Becoming a DIYer: Refinishing Furniture

For our wedding, my grandparents gave us their old bedroom set.  It's was in great shape and had sleek lines and no frills-just how I like it.  The trick was that it was just old enough that the blonde paint color was fading in some areas and the handles were falling off.  It just needed a spruce.  SO....we tried something new!  Refinishing!  It was a lot of work but was totally worth it.  Here's how you can do it, too!

*Dresser Before*

1.  Give yourself plenty of time.  We did it over Memorial Day Weekend and spent most of the day Saturday and then all day Monday (Started at 5AM and ended at 10PM) to finish.
















2. Buy This------------------------------------------------------>
The Home Depot guy recommended it, and now I do, too.

*Drawers During*

3. Apply CitriStrip GENEROUSLY onto the paint you want to remove.  (We were trying to use sparingly, but we had to reapply three times).  If you put enough on, it comes off with a paint scraper easily.  If you don't, you'll be sore (Like we were).  We had to buy two CitriStrip bottles to cover our two dressers and the headboard.  Buy enough for your size project.

 




4. Once the majority of the paint is removed, you'll want to sand away any remaining paint that may be on there. I recommend something like this.----------------------------------------------------------------------->
I thought it would be a waste, but you put the sandpaper in it, and it makes your hands feel so much better. Since this part takes a while, it's worth the small investment.

*Headboard During*

5. Put primer on, and let it dry according to directions.

6. Apply stain with a paint brush.  We put three coats on to get the color we liked.  It just depends how dark you want the color to be.  To expose the grain of the wood, you can wipe the stain away with a rag.  Let it dry according to directions.



Lessons Learned:          

• Your clothes will probably get ruined (At least mine were).  Dress appropriately.
• Get some new handles while you're at it.  I LOVE our new ones.  They make all the difference!
  
• Do this outside.  
• We started inside over cloths, but it still got on the kitchen floor and was a bear to scrape off.
• You don't want the smell in your house.
• It will dry faster outside.

*Final Product*

*Finished Bedroom*

PS Ali chose Roberto, and it makes me so happy!  They're just great!