Easy and Affordable DIY Table Transformation

Some of you may remember this table I shared a while back here that I found at my local DI for $15. Although it was missing it's leaf, it was in otherwise great condition for a refurb and all solid wood.

Using the same methods I shared with you HERE and HERE for sanding off the previous stain and finishes, I stripped the wood down bare on top and then wiped on several coats of Minwax Wood Finish Stain in Dark Walnut. 

After the stain had dried, I applied a few coats of Annie Sloan Soft Dark Wax.

I've had a few readers ask how to apply this stain on pieces like this where the grain meets together in the center without creating streaky lines.  Truthfully, I just use a rag and word with the grain in quarter sections at a time trying to "stay inside the lines" like I did with my first dining room table.

It takes a bit of practice and doesn't always look perfect but it looks good enough for me!  I haven't had much success in working against the grain or in perfectly straight lines that don't follow the wood.  If you've found it to work better for you another way, do share!

I've also found that even when I try to sand the tabletop down as evenly as possible, and pre-treat it with wood conditioner to prevent uneven color, sometimes the wood just takes differently.  That happened in this case and while I was so frustrated at first I eventually decided to just go with it and am so happy with the end result.  It gave it a more rustic and natural un-factory like finish.

Also, I have found that in nearly every piece I've stained that the lip below the main surface top always stains much much darker than the top.  Usually, the lip is made of MDF or similar so it absorbs the stain differently than the solid wood like maple, oak or alder does.  It doesn't bother me that it appears darker, but if it's not your thing then you may want to consider choosing a few shades lighter for the lip, or opt to paint the whole top instead of stain it.

Then, the easiest part was slabbing on a few coats of cream colored Behr Paint and Primer in One that I have on hand from one of my oops paint $5/gallon purchases.  After that dried, I glazed the nooks and crannies with a combo of Valspar's Antiquing Glaze and my Ralph Lauren Faux techniquing glaze in a cocoa color.  Lastly, I finished the apron and legs off with a few coats of poly spray for protection.  You know how I love the contrast of a dark wooden top with creamy white legs.  Sexaaaaay.

Then, I quickly beautified these cute little chairs that I recently bought from my friend's younger bro for super cheap.  Haven't all of you had a set like these in your house growing up at one point?  I know I sure did. 

Since the wood matched pretty closely to the tabletop I had just stained, I opted to keep a part of the chair in it's original finish.  I taped up the back dowels and spray painted the rest of the chair with Krylon Dual's Paint and Primer in One in cream.  (I started to paint one chair with a roller and brush using the same Behr paint I used for the table but with all the little spindles and legs, it was taking FOREVER so spray paint became my new best friend for the day).  After a few hits of sandpaper to the high points and some of my glaze concoction to the nooks and crannies, the chairs turned out like this:

Not quite like the ones you grew up with anymore, right?

So, here is how this cute little dining family of a table and 4 chairs looks together.

You don't have to have a lot of money or even a lot of talent to make a great looking dining room set.  This whole set cost me a whopping $35.  Yes, $35!  You can do it too peeps! 

I'm sharing this makeover with my friends here:  Go check them out for more inspiration!

XO

~PW

What Would Penny Wenny Do? An Old Piano

One of my darling readers Kylee inspired a new series I want to do here, called "What Would Penny Wenny Do?"  She emailed me with questions about how to refinish an old piano that she got for FREE.  Yes, F.R.E.E.  After getting over my intense jealousy, I decided that rather than just email her back with my suggestions, it would be fun to post her project here and share my tips/ advice/ suggestions for how I would tackle the project if it were my own.  I would also love to hear from you smarty pants about any great suggestions you might have for her!

If you have any projects of your own that you would like advice on, please shoot me an email and I would love to feature you as our next WWPWD post.

Without further adieu, I present to you Kylee's FREE (just in case you missed that the first time) piano.

You can see that this piano has probably seen better days and definitely needs some TLC.  BUT, her bones are lovely!  I am in love with the bench also.  With some elbow grease and paint, this baby can be looking good as new very soon.

So my dear Kylee, here's what I would do.

