Last winter I worked in England for a small furniture
business. My boss went off to auctions and teardowns and came back to the
warehouse every week with these amazing antiques and vintage treasures. My job
was to give these pieces a fresh, updated look by painting them. It really is
pretty amazing what a coat or two of paint can do.
When I came home in the spring I decided to make use of my
father’s woodshop and started out by working on pieces I found around our
family farm. I then began to scour garage sales and even the ends of peoples
drive ways on big garbage days… Seriously, you can find some awesome stuff.
I’ve turned upcycling furniture into my business and it’s so
much fun.
My project this last week was for a client who just repainted
her front hallway. She had this old pine cupboard that was just a little bit
too country for the new look.
Removing the back decorative detail immediately streamlined
the piece, and then I got to work with my palm sander, some paint and some nice
dark brown stain.
I sanded the old finish off the top and applied a new coat
of dark espresso stain. I painted the rest of the piece using Benjamin
Moore’s “Overcoat” (after mixing it into chalk paint, check out this article
for how to do this yourself! http://howtodistressfurniture.net/definitive-guide-homemade-chalk-paint-recipes)
Finally to finish, I distressed the edges and corners of the
piece to let a little bit of the old wood show through, sealed it all with a
coat of water-based Varathane in a satin finish and switched out the old white
porcelain knobs for something a little more modern.
She was thrilled with the result! Upcycling is a great way
to give an old, quality piece of furniture a brand new look.
Be sure to come check out my furniture as well as a variety
of handmade hardwood cutting boards, hand painted kitchen utensils and vintage
housewares at the next Leslieville Flea this Sunday November 17t
from 10am-4pm. It's moved indoors to the Jimmy Simpson Recreation Center (870 Queen Street East).
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