It's good wood under there - I know it.

2012-01-27T07:26:00.000-08:00

My husband has had his grandfathers desk for years.

It was our only desk when we were first married. A giant monitor teetering on top. Bills piled all over it.

Years ago I lazily slapped some blue paint scantily over the green to make it look "rustic"?. It looked terrible. It was stuck in a corner in my sons room after that.

I decided it was time to bring it out and treat it right.

For some reason I had this need to see what was underneath. I had a feeling that the wood would be wonderful. I was partially right.

After removing a few layers from the top I could tell the wood was gorgeous. I liked that there was some deep etchings made by some soul in the past, but for the most part it was in very nice shape.

The body of the desk was looking like it was made up different woods. Actually, different paints too. Some parts had my blue, the green, different shades of brown, and some spots even had a questionable white. I can only imagine what it looked like at certain times.

Here's how I found the easiest way to strip paint off of furniture.

I really like this CitriStrip. I've used a few other products, but I prefer this line. I apply a thick coat with a brush, let it sit for 30 minutes, then using a plaster spreader I scrape off the paint. Some paints take a couple applications.

Once the top looked like this-

it's time for the Citristrip after wash. **Use chemical gloves with this stuff. It will eat right through regular plastic gloves and honestly my fingertips felt terrible before I went and bought some proper gloves. Safety first!

I used on of those M3 green scrub pads to apply the after wash and scrub the surface. It helps remove the stripper and it also removes any small amounts of paint residue left.

I wanted a strong contrast so I decided to stain the top with a darker stain.

To be fair Minwax is the only stain brand that I've ever used, but I do like it a lot.

It's very easy to use, and the colors have been perfect. I brushed on the stain in a thin even layer, waited for about 25 minutes, then wiped the surface with a slightly damp rag.

The body was your typical, paint-rough-it-up-with-sand-paper-then-apply-antique-glaze-with-a-wet-rag-until-it's-aged-just-so. The only trick I've found with this is to make sure you age it in believable areas: the feet, corners, edges of drawers, around pulls.

I finished the top with 2 coats of semi gloss polycrylic, but only one coat on the body of the desk.

The pulls are the only thing that I'm not certain I like. I like how they are mismatched and have a used look, but I may switch some of the glass ones out if I find something better.

I love how it turned out and think that they way it looks now, it can switch from room to room much easier.

Now, I'm off to find a chair to finish for her to sit at the desk.

Have a Seat

2011-08-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

I love refinishing chairs. They are quick and instant gratification from before-

to after.

Eventually this chair may have a bunch of other miss matched mates, and a funky table to join. For now it sits like a Mr. Rogers chair by the front door, waiting for someone to stop and rest.

It's For Sale

2011-07-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

This piece is still up for grabs. Check out more information here.

Repost: How to Fabric on Furniture

2011-07-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

This post was originally on Lolie's Abode, but I decided that it would be very fitting over here where all things are furniture. Enjoy!

I've had a few people ask how I did the fabric on this piece that I made ( I still miss it). I've had a new piece that that I'm putting fabric on for almost 2 months now. I can't say exactly what is taking me so long, but at the least I've remembered to document how I've done it. This post is heavy on the photos, but I think it's easier than me typing my life away in details of all this (and I probably make less sense when I type).

Here is the before of this lonely lost soul of furniture. I was on a little walk around my hood and some people were putting things away from their garage sale. I picked it up for $8, but I think I should have paid much less (I pulled eight bucks from my pocket and they saw what I had).

I knew immediately I wanted the drawer fronts to be fabric, and I knew the feel that I was looking for. This post I'll just document the fabric part, and when it's totally finished I'll post up the rest.

First step is to clean, sand, prime, sand, and prime again. This goes for the entire piece, even the parts I cover with fabric. I've found that having this base ensures that the original color doesn't show through, and I think it sticks better.

I used wood filler to fill in the holes from the hardware. I wasn't sure if I wanted to use the same holes so I just filled it it. I think it's probably easier to have a smooth surface rather than work around holes. I figured I can drill them out later.

The next step is to line up your fabric and cut it to size. This fabric was easy because there isn't one direction it needs to go in, and no stripes to keep straight. I think I may avoid fabric that's striped for any project like this. Maybe some time I'll get over that fear, but fabric can give and pull and look wonky very easily during this process. Just make sure that you are cutting pieces that have the design or direction you want.

