Colleen Quinn

Sharon and her husband have had these beech shelves from IKEA for almost 20 years, and had no desire to replace these perfectly functional (if outdated) units while they still have life in them. Luckily Sharon had a vision of how she might update these cabinets — a vision she was able to implement for only $10, thanks to a well-stocked DIY supply cabinet.After a light sanding, Sharon primed the piece with an oil-base primer and then covered it with a latex paint.

Reeves was privileged enough to have this dresser fall into her lap when her uncle decided it no longer fit his lifestyle. He in turn had been given the dresser by her dad many years before, so Reeves now has a piece of family history in her home.Sadly, this dresser had seen some heavy use over the years, use that left its mark. Reeves sanded the entire dresser, then restained the piece with Rustoleum Dark Walnut.

Almost two years ago, I wrote about reducing the visual noise of this glass-door bookcase I use for DVD storage. Though not ideal for this purpose, the piece has sentimental value because it belonged to a neighbor/surrogate grandmother who has since passed away. My original effort to reduce the visual noise using paper I had in the house was successful, but never really made my heart sing.Skip ahead to last month when I found this beautiful inspiration image from Elle Decor.

Jennifer picked up these chairs last year when she began planning for a dining room makeover. She knew she wanted two armchairs to anchor her dining room set, but wasn’t 100% certain how to finish them. As her vision for the space evolved, so too did her vision for these wonderful chairs.Jennifer stripped the chairs down to the wood frames then spray painted them with Rustoleum Metallic Gold with a top coat of spray poly.

When Liz and her husband completed their kitchen renovation, they still couldn’t agree on whether or not to add an island. Liza was a fan of the idea, but her husband was concerned about overwhelming their space. After months of debate, and recent entertaining experiences, Liz decided to take the bull by the horns.Once Liz started searching for an island with the proper measurements for her kitchen, she realized that such a specific size might require a custom solution.

When Terry’s neighbor offered her this piece to redo, she knew she had a challenge on her hands. This sturdy little cabinet had already been altered by a previous owner who removed doors and the bottom to create a mini-desk, adding odd triangular trim pieces for support. Terry knew those pieces had to go if this cabinet was going to get a new lease on life.Terry removed the V-shaped trim and lined the inside of the cabinet with painted bead board.

When Jamie found this lovely mid-century modern dresser at a Salvation Army store fo only $50, she knew she’d hit the jackpot. Though she didn’t love the yellowing tone of the piece, and the finish was in bad shape (especially on the top), the lines and solid construction made it a great choice for an update.Jamie used Citristrip to remove the old finish, coating the entire dresser then leaving it to sit overnight.

When Jill found this sad little side table, it was in desperate need of some TLC to help bring it back to life. Jill was able to see past the missing trim, the broken foot and the badly damaged finish on this table to the strong bones and solid wood underneath. With a little hard work and creativity, she was able to transform this table into a showpiece for any room.After taking the table apart, Jill used Citristrip to remove all the old damaged finish.

Korrie has a passion for furniture, a passion she happily shares with her friends and community of blog readers. Though she usually find pieces to refinish herself, sometimes she benefits from what she herself calls their shared furniture addiction. This chest started out as a friend’s project, one that she passed along to Korrie when she found herself overwhelmed.

当希瑟发现这茶车,这是隐藏在the back corner of a garage, cobwebby, dirty, and even a little water damaged. Despite the dilapidated appearance, the structure was solid, and Heather knew just how to reinvigorate this piece of history to make it work in her home.Yup — Heather transformed her tea cart into a bar cart, a lovely marriage of past function and present need in her home.

Julie was lucky enough to find this matching pair of settees for her sun room on sale for a mere $10! Though she didn’t love the dark wood and dated fabric, she did love the lines and function of these pieces, which she knew could be updated to work in her room.A couple of coats of white paint later, and the bases are lighter and brighter. Julie selected a new floral fabric and redid the upholstery to give these settees a new lease on life.