•  Fill in the gaps

It's hard to tell for sure from the picture, but it looks like the piece of wood below the keys is where the most damage has been done.  It looks like the wood has been gouged pretty well, and just needs to be filled back in.  I would take some Kwik Wood and fill back in the holes to try and re-create the shape that the piece once had.  Twice Lovely shared an awesome tutorial on how she used this product that you can check out HERE.  This product can be found at your local hardware store for around $5.

If there are other areas on the piano where chunks of wood are missing, fill those in as well with this product.  The scratches and dings throughout the wood can be buffed out in the next step.



• Sand her down

Use an orbital sander and buff down all of the flat surfaces on the piano. I would suggest starting with a medium sand paper, and work your way down to a fine sand paper.  The medium paper (80-120 grit) will strip some of the stain/ varnish but most importantly help to buff out the scratches and dings.  If you intend to re-stain the entire piano, then you will need to do a very thorough job of sanding beginning with a coarse paper (60-80 grit), and should plan on spending quite some time to do that.  If it were my project, there's no way I would be willing to strip and re-stain the entire piano.  This is where paint is your BFF.  Don't stress when you sand about getting everything completely off.  You just want to create a smoother surface to begin with.  After you finish with the medium paper, you should repeat the process with a fine grit sandpaper (150-180 grit) to smooth out the surface.  You can read more about the process of sanding from one of my previous posts HERE.

For the hand carved or curvy places on the piano, I suggest sanding by hand with a medium and then fine sanding block.  You want to focus on smoothing out the scratches, and creating a less glossy surface for your paint to adhere to.

• Clean her up

This might seem like a silly step to mention, but it is often neglected by furniture fixer uppers, and shows on the finished product.  There is nothing worse than a ruined paint job because of the dust specks that were neglected.  Take some time once you are finished sanding to really clean up all of the dust.  I would use a vacuum and go all around the piano and in all the nooks and crannies with the hose attachment.  Lastly, I would use a rag and some cleaner or some Clorox or Lysol wipes and clean everything off really well. 

• Get your Paint on

So, here's where the fun begins.  There are sooooo many different options for paints to use, and really I think you will be fine with whatever you choose.  As a thrifty gal myself, I would recommend hitting up your local Home Depot and Lowes every day to look for oops paint.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this, hardware stores will discount paint that has already been mixed for a customer who didn't want it, or color was wrong and sell it to us fine folks for CHEAP.... like $5 a gallon on a normally priced $34 gallon of paint.  My favorite product is Behr's Ultra Paint and Primer in One in a satin finish.  It saves extra steps and money when you don't have to buy the primer separately.  I have found this particular type in the Oops several times at Home Depot.  Look for a color similar to the one that you want (or exact) and if you want it darker, ask the sales person to work on the color for you.  If you intend to sell the piano when you are finished, I would suggest going with a fairly neutral color (like cream) that is more versatile to buyers.  If it's going to stay in your family, don't be afraid to take a walk on the wild side and go for a fun bold color.  If you can't stand the waiting game and want a specific color, you will likely need to pay full price for the gallon.  I believe HD has a $5 off each gallon of Behr sale running right now as a 4th of July sale.

I would use a small brush (Purdy) to cut in all the corners and intricate hand carved places and to go around the hardware, and roll with a small foam roller on all of the main flat surfaces.

I used to be so meticulous about taking everything apart on furniture and painting each individual piece one at a time, then screwing all of the doors/ hinges back on, etc. but I have since found it to be so unnecessary and such a waste of time.  If you have a steady hand, just cut in carefully around all of the hardware and hinges.  I would suggest however, taking off the base plate (or whatever it's called) around the foot pedals of the piano (can you tell I don't play???) and clean that off really well.  If you want a more contemporary/ modern look you can spray paint that piece a hammered bronze or pewter, but I think it would add to the vintage charm if you keep it the original color. 

• Distress away

This step is optional, but since this is a post for What Would Penny Wenny Do, I'm telling you what I would do.  I would lightly distress the edges, corners, and high points of the piano with a sanding block, allowing the wood to show through.  Then I would glaze, wax, or stain in those same areas.  There are so many techniques and options to do this.  My personal preference (as of lately) is to use Minwax stain in a deep color like Dark Walnut or Jacobean, and very lightly apply it with a rag to the piece of furniture to the areas that you just distressed.  You can read in more detail about how to accomplish that from a previous post of mine HERE.

