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.)
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
A Night Stand Named Darbi Occasionally I get to keep one of my projects. It’s super hard for me to watch my pieces go out the door when I sell them, but I comfort myself when I look down at my hand holding the cash! LOL This one came from a consignment shop we visit every couple of months. I thought it perfectly fit my daughter’s description of a side table she was looking for and the $12 price tag fit the bill too. But of course, “Best laid plans of mice and men,” as it turned out it was too tall. So sad for them, yay for me! It now sits next to our guest master king size bed. Find out more here which bed you can also use in order to have a great night’s sleep. Here it is before: White is a Fave of Mine … Read more
#sponsored post It looked like an easy flip… Have you ever had a DIY project that you just wanted to throw out the window, chop it up with an ax and then burn it to make sure it was totally eradicated from your memory? Beware of the “easy” ones… There’s a little consignment shop about 45 minutes from us that we go to occasionally to look for furniture to flip. The prices are reasonable, usually, so it’s worth the trip. Of course visiting their other little shops and burger joint doesn’t hurt the experience either. We found an Ethan Allen coffee table that looked like an easy flip, so we grabbed it and brought it home. (It’s the “EASY” ones you need to watch out for.) DH found one similar online at Etsy – ZBrothers Furniture, so I’m guessing the added white was either special order or just … Read more
You might remember a while ago when I featured the series, “Keeping Up With the Joneses.” Here are a few of the posts about my DD, April’s, house flip: The Kitchen Before – Gunk everywhere, three layers of ugly linoleum, and the walls…indescribable! Kitchen Demolition – Even the kids got involved in ripping the kitchen apart. Who says reno isn’t fun! Preparing the Walls – Fixing holes and smoothing out the walls…the polkadots and red paint must go! From Polluted to Pleasing – Ever walked into a room and felt your health was at risk? The Floors Won’t Dry – High humidity? Bad polyeurethane? Did we apply it too soon or do it wrong? Lose Those Ugly Floors – The stains and gouges make you think there is no hope. But then it all comes together. WOW! There is more to do and more on the blog, but for now, … Read more
I was offered a chance to try out L’Essentiel Botanics furniture paint by Michelle at Serendipity House in New Hampshire. Since I’ve been doing a series on chalk paint products, I was anxious to give it a try in my cedar chest flip. If you are looking to remove the chemicals from your home, look into L’Essentiels Botanics. My family is working on it as well and I was pleasantly surprised to hear of L’Essentiel. I’m no vegan, but I am concerned about the chemicals in EVERYTHING we use and eat! Their furniture paint line is vegan (other than beeswax), all natural, and in biodegradable containers with no masking agents. The chalks, clays, minerals, pigments are made by a small company in Australia in small batches. The wax has no solvents (i.e. drying agents) and is smooth with great coverage. The clear wax, which has no solvents, can be used … Read more
This is my favorite DIY thus far, an upcycled antique door turned into a trendy piece of home decor for just pennies. My DH and I found some old doors at an auction – about two years ago. They’ve been sitting out under our lean-to since, just calling to me, “Paint me, Paint me…” Here are the before pictures – side one. Here are the before pictures – side two. They’re pretty cool in the raw, but I had other plans. This will turn into a series because there were many steps to the project. Step One: Clean and sand both sides, but not so much that you lose the textured layers of old paint. I used a Sanding Sponge, Fine/Medium. These sanding sponges are easy to use and if you don’t use too much pressure, you can preserve the alligator chippy look of the many layers of paint, yet … Read more