Before and After Repurposed Furniture and Makeovers

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Upcycled furniture ideas – See how you can update and reuse your old furniture pieces

Before I started blogging full time, my husband and I worked on custom builds, repurposing furniture and thrift store makeovers. This was added income to the family budget, and quality time spent with each other. During this time, our photos were mostly just before and after shots, and not tutorial based. However, I wanted to share a few of our before and after repurposed furniture and makeovers projects. I hope that it will inspire you to start your own redo!

The “Freebie” Desk

I will refer to the first makeover as the “Freebie Desk.” Freebies are the best! My client’s neighbor gave her the desk for free.

It was solid wood but had seen better days. A few scratches and dings, but nothing that paint could not fix. If you want your furniture pieces to get upcycled with little effet, paint is the answer.

The client wanted the desk to have a fresh, crisp look for her new office and asked if I would paint the desk white. I love white on just about anything, but sometimes painting dark furniture white can be a headache. But, if the client wants white, they get white! The hardware would be replaced with white knobs that had gold accents. Gold was her coordinating color.

Here is the desk all finished up!

From brown and dull, to charming and fresh. And all by using paint!

The Mismatched Furniture Makeover

My client had purchased several used pieces of bedroom furniture for her master bedroom. These pieces were collected throughout the years and did not match with each other. They had just finished building a new home and wanted to give their set a more cohesive look. Mismatched pieces is an easy furniture project to tackle. With paint and a little elbow grease, and BAM, you have new bedroom furniture! The first piece was a tall chest of drawers and two matching nightstands. You can see another dresser makeover HERE.

The last piece was a long dresser with silver hardware. You can see that the finish is more of a cherry color.

All pieces were in pristine shape and all solid wood. She had sent me a picture of her beautiful bed frame and asked that the furniture pieces have the same color and finish.

Chalk paint from Dixie Belle Paint Company is always a safe bet for repurposing furniture. I decided that the closest color would be Dixie Belle’s, Manatee Gray. The color Cotton (White) would be used for the underlayer, just as the bed had. The existing hardware would be used and just painted so that they were all the same color. I used Krylon spray paint in Chrome for the furniture hardware.

Here is the tall chest of drawers after the makeover.

And the matching nightstands.

And lastly, the long dresser. So charming!

Giving these pieces a makeover really changed the dynamic of their master bedroom! It is now cozy and inviting!

The Steampunk Chest of Drawers

Yep, you read correctly. Believe you me, I was scared to death when it came to this makeover. Talk about being out of my comfort zone! I had no idea what a steampunk look was all about. But, the client had already chosen the color, the finish, and the hardware. This made my life a bit less stressful when it came to this furniture project.

Here is the chest of drawers before. This would be used in the husband’s guest room, which had a steampunk look.

The color they had chosen was Sherwin Williams Copper. It is in the orange family.

Antique glaze would be applied to finish the piece to give it a worn, rusty look. This was the hardware they chose.

Well, to my surprise, this turned out to be so much fun! And my Facebook followers loved it so much.

You can see another chest of drawers makeover HERE.

“It Was to Cheap to Pass Up”

This is directly aimed at the thrift store digger. How many times have we made this statement? I know I have made it to my husband a million times! A new client contacted me about a bar height table and chair she just recently purchased. She explained that it was such a great deal, she couldn’t pass it up! Here is what it looked like. This is the base of the table. It was solid wood but has seen better days.

This was the tabletop.

And, lastly, the chairs.

Now ya’ll know this is my FAVORITE kind of makeover. The dirtier and yuckier, the better! I was so eager to get started, and after hearing the color choice and fabric choice for the seats, I was SUPER excited. The color the client chose was Dixie Belle’s Caviar (a deep rich black). The fabric would be a black and white buffalo check. The goal here was a farmhouse finish.

I was a little skeptical when I saw that the table was not put together. Sometimes this can be a good thing, sometimes a bad thing. But it worked out! This set needed some serious help! The table put together.

After the painting was finished and the chairs had been reupholstered, it did not even look like the same set. Paint can make such a HUGE difference. Here is the proof.

Wowza right? I loved this upcycled dining set so much I wanted to keep it (haha). Don’t cha just love before and after furniture makeovers? I do!

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I hope these before and after furniture makeovers encourages you to pick up a paintbrush. Take the plunge and give that outdated furniture a makeover. The good thing about paint is, there are no mistakes that cannot be corrected. Always remember my motto is: “It’s not about what it IS, it’s about what it WILL BE.”

Happy Painting!

Christina

Looking for more Before and After Repurposed Furniture and Makeovers Ideas:

My collection of Furniture Makeover and Repurposed Projects

14 thoughts on “Before and After Repurposed Furniture and Makeovers”

  1. I was always a hater of painted furniture. Now I wish I could go back and redo all those pieces I restored. Your projects are all beautiful.

  2. Christina, I’m always amazed by your furniture makeovers. I am just not talented in that way at all, but I love looking at all the pretty!

  3. I love before and after upcycled furniture makeovers! Wow, talk about drab to fab on each one of these makeovers. Swooning over the steampunk dresser – love the copper finish! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas Christina!

    1. Awww thank you so much Marie! I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas as well! I appreciate your support ❤️❤️

  4. I love before and after pics! You do such amazing work. After Christmas I want to give my table and chairs a makeover. You’re such an inspiration!

  5. I love that you’re sharing your expertise to inspire others! I always look forward to your posts and projects. You and Hubs are a great team 🙂

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