Furniture Makeover - Season 1

Here's the full story.

This piece of furniture was F-R-E-E

(it was left by the previous owner at our condominium in CA)

and it's difficult to get rid of something that's free!

Don't you agree?

So we have been using it to house some of our collections of paper, movies, etc.

BUT it doesn't match any of our other furniture.

(I'll have to post pictures of the rest of our house in the coming weeks.)

I, unfortunately, don't have a fabulous view of the "before"

but this will do:

Step 1. Sanding

I used a 3M Fine Sanding Sponge

(Purchased at Sherwin Williams - I'm a fan!)

2. Cleaning

Wipe down all surfaces with a cute little cloth.

(Rag provided by my "miscellaneous" drawer in the kitchen)

3. Put on these bad boys (AKA gloves)

(Gloves are also from Sherwin Williams)

4. Get an old rag that you aren't attached to

(This rag was also provided by my "miscellaneous" drawer of old rags)

5. Glaze (or stain)

I used a Van Dyke glaze and applied it in circular motions,

using the rag pictured in Step 4.

I then pulled the rag along the direction of the grain to smooth out the finish.

(Provided by Sherwin Williams)

6. Gloss

I used a "dull rubbed / satin finish" gloss to top it off.

This must be applied in slow, smooth strokes along the lines of the piece.

This was my favorite part of the process.

(Brush and gloss provided by Sherwin Williams)

7. Repeat steps 1-6 twice.

To get the darker look, I went through the process 3 times.

And here's the final outcome:

What do you think?

It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.

I spent most of my time agonizing over every line, trying to make it perfect...

but the rest was easy!