Way before I started cutting up large pieces of fabric into small bits and sewing them back together into beautiful designs, I had lots of other creative endeavors. One was updating furniture. Annually I went to the Antique Extravaganza in Mount Dora plus hit local thrift stores to pick up old worn out furniture to change into a more modern version.

I really hate buying new stuff that’s mass produced in other countries. But I will say that I do. I have lots of IKEA. Cause there just isn’t enough hours in the day to find the perfect piece and then update it.

I really do enjoy the whole process of taking old stuff and making it wonderful! (Is there some magic that can do that for me?)

I have lots of rooms to fill up in our new home in North Dakota. And lucky for me that my daughter-in-law Lauri also loves saving old furniture. And my son is happy to feed our hobby with picking up inventory.

Anyhow…

I have refinished a lot of furniture over the years for several of our homes. I typically cleaned, sanded down and stained or spray painted. Relatively easy.

These dining room chairs—not so easy but I’m Happy to say that I FINALLY finished them.

I have never used Chalk Paint. But daughter-in-law Lauri has and does a beautiful job. So when she told me that she used Heirloom Traditions paint on the base of the kitchen table and it was even easier than Chalk Paint, I was ready to try it.

If you watch all the YouTube videos about Heirloom Traditions, it is two coat coverage. No sanding. No priming. Just clean it with a degreaser and start painting. I thought okay. I’ll try it.

I bought one quart in the “bone” color. Watched all the videos. Went to work. Typically I would have first spray painted with a primer but it wasn’t supposed to be necessary.

Six coats later–for each chair–and a second quart of paint. I finally have coverage. (And once I brought them into the dining room, I could see that some of the black was still showing through which I will need to touch up. Scheesch.)

Terry and I did the upholstery. I was happy with that!

The chairs aren’t perfect. But they are done!

Here is the before…

And another after….

I intend to refinish the other four chairs but I’m burnt out on updating chairs, I’ll be tackling this dresser first.

I bought this for our basement bedroom suite back in 2014 when we were spending our summers in our daughter-in-law and son’s refinished basement. (Eight years before we considered buying the house.) It is ugly. There is an armoire, headboard, and nightstand to match. All just as ugly. Well, actually Lauri updated the armoire with chalk paint and removed the doors so it is very pretty now.

I’ve already sanded the top down to the raw wood.

Whatever I do with this piece, I will need to continue on with the night stand and headboard. I have considered three scenarios,

First, strip all of it down then stain. Problem is–I don’t think I have the patience, the tools, or the skill set to strip the carvings.

Second, stain the top and paint the rest with the Heirloom Traditions Paint. That’s a very popular trend right now in refurbishing furniture. (I will use primer first!) Then highlight the carving with a gel stain. Kind of leaning into the ugly. Probably the easiest option.

Third, stain the top, fill all those carvings in with wood filler. And then paint the base.

I’ve been considering all three of those options for the last several weeks. Still undecided. If you have an opinion I would love to hear it!

And my son just delivered a load of furniture he picked up at thrift stores. Really great stuff. Lauri and I are very excited about the possibilities.

Sad to say, I do believe I will run out of summer before I run out of projects. So many things I was hoping to get done before heading back to Florida. But our time is quickly running out and the big drive is looming!