by Val Frania
Do you want to learn to paint amazing furniture? Come watch the videos in my 3 workshops on prep, glazing and blending. Then join us on Furniture Flipping Blueprint to learn more and find your passion. Come take a look >>> 3 Workshops for Furniture Flippers (This is now closed – look for it again in the fall.)
General Finishes Chalk Style Paint Revitalizes Ethan Allen Dressers In honor of our forum sponsors, General Finishes (May 2019) and D. Lawless Hardware (June 2019), I redesigned this trio using the GF beautiful chalk style paint in Midnight Blue along with some glitzy hardware, the Concentric Bright Brass Plated Swan Neck Bail Pulls and the knobs were the Amerock Brass Radiance Oval Knobs. The two dressers are matching Ethan Allens and the nightstand is a piece I grabbed from my inventory to create a three piece matched set. You can take several non-matching pieces that are not the same brand/manufacturer and paint and decorate them alike to bring them all together to look like a matched set. The Befores My DH cleaned, sanded, and spray primed all three pieces using an oil based primer. The two dressers were obviously matching pieces, but the nightstand wasn’t, so we did a little bit of improvising to make them all a set. … Read more
I like to experiment and try out different products and brands for my members on my Facebook groups. Today I did a short video showing you how I used (afflinks) UNiCORN SPiT over Retique It Liquid Wood. The possibilities are endless! Have you ever used UNiCORN SPiT? It’s a water based translucent non-toxic paint that can be used as a glaze, stain or paint – super easy to use, and fun! Retique It Liquid Wood is a paint on liquid wood (just like it sounds). You can do all sorts of fancy things with it! You’ll see: Metallic SPiT over Retique It Liquid Wood Background and layered stenciling Stencil distressing It’s just a fun little video to give you some ideas. Let me know if you have any ideas on other ways to use these products! XOXO
I ran a challenge for my Facebook group and want to share some of the projects that were completed. There is some rare talent out there! If you are familiar with furniture redesign, you’ll appreciate the results and understand the type of work that went into each piece. So without further ado, let’s take a look: Martie Blignaut artist at Jeshurun “This solid wood end table was painted with chalk paint – still showing off the lovely wood grain of this piece, sealed with top coat for durability, rounded off with white and black flower fabric print. Not only will it be lovely to look at but also a great conversation starter.” Mary Appelgate artist at Sublime Design “Charming, solid maple Tea Cart, painted in medium grey and off white. Three coats of non yellowing, highly durable polyacrylic to insure easy cleanup and longevity. Grey and black lined decoupage inside of drawer.” Elizabeth Spengler “Introducing Queeny. This fabulous gal is … Read more
#sponsored I’ve seen many upcycles, but this type takes the cake. It’s just amazing to me to see what paint and a little ingenuity will do. So many pieces are tossed in the dump because they are outdated and/or in bad shape. But…I had a vision for this one. Here is the before. We got it at a ReStore in Michigan for $5. It was obviously very old. The casters were caked with years of crud & were very tarnished. The leather on top was in decent shape, as was the rest of the body. It just needed sprucing up. I decided to make it into a Lego table for my grandkids for Christmas. I didn’t want to go with the traditional primary colors, so I chose period appropriate colors with a few extras to make it special. Using (afflinks) vinyl spackling in a cake decorating mold, I make “stone” corner pieces and a “wood” walkway. Then I painted a … Read more
DISCOVER YOUR INNER ARTIST If you’d like to be a part of an amazing community of furniture artisans and have a great resource to go to when you need information, join us on FFB. You will access accurate and timely information on all things furniture redesign on FFB (painting, staining, etc.) and as a bonus, all members receive 4 marketing lessons and will be invited to a small, intimate Facebook group – are looking for your tribe? Furniture Flipping Blueprint is open until midnight, Monday, Feb. 25. Come join us! TELL ME MORE >>>
Every couple of years my DH has asked me if I wanted to get rid of our entertainment center. I loved the functionality and design of it, so I always said “No! I love that piece!” BUT I didn’t love how outdated it was. Back when oak was the wood that said, “quality.” When we bought it, the price tag was decent and it was all the rage. But tastes change. Trends change. And now that I have the where with all to have the look I want, I decided to go for it before we got our new wood flooring in. We walked around on sub floor for about a year as we worked toward getting our flooring laid. First we considered paying for someone to lay it, but being a do-it-yourselfer, that was a hard pill to swallow. 2k. Ugh. Plus the guy who did our DDs wasn’t as impressive as we’d hoped. So we asked our son … Read more
The 5 Types of Kitchen Countertops and Their Homemade Cleaning Solutions Aside from the living room, your kitchen is the most important part of your home. You probably spend most of your time cooking in it, preparing food on the kitchen island, and enjoying your food at the farmhouse table. Since food is prepared and cooked in the kitchen, it’s essential that you keep this space in your home clean and sanitized. People come and go in the kitchen and, because of this, there’s a great chance that it will become a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. The most critical part of the kitchen for bacteria growth is your kitchen countertop. As such, you should know about the various natural cleaning solutions for different types of kitchen countertop materials. You can read on below for that purpose. Granite Countertops You should avoid using lemon, vinegar, acidic cleaners, and any cleaning solutions that contain bleach and ammonia when cleaning a … Read more
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Nobody Wanted Constance…Except Me This Was One of Those I walk through estate sales and grab tickets before anyone else grabs up the good stuff. This one didn’t look like the good stuff, per se. Old, damaged and out of date, this one was a challenge. Not were the innerds a mess, but it just didn’t speak to me. I named her Constance, because of her colonial feel, and she talks to me now that she’s beautiful again. Here is her old self: The drawer glides were damaged and someone had tried using some sort of goop to try to glue them up. And of course I didn’t see this until I got it home and started prepping it. Fortunately, after a few attempts DH got it fixed up by making new glides. It is a very strange set up – the drawer glides are up under the top, slanted and the drawer top fits into them. It was quite … Read more