When Melody found this white painted dresser on her local Craigslist, she knew that it could be transformed by a little TLC. Despite the peeling paint and damaged top, the dresser had great lines and was solidly built, making it an excellent candidate for a makeover. Best of all, Melody had a spot and a purpose all picked out for this piece once the transformation was complete.Melody’s first step was stripping and sanding the top to see if she would be able to restain it vs. painting.

Carrie obviously has better yard sale luck than most of us, as she was able to pick up this darling vintage typewriter table at a local sale for only $4 — an astonishing deal by any standard. When she bought it, Carrie already knew this table was getting a cartographic makeover.Carrie’s first step was priming the table, before covering it with white spray paint. After selecting three different maps, she modge-podged them to the three sections of the table top.

Janel had an old round table that was just crying out for a makeover. After some careful thought and consideration, she decided to cover the entire table with Rub’n’Buff. At that point the table took on a beautiful burnished gold tone, but Janel wasn’t finished.Janel decided to cover the top of the table with a compass rose, and she decided to create that pattern herself rather than using a stencil!

Sheila was never a fan of the console that held her TV and other media equipment, especially given its size in relation to the awkward corner that housed the installation. Months ago she found the ideal solution to her dilemma and ordered an artist’s easel to convert into a TV/media stand. With just a little modification, she was able to transform the easel and therefore her living room.

This dresser is a telling reminder that DIY efforts to improve older furniture are nothing new — though viewing this wallpaper application as an improvement may be a stretch! Despite the poor finish, the waterfall dresser itself is a solid piece, one Sarah knew deserved a makeover.Sarah stripped off the green patterned wallpaper only to discover thick layers of paint underneath.

Titia was out running errands when she decided to swing by one of her favorite junk stores. While wending her way through back streets, she came upon a treasure trove of furniture just being discarded, and hopped out to look. Her luck held when she found two pieces she knew she could work with — and when a passerby offered to help her load them into her car!Even before she began stripping off that terrible brown paint, Titia was certain she had found a very special piece.

It is obvious that Karen must a dedicated DIYer with an artist’s eye if she could find the beauty in this dilapidated dresser. Her father-in-law rescued this dresser from the dumpster knowing that Karen would be able bring this piece back to life.After waiting for inspiration to strike, Karen got to work scraping and stripping and sanding to remove the layers of peeling paint. She then painted the dresser in a slate grey and created a pattern to help celebrate her 19th wedding anniversary.

Michelle had been searching for a media console since she moved into her condo, something to replace the modern IKEA piece that came with her home. When she saw the above piece listed on Craigslist for only $40, she immediately headed out to purchase it. She knew that after a little TLC, it would be the perfect addition to her home.

From the moment she saw it, Melanie loved the quirky lines of this solid wood desk. The piece had obviously been left outside to endure the seasons; the top had essentially been stripped of any protective finish. What many would see as a fault Melanie considered a benefit — less work to strip the piece down to ready for a makeover!Melanie wanted a masculine finish for her college student son, and even considered painting the entire desk black.

It is clear from the photo above that Lesli has the kind of yard sale luck that most of us can only dream about, even on our best day. When she arrived at a local yard sale, she immediately saw the perfect bed for her daughter, a bed that had somehow been overlooked by antique hunters earlier in the day. When she saw the price tag, a whopping $25, she paid immediately and accepted the help of the seller to load up her car.

辛蒂和她的丈夫喜欢户外possibilities offered by their large patio, but didn’t love the boring grey expanse of concrete. With this shady spot offering a respite from soaring temperatures, Cindy knew she had to turn it into a more colorful, welcoming space for her family.After using a power washer to clean the patio furniture, she painted the metal chairs with brown spray paint to create some needed contrast.

When Mel first saw this pair of bamboo shelving units in her Habitat for Humanity store, she passed them by without purchasing. She then spent the rest of the night worrying that someone else would have snapped them up; thankfully they were still at the store when she returned the following day. With their glass shelves and ornate lines, Mel just knew these pieces were perfect for a makeover.