•  Protect her well

Last but certainly not least, I would apply a finishing protective coat.  I would suggest using a clear wax that is soft enough to apply with a brush particularly in the nooks and crannies, like Annie Sloan clear wax, or Fiddes and Sons.  Note- I do love Minwax paste finishing wax (particularly for convenience of purchasing at HD and cost), but it is very thick so it clumps up in nooks and crannies, and only really works well on flat surfaces.  If cost is an issue, a polyurethane coat will work great!  I would suggest using Minwax Polyurethane in the satin finish, and apply it the same way that you did the paint (foam roller and brush), but apply several coats with a very light sanding of extra fine sandpaper between each coat to eliminate any of the bubbles it creates.

• Add some pizazz

Because I am Penny Wenny, you know that I just wouldn't be able to finish this project without some sort of fabric or pattern action happening.  I think you should totally upholster the piano bench!!!  If you haven't upholstered anything before, this is actually one of the simplest upholstery projects to start with.  Find a fun fabric on sale at Home Fabrics, or online at Fabric.com, get some foam from your local DI for $1, borrow a friend's pneumatic staple gun, and have some fun!  You can refer to my tutorial HERE on how to upholster a simple rectangular shape where there wasn't anything there before.

So, easy as 1, 2, 3, right?  Please know that my suggestions are not the only way that you can refinish this.  Brooke from All Things Thrifty recently finished an amazing piano of her own using spray paint, that looks phenomenal and can be viewed HERE.  I hate all of the taping required to spray paint, so I would opt for the brush and roller but you need to do whatever works best for you.

Alright friends- now it's your part.  Pipe in please in the comments section (kindness only, please) if you have any other great suggestions or tips for Kylee when she finishes this beauty. 

Once Kylee is finished with this fabulous project she just committed to (especially  now since we shared it here) I will post her end results here.  GOOD LUCK KYLEE!

Please remember to send me any projects you have questions on.  And for those of you dedicated readers who stuck it out to the end of this lengthy post, check back soon for an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Wax giveaway.... yes you read that right.  See you soon friends!

xoxo

~PW

Faux Mirrored Metallic Night Stands

I think it's safe to say that these amazing Henredon Night Stands really completed my Master Bedroom Makeover.  I won't pretend that they were the easiest project for me.  It took FOREVER to accomplish the look that I wanted.  Fortunately for you fine folks, I tried about 5 different methods and through trial and error, finally got the exact look I wanted so that you don't have to figure it out the hard way. Keep in mind as you read through this tutorial that you may decide to eliminate (or add) some of the steps depending on what look you want.  Best of luck to you!

I could kick myself for not taking a full "before" picture of the night stands when I purchased them.  I saw them on KSL and was instantly in love with their legs, hardware, size, and amazing carved details.  They came out of an upscale SLC hotel when they were renovating the rooms.  I walked away with them for a mere $40 a pop.  Talk about a deal.  If you don't know the brand Henredon, go check out their website and then let me know what you think about $40 a piece for these babies.  When I picked them up, they looked like they were a cream with some gold-ish glaze.  It wasn't till I got home and saw them in the daylight that I realized they were a very yellow cream with an almost greenish glaze.  Ick. 

This is the only picture I can find that sort of shows the whole piece (hiding under the pain cans) 

 Love the detail but hate the stain

So, step one: I sanded..  Most often if a piece is in good condition without chipping paint, I will prime right away without sanding.  In this case, there were several chunks of paint missing that would have left little pot holes.  Also, I was curious to see what kind of wood was hiding underneath there in the event that I decided to stain instead.  I used an electric sander on all flat surfaces without any details (the top, and drawer fronts).  I used very fine sand paper and hand sanded all other areas that were rounded at all.  I completely avoided the hand carved detailing.  If sanding is necessary on ornate details, you can use steel wool.
 
Step two:  I spray primed. Using Rustoleum Painter's touch gray primer, I sprayed these with several light coats until I had a good even coverage.  Both stands only required about a can and a half.

Step 3: I spray painted.  Using Rustoleum Painter's touch spray paint in granite (satin finish), I sprayed several light coats once the primer had completely dried.

