Lately, we've been making an effort in our Scavenger hunts to feature a wider range of furniture. As much as some of us love mid-century modern furniture, we're discovering a newfound love for French antiques and vintage pieces. Since some of these finds on Craigslist need a little love, we found this article on Sunset magazine to be extremely helpful and inspirational.
[ Photos from Sunset Magazine ]
Instead of transforming one piece, Sunset magazine gives four pieces a makeover: an antique dresser (shown above), a Danish side chair, a motley collection of ornate candlesticks, and an outdated side table.
Check out these four DIY step-by-step instructions on how to take an old piece of furniture and give it a makeover.
Got your own Craigslist success story? Share it with us in the comments!
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Comments (13)
I don't have a Craigslist makeover to share ... But wanted to say THANK YOU for this post! I came across that revamped dresser last week, but couldn't remember which website it was on. Now I can stop going through all of my random bookmarks!
My January Jumpstart project involved refinishing two dressers I picked up cheap on Craigslist. I see cool stuff begging to be reworked everyday on CL- if I had more space in my apartment, I'm sure I'd have more ongoing projects!
I have those two chairs. I'm going to the website to see how to cover them.
Ahhh Craigslist . . . where to begin? Literally half the furniture in our home came off CL and most of it needed no revamping at all. The biggest project was relacquering a bedroom dresser to take it from ivory to black. And I've had the edges of a glass tabletop repolished to take off some dings--the job cost $80 and made the top practically new again. CL is one of the best sites on the internet, hands down!
I thought we were supposed to stay away from latex to paint dressers and such because whatever you place on top will leave a mark and stick to the paint even days after you think the piece is dry. Am I wrong?
maybe it's just me, but I hate the dresser revamp and would much have preferred a re=do of the original.
wc_canuck: its you
That dresser is amazing after the redo. As I matter of fact I did one in this exact fashion about a month or so ago. I guess I will post mine as well and see what comes of it.
I don't care for the dresser either (it's the white striping that throws it off for me), BUT totally cool for posting tips on re-do's of old furniture. There is so much more character and originality in these pieces, for a fraction of the price of something new. And once you get the bug -- it's hard to stop. I have one chair with an upholstered seat that I re-cover about once every two years (and I already have backup fabric for next time!).
I think the dresser is awesome, but personally I don't have the guts to paint over an antique.
I love the dresser and would like to update my old girlhood bedroom set by doing such a thing, but considering it's some crappy white laminate in three heavy pieces, and we don't have the space to work on such a thing, I'm going to probably buy something pre-done instead.
I always wonder where people work on refurbs like this... inside a garage you can open and close for ventilation? Or outside where you have to worry about falling leaves and bugs??
Yay for a wider range of furniture! I personally dislike mid century furniture, and adore antique French and anything prior to 1920.
The dresser's much better before. Is it me or does some of this "refinished" painted furniture just look tacky. Not always, but more than not. I liked it a lot before, though. The chair looks great.
Yeah, the dresser was WAY better before. The redo looks really harsh.