Holly readily admits that organization isn’t her strong point, so she certainly sympathized with her client’s desire to find a “mommy desk” to help her get organized as her eldest started kindergarten. Holly found this vintage teacher’s desk, solidly built though marked by years of doodling and dings. With strong bones but in desperate need of a refinish, this desk was the perfect candidate for a makeover.

When Elizabeth and her husband bought their house six years ago, the inspector told them the deck stairs should be replaced within the year. Every year they would add the deck stairs to their to-do list, and every year they somehow failed to get to that project. Until this year that is- after watching the deck stairs shudder when the family pet ran down them, Elizabeth decided the time had come to reclaim their outside space.

Monica had been on the lookout for an armchair to paint ever since she fell in love with one such project she found online. When she finally did find what she through was the right $50 chair for this endeavor, she then changed her mind. A small tear in the fabric convinced her that reupholstering was the better way to go — until, that is, she got a quote for $300 and decided to revisit her DIY options.

Jill’s entry from the garage had been a thorn in her side for months. Though the checkerboard floor was a great feature, the paneled walls were dark and dated; certainly not the warm welcome home she craved. In addition to a brighter color, Jill knew she wanted to add what she calls a “landing pad” for shoes, coats, bags, etc — a spot other than her kitchen table!

Karen scored this dresser when it was left behind in a friend of a friend’s garage. She took that dresser with its one green painted drawer home and painted it white and cream to match her bedroom, and there it has lived for the last seven years. She and her husband are working to update their master bedroom, and Karen decided this dresser was just asking for a makeover.

When Kalie and Travis moved into their house a year ago, they knew they had a lot of things to change to make it feel like home. Thrilled to finally have an outlet for their passion for decorating, they have been gradually implementing their big plans in their self-defined little house.They changed out the light wood floors for dark, and installed new custom cabinets built by a friend.

After Rachel had her new wood floors installed, it was clear she had a problem- her always darker than desired kitchen was now even more basement-like because her cabinets now matched the tone of her floor. Determined to create a lighter, brighter space without spending a lot of money, Rachel decided to use paint to transform her kitchen.Rachel used a Rustoleum Countertop Transformations Kit to transform her counters from dark grey to desert sand.

When Sarah picked up this painted dresser for $25, she knew the bright red paint and mismatched knobs had to go. Since the red paint wasn’t quite her thing, she immediately covered the dresser with a coat of citri-strip. Once that round of stripper revealed the mahogany beneath the paint, she knew her makeover would be both more complicated and more satisfying.After stripping the entire dresser down to the underlying wood, Sarah pretreated the base and then stained with Minwax Dark Walnut.

Catherine’s husband Danny owned this rather orange coffee table when they first met, and she freely admits to having spent the last few years moving it around the house in an attempt to hide its rather bright hue. The flaking finish plus some penmanship practice in one corner made this piece ripe for a makeover once Catherine found her inspiration in a post by a fellow blogger.

When Susan first saw this battered buffet, it was anything but love at first sight. Water stains, peeling veneer, and missing drawer pulls — this buffet had them all. Thankfully, it also had wonderful lines, solid construction, and some beautiful carved legs peeping through the grime and abuse. With a gritty determination, Susan set out to restore this buffet to reflect its proud past.

Ashley picked this table up at a thrift store for only $10, a great deal for a piece with this much hidden storage. Despite the obvious benefits of such a table for a growing family, the look of the piece is dated and too dark for Ashley’s plan to brighten up her living room. Though this project required a lot of time and attention to detail, the end result is a great addition to Ashley’s evolving living room.

Sarah got herself a great deal on this painted dresser — or so she thought until she started sanding off the paint on the top and found not solid wood but veneer. Battered veneer patched with wood filler. Veneer she knew she would have to chip off bit by bit. Veneer that ultimately required a chisel and a heat gun to remove completely. Despite her hatred of the process, the end result was certainly worth the effort.

When Ms. Bliss found this lemon yellow dresser by the side of the road, she was certain it still had some life left in it. She was already working on redoing her 13-year-old son’s bedroom, and knew the added storage would be a great addition to that space. With only minimal damage to be fixed, this dresser was an excellent candidate for a more masculine makeover.Ms.