towels or pot holders.
6. New Furniture Project – Antique School Desk
During one of our garage sale journeys, I spotted an awesome old school desk. I have an affinity for these and had to have it. Plus it seems fitting, as I am a homeschool mom!
When I got it, it was a little rough but definitely workable. It needed to be, basically, tightened up everywhere but nothing huge. I cleaned it up really well and painted it to match the rest of the furniture in my new family room because I knew that was where I wanted it. I used the slightly off-white latex paint and antiqued it with dark walnut stain.
I didn’t dare try to fill the holes, scratches or gouges in the wood. THAT’S HISTORY! CHARACTER! I also didn’t paint the cast iron frame. I just cleaned it up. I love that it looks old and worn.
7. New Furniture Project – Refinishing Night Stands
As we started getting close to finishing our new addition, It was time to get my bedroom furniture going. We built our new Cedar Bed and you can see that whole process in that post. But we also needed new night stands. We found these neat little pieces that would be perfect, they just needed a little revamping. The video below explains it all.
8. Furniture Refinish – Office Desk
Due to our remodel and expansion, we turned our old master bedroom into our office, then expanded out for our new master, leaving us with a terrific master suite but that meant drawing it all together through decor. We had purchased 2 matching desks from Facebook for almost nothing and they are a perfect fit for the space. I just needed to do some makeover magic to make them presentable.
By now, you probably know the drill:
- Fill cracks, holes, scratches etc, with wood filler
- Give it all a good sanding, then clean up the dust
- Apply chalk paint
- Seal with wax, in this case a mixture of dark and clear wax
To finish this project off, I decoupaged book pages onto my desktop and then sealed it off with multiple coats of polyurethane. I also ended up doing the same thing to my husbands desk to make them match and he decoupaged pictures of deer onto his….go figure.
You can see the transformation in the pics and the process in the video below.
9. New Furniture Project – Wall Easel
As a painter, I have easels of various kinds, but I really wanted some wall easels. Now, with the She Shed, I had the space and opportunity to have them. This was my first time to attempt this project but it turned out pretty great.
The pics and video tell all about it.
NEVER MISS ANYTHING!
If you missed the first part of the She Shed build, or the She Shed Finish then you should check them out! Also, watch for my next post, where I take you through the how-to’s of putting in electrical.
For more posts about farm building, check out Awe Inspiring Skills You Need to Love! Be sure to check out Two Oaks Farmtalk and A life on the Farm for more down home info! And you don’t want to miss Two Oaks Farmstead YouTube Channel where everything collides! But make sure you subscribe to everything so that you always have the latest information!!