As you can see I used the super technical measurement tool of "place the thing on it and cut around". I find that is much easier for me this way because I don't have to measure at all. I cut just enough to turn under the edge, but not too much to bunch up causing any problems when the drawer closes.

Next, I lay out the pieces on the fronts to make sure they go together, are all facing the right way etc. With the pink piece I didn't check to see what part of the design would be facing the font and found it looked stupid and had to rip the piece off and start over.

This is the step that I found after trying this procedure more than a couple times. If you add some Modge Podge to the fabric back in a nice even thin layer, then let it dry. It becomes more like a stiff canvas and is much easier to work with. I had a lot of fabric stretching and bubbling before I figured out this step. I just let this dry for about 45 minutes before placing on the top.

To place the fabric to the drawer I just would add Modge Podge to the drawer surface and brush it into a nice even layer. This makes it so that you can reposition the fabric and sort of "scoot" it around to where you want it.

Then begins the smoothing process. I haven't found a better way of doing this other than just keep using your hands to chase the bubbles out and smooth it over. You may have to pick up a corner to a bubble and smooth it back down. After a couple minutes you should stop obsessing and move on, most will go away if you just keep moving forward.

Next is the very first layer of Modge Podge. I should probably talk about what kind I use. I know there is one specifically made for furniture, however I have not been able to procure this bottle. I use the original with a gloss lustre. I would love to hear from anyone who's tried anything different. I think that after all the coats and the poly finish I put over it is hard and won't get damaged.

This first layer of Modge Podge (hereafter referred to as MP) is perhaps the most nerve wracking. Once you spread the MP on in a nice layer your fabric may or may not start to bubble. This was drastically cut down after I started adding a layer of MP to just the fabric, but I still keep a close eye on it while this layer was drying. Every so often during the drying time of the first layer I could come and smooth out some bubbles. However, with all the next layers it was easy to smooth almost everything out.

Now, I just repeated this step 2 more times before I moved on to the corners. This is something else I found out the hard way. If you work on just the top, turning the fabric over the edge is much easier. If you start to turn the edge over from the beginning there's always the chance of more fabric pulling and stretching causing more bubbles. After the top is down nice and thick it's much easier to pull the fabric tight over the edge.

Corners are messy, but not that hard to do. I added MP to the drawer edge and to the fabric. I started turning the fabric over and sticking it to the edge. For the corners I just make minimal folds so there isn't too much bulk.

I'm not entirely happy with the corner method, but have yet to work out something better. It looks nice and clean, but I think there's a better way. After the edges are stuck down, I would brush MP on top of the fabric (now turned under). I added one more layer over the entire drawer - edge and front.

After these 3 coats I start the sanding process.

I use a combination of this 3m fine grit sand/sponge, and 320 fine grit paper. I use the sponge to get the font slightly wet and begin sanding with a light touch.

I go in circles working over the whole piece, first with the paper-

- then with the sponge. I rinse the sponge off every so often to get the glue off. I try and keep the surface just damp. After the sanding I dry it off with a rag and let dry for about 45 minutes and repeat about 3 more times. Be sure when you do the edges that you don't over work it. Edges are the easiest to go too far and get down to the fabric. It feels like you shouldn't be sanding glue, but it really does a brilliant job of getting out the brush strokes.

At this point the fabric begins to look more like the surface itself. Almost as if it's the drawer not something laid over the top. This is when I know it's nearly done.

*** There are probably some instances where I want to keep the brush strokes visible. You can completely skip the sanding and the next step if you want to keep a brushed appearance.

Now is my least favorite step EVER.

Steel wool. I hate the way it feels in my hands and on my nails. I know I need to wear gloves because my hands are looking like they're granny hands already and all this isn't helping. This step ensures a super smooth surface.

I pretty much just buff and buff until the wool nearly wears out. I bought a large bag of fine steel wool at the hardware, and they were along side the sand papers. This process is a nice work out for the arms.

After all the sanding is done, I add one coat of polycrylic over the top. It adds a nice gloss, dries completely clear and protects all that work.

I hope this post is helpful, and if anyone has any other tips or projects please share!

It's Lucy Not Vera

It's good wood under there - I know it.

Have a Seat

It's For Sale

Repost: How to Fabric on Furniture