Jazzing up old furniture for young person's room

shandyclover

Can anyone direct me to a site with details on renovating old, cheap furniture?

We are moving out of a furnished house to an unfurnished house. A friend offered us some bits of cheap 50's furniture, wardrobes etc. None of it is antique or expensive - but we really can't afford to buy new just now. Most of it is for my DD21's room. She is very much into the modern minimalistic look so I was thinking of just painting it all white as she already has a bit of a black/white theme going on. I've never done anything like this before so would appreciate any advice from you experts.;)

McKneff

Ask her how she would like it, you could make use of masking tape to make stripes, squished up newpaper to roll the damp paint, etc.

miffy257

Have a look on the shabby chic thread. They have great ideas. Good luck, bet it will look fab.

minniemaus1970

there s some good ideas on here :j

http://pinterest.com/joannhsu/diy-shabby-chic-things/

MM

Mistral001

You could try a thorough sandpapering and maybe painting it a light grey like the colour Habitat used to use quite a bit.

Try not to impose your taste. 21 year olds have their own taste. But the grey is neutral and looks Ok in both a modern and an old house.

shandyclover

Shabby chic is not really her style - she likes modern, black and white and has a thing for Elvis memorabilia so I was thinking of of something like this with an Elvis stencil...http://pinterest.com/pin/166422148701011544/

My brother is an artist so he could make the stencil for me.

I've been to the original site - there doesn't seem to be any instructions so if anyone here has ideas?

maman

I'm sure your brther can do just as well but there's this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stencils-Elvis-Presley-stencil-reusable-stencil-not-a-vinyl-sticker-or-decal-/300659380126?pt=UK_Wallpaper&var=&hash=item4600b20f9e

or plenty more if you google. The Shabby Chic thread will be great if you want advice on which paints to use, how to prepare the surfaces etc. Upload photos if you can.

[Deleted User]

I love messing around with old bits of unloved furniture.I wash thoroughly with sugar soap(cheap as chips from a hardware store) then use my small electric sander (you can just wrap a piece of sandpaper around a small square block of wood but it does mean a good bit of elbow grease )A sander isn't too expensive to buy though I have had mine for about 10 years I actually have two, a square one plus, a small triaglular-shaped headed one which I treated myself to.It does all the nooks and crannys that a square one can't get to.
Then I always give the old brown sad looking furniture a double coat of undercoat this too is relatively cheap and make sure its thoroughly dry btween coats then top coat with as best a gloss as you can afford cheap undercoat (i.e. own brand) is fine but I always use a good branded name Dulux or the like for a top gloss coat.If I'm not happy with one top coat I lightly rub a fine glass sandpaper over the first coat then wipe clean with a slightly damp cloth ,let it dry then apply another top coat on.I have turned clapped out old brown dining chairs into smart bedroom chairs or for a kitchen for quite a small cost.A lot cheaper than buying new.I am at present doing a small bedside cabinet for my DGS Mikey, which I will stick Ben 10 pictures on the top and varnish with clear varnish over that so it will match his bedroom duvet set.The cabinet cost me less than a pound at a boot fair and by the time its done he will have a nice little cabinet for his bedroom thats cost only a few pounds.I am lucky that I have a conservatory that I can use as a workroom when I am renovating stuff and it dries off fairly quickly in there I have a long table in there thats covered in old newspapers that I can put my bits on and a tall stool to sit on whilst I am creating stuff .Great hobby and I have done quite a bit for my DD as with five children her budget gets a bit streeetched when it comes to furniture .Doesn't matter too much if it gets chipped either with toys easy to sort out with a bit of glass paper and some paint.I bought a book in a CS ages ago called 'The Ultimate Book of Doing Up Old Junk' and its great as it gives you some fab ideas for decoupage (paper decorating) and how to turn old stuff into something really nice for not a lot of money I think I paid about £2.00 for the book but you may be able to get something similar from your local library
Good luck its extremely addictive and time consuming though I have my wireless on while I'm out there and the hours just vanish along with the tatty looking furniture :)