Stain Paint Combo – Love My DIY Home

Upcycled China Cabinet – Unwanted to Amazing!

I’ve got a good one to show you today! We’re always thinking of ways to turn cast offs into something desirable, aren’t we? Garage sale finds, Goodwill castoffs, hand-me-downs, Aunt Clara’s dusty old china cabinet… A while ago we bought this china cabinet at an estate sale. We paid $97. It’s an Ethan Allen, so I knew it had good bones and it reminded me of my mother. LOL For some reason I acquaint Ethan Allen with my mom. No idea why. Maybe because it’s from her era. Here is DH strapping everything down we go that day. It was the last day of the estate sale, so I got this china cabinet CHEAP. I got a couple of other things too. I felt like I had won the jackpot. This thing was sitting in the living room of the house of someone who had gone on, and the kids … Read more

Want to Become a Mixologist?

Need Inspiration? Nothing inspires me more than the thought of playing with paint and the different techniques to create an amazing design but without knowing about The Importance Of Paint Removal, the results could be catastrophic. As you may already know, I have a store called Furniture Flipping Market that has all sorts of great products for the furniture artist. I’m always looking for new ways to make your furniture flipping and decor creating journey more fun and easy. That’s part of the reason for FFM. I’m working at making it a one-stop-shop for my online friends. I’m super excited about a new product in FFM – Colorants! Have you considered tinting your own products rather than buying quarts of every color out there? If you’d like to see a project I just did using these, go to last week’s post, My Double Flipped Dresser. Sneak peek below: Here’s another … Read more

My Double Flipped Dresser

Occasionally I will buy a piece that another furniture artist has listed that they couldn’t sell. They will put it up for sale super cheap. 90% of the time there is something wrong with it like water damage or messed up drawers that they didn’t address in their redesign. Those things will discourage buyers and then they get stuck with a piece that they put effort into that doesn’t sell. Most hate keeping pieces around and will give up and get rid of it to cut their losses. I watch for that scenario and if the piece is solid, just not up to par, I’ll grab it. This happened with this piece. I bought it for $40 on Marketplace. There were some details that hurt its saleability, but it had good hardware and was a brand that said, “quality”. The BEFORE: Looks good, right? So why was it for … Read more

Growing Your Redesign Skills

Have You “Arrived” Yet? “You don’t know what you don’t know.” AND… “The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.” Have you considered taking a class or joining a group that will help you become a better artist? Specifically…a furniture artist. Finding Your Tribe I have created a membership for aspiring artists that teaches all things furniture flipping (redesign and marketing). It’s called Furniture Flipping Blueprint because it’s a step-by-step 24/7/365 online manual. Those who join FFB also join my FB group, Furniture Flipping Blueprint PRO where we exchange ideas and challenge one another to grow our skills. Along with group membership, some of us meet up once a year to work on our furniture redesign skills. There’s nothing like being in a learning group that challenges and inspires. We have a group like that and you are invited to join us. You can go to … Read more

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

“Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder.” We say it, but do we act like we believe it? We should. We are all different. We all have opinions as to what we think is beautiful and we ought to apply that in every respect, whether it’s about nature, people or things. Showing grace – It matters in our relationships online and off. In our group, Furniture Flipping Forum, Jacquelyn Marie, of Refreshed Home Designs, posted a bright green dresser. Her story was interesting, so I’m sharing it with you today. It’s important to see other’s perspectives when it comes to art. Some on the forum liked it and applauded her, some said it wasn’t their taste but agreed it was her choice to paint it however she wanted. One member was very rude and I had to delete her comment. She is no longer a member of FFF. There … Read more

A Bit of Couch Table Glitz

Every time I flip a piece of furniture, I wish I could find a permanent spot for it in my own home. I think this is common for anyone who turns an old out-dated piece into art. We put our heart and soul into it throughout the creative process. It’s something that you must experience before you understand. It’s even hard to see it go out the door when it sells. You feel like a piece of yourself is leaving. Of course the cash in hand is great as is the thought that someone else will enjoy your creation. But still. It’s an emotional moment. I find it quite funny that we would get so attached to a “thing”. But it’s true. A piece of ourselves goes out the door each time. Here is the before. We got it from our favorite shop in Door County here in Wisconsin. We … Read more

Damaged But Not Destroyed

We tend to toss rather than fix, don’t we? Let’s reconsider. Let’s look through a better lense when considering what to do with an item. It’s so amazing to see an upcycle, redesigned and/or repurposed piece of furniture, decor, or whatever. I’ve seen it. I’ve done it. And I want to see you see it a do it too. This former book table shelf plywood and 2x4s homemade thingy was on Craig’s List. It was terribly scratched up by the owner’s dog. The lady was super apologetic about it when I went to go take a look. I even considered saying, “No thanks” to her when I saw how beat up it was. But I took it anyway and stored it for over a year waiting for time and inspiration to tackle it. Whenever I have a new product, method or technique I want to try out, in my mind’s … Read more

Table Stays Rustic – But Way Prettier!

It’s kinda fun to post this BEFORE my daughter sees it. It’s for her birthday but she’s just a little busy right now thinking about having a baby some day soon. 🙂 So as we wait, this little gem is going up! I started out with a base of off white and then painted a light brown wash over that, to create a worn, Old-world look. You can see the before and base color in the video above. I chose not to fix the imperfections because I went for more of a rustic look, leaving in the dents and cracks. Nor did I repaint the hardware. It had been painted by the prior owner and is flaking off – perfect for the look I wanted! Once I got the background I wanted, I stenciled a clock and part of a compass, distressing the stencil just a bit to give a … Read more

Redesigning Ruby Challenge Featured Project

Everyone who took my Redesigning Ruby Facebook challenge in May did an outstanding job on their pieces – we saw such great transformations. One out of all won the final giveaway which included a feature on LMDH along with a couple of other prizes! Not only did Jane Poates do a great job on her piece, she managed to capture the essence of Ruby herself. Her “BEFORE” is on the left and first and second steps on the right: The challenge was to find a piece, prep, layer and distress two or more paint colors. Then antique, layer stencil and accent with gold wax. The option of Retique It was suggested where needed for a stained top. Here is Jane’s description of her project: “After – My version of “Ruby”is finished! Painted in Maui Sand and Gulf Coast with dry sand distressing. Added two tone stenciling in black and metallic … Read more

Darbi the Guest Master Night Stand – I Got to Keep This One!

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. Here it is before: White is a Fave of Mine I used (affliliate links) CrystaLac’s white satin and this was my second time using Retique It with the … Read more