In between here and the next steps I made lots of boo boo's. Mistake # 1: I experimented with a different style similar to the one I did on the Thomasville dresser and HATED it on these stands.  So lucky for me, I got to repeat steps 2 and 3 again to get back to where I started.

Step 4: I painted again- metallic rolling style. 

Using Ralph Lauren's Regent Metallic Silver Base paint and Ralph Lauren's metallic finish roller, I rolled several coats onto the stands.  This product is one that is intended for you to add your own color into it.  Because my sweet friend had given me the rest of a can she used (and opted not to add a color), I decided to try it as-is also, thinking it would look really cool to still have the gray shine through as my base color. 

NOTE: Ralph Lauren is being discontinued at Home Depot, so all of their paint products are on sale 50% off.  Run in and stock up on their Regent Metallic before they bite the dust.

I originally applied it with a regular brush, and it looked awful (mistake # 2). 

The center shows what it looked like brushed on... the edges were still the result from mistake# 1

 Mistake # 3:Then I tried a regular roller, and it still looked awful.  The roller kept pulling up the previous rolls.

After a stop at the Home Depot (and spilling the rest of the paint in my purse), I learned that RL makes a special roller for this particular application. 

 I thought it was just a gimmick to get you to by a stupid $7 roller but seriously, you have to have this to get the finish that the paint is intended to create.  PAY THE $7.  After several coats of rolling, the stands looked like this:

The finish was exactly what I wanted, but there was still too big of a contrast between the base coat and the brightness of the metallic finish. 

Step 5: I sprayed- metallic style. Using Rustoleum Metallic spray paint in "Silver Metallic" color, I sprayed over the regent metallic finish with several light coats.  FINALLY it was coming together.  I loved the combination of these two finishes.  The texture that the RL roller gave still shone through, but the spray paint helped to blend together the two different colors. 

Step 6: Using Valspar's Antiquing glaze, I dry brushed lightly onto the stands until I had covered all areas, paying special attention to the nooks and crannies. Then, using a completely dry paper towel, I rubbed the glaze into the paint, until it was dry and started to glaze into the "splotches" that the RL metallic finish had created.

                                 
 
Please note that of course I learned this the hard way also through mistake # 4. I originally brushed it on thoroughly, and then wiped the glaze off with a damp rag.  It left basically no glaze on the main surfaces, only in the cracks- not the look I wanted)  

You can play with the glaze and add or remove as much as you want to.  I have found Clorox wipes or a rag with windex to work well at removing excess glaze (not that I've ever had to do that, like a billion times. ahem.)

I opted to leave the center of my night stand unglazed, because I wanted it to look more like an actual mirror, and wanted to get it as shiny as I could. 

Once everything else was all glazed, she looked like this:

Optional Step 7: To make the top as shiny as possible, I sprayed her with several more coats of the Metallic Silver spray. 

Step 8: I applied protective clear coats.  I sprayed the top with Rustoleum Clear Gloss (hoping for the shiniest finish) and the rest of the stand was brushed on with Minwax Water based Polycrylic in semi- gloss.  I would suggest using this same product in a spray can if you have to purchase it anyway; I just used what I had on hand but spraying is definitely more convenient.  Be sure to spray your can upside down when finished to clear the nozzle so that you don't clog it up for the next time (not that I have 4 cans with that problem right now or anything...) I applied 2 coats of clear finish, then sanded with a very fine sand paper to get rid of any bumps or brush marks.

I finished with a third and final coat of finish.

Step 9:  I sprayed the hardware.  Though I often love to keep original hardware as-is, my hardware looked a bit too dingy against the gorgeous silver.  It still had some of that green-ness to it and was too bronze.  I sprayed the hardware with several very light coats of Rustoleum Hammered spray paint in Dark Bronze color. 

I put all the hardware back on, and VIOLA! Gorgeous Night Stands, finished exactly how I wanted them.

I must say I am in love.  Hopefully your attempts will go much smoother than mine with my mistakes and successes.  If you learned nothing else from this, know that I too make mistakes- lots of them.  As Winston Churchill so wisely said, "If at first you don't succeed, try try again".  That I did, Winston.

I would like to give a special recognition to Little Green Notebook and Recaptured Charm for their inspiration and tutorials on how to achieve similar looks.  Thanks ladies!

That's all for today folks.

~PW

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