Make Ugly Furniture Your Own

Have you looked at buying new furniture recently?

Well I did and let me tell you, it can be expensive! I'm sure if you broke down the amount of time I'd spend sitting on that couch the price might make sense, but I'm not here for a rational numerical point. I just wanted to vent my disappointment that all nice modern looking furniture and my budget don't mix.

This means, as with most things, I'm sticking with the frugal option. I'll be hopping in the '09 Camry and cruisin' around to second hand stores looking to buy used furniture, or best case getting it for free, and trying to make it my own. The only problem I have with that is I'm 30 now, basically an adult, I want my place to look nice. So, the best solution I've found to getting modern looking furniture is to do it myself and here is how..

First, I only want to recommend you take on these jobs if you really want to hate your life for a few hours during the sanding phase!

White Washing

When I moved into Deal 3 I was going to need some new furniture so I began my hunt when I luckily got an email from a co-worker that someone at their school was giving away free stuff - bingo!

The furniture was not my style but still nice quality. I figured I could just take the free thing and try to make it better and ended up trying to white wash it. 

Step 1 -  Sand The Dang Thing

I thought the process would be a lot easier and less time consuming than it was. The whole process took like 6 hours which felt way too long. I was disappointed that the wood didn't have any marking so instead of completely sanding it we left some black spots to give it some texture. 

This is the sander that I used and liked that it came to a point which made it easy to get into certain areas.

Step 2 - Create The Paint 
To get the white washed look you'll need to add water to your paint. The more water you add the more diluted the paint will come out. I used a half and half ratio but that was still to thick for the look I wanted and ended up doing about a third. 

With added water

Step 3 - Applying The Paint 
You'll naturally want to apply the paint in long strokes that are going in the same direction.  One of the differences between normal painting and white washing is you'll want to have a cloth handy. After each stroke you'll want to wipe it off to get your desired look.  Just keep this going until your done!

These were the paint brushes I used.

Final Product
There is still some decorating or sprucing up yet to be down but overall I'm relatively happy with how it turned out. It didn't turn out exactly how I pictured but for free I can't really complain. 

Before

After

Wood Staining And Chalk Paint

When I got the T.V. stand I got two other pieces also, this one I wanted to turn into a little bar for my office. I was hoping for a rustic and weathered look and didn't know how I was going to get it from this. Time to work some magic!

Step 1 -  Sand The Dang Thing
After the entertainment center I had a better idea of how long it might take to sand so I tried to avoid it. I thought about just keeping the piece the same color and doing something with the doors. I tried to sand them but it had so many layers it was taking forever. I thought about just flipping the doors and painting the inside. But, the slight green color around the doors was not something I could live with. I started sanding the green paint and then the sides to try and get that weathered look and got carried away. Once I started I didn't stop! I ended up doing a lot of it but still left some black for texturing. 
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Step 2  - Stain The Wood
Depending on how dark you are want to go will dictate how much you apply. You'll also want a rag or something handy to be able to wipe off the excess stain to better control the color.

Step 3 -   Applying Chalk Paint
Next, I went to Home Depot and picked up chalk paint to put on that doors. The paint spreads really weird and you'll need to use a lot. I used a chalk pen to write on the doors but don't think that really worked the best as I had a hard time getting it off or erasing it. It was easy to wipe off right after I wrote but if it was a couple minutes later it would leave a mark. 

If you need some chalk paint here is a cheap option!​

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Final Product
I had planned to paint the inside of the doors black and to have a list of what I had in stock but this actually turned out better than I thought. 

Before

After

After

After

A Baseboard Frame

I got a scratch off map as a gift but needed a frame. I looked and either there weren't any that fit or if you bought it from the site it was $90, yeah.. okay. When I was redoing the floors in one of the units of Deal 1 there were baseboard that were being thrown out and used those.

Step 1 - Measure And Cut
I measured out the length and then cut it accordingly. I debated on whether I should try and cut the pieces at an angle to give it a better look but decided not to.

Step 2 - Staple Map
I used a staple gun to attached the picture to the frame. This isn't the easiest or most secure away to have it attached, I should honestly put something behind it but for now it works.

Step 3 - Stain It
I didn't originally stain the frame but once I had the bar, and it's darker color, I needed to do the frame so it would match. I didn't detach the picture I just slide painters plastic over the picture and it protected it well. 

Summary
I'm generally happy with how all of them turned out and even more happy that they were all free! I have a couple more things in the garage that I will eventually get around to and will make sure to keep post those once they are done!