I thought I would try something a little different while off on vacation this week, re-runs!
Hey, it works on T.V., so I thought maybe it could work here.
I’ve picked out a couple of different furniture makeovers from the past to share with you guys this week. I tried to go a ways back so it wouldn’t feel too repetitive for those of you who follow me on a regular basis.
I refurbished these mid-mod pieces back in 2018. Wow, can you believe that was five years ago now? Time flies, doesn’t it?
Here is how they looked when I brought them home …
I purchased these two along with a 3rd matching dresser that I painted up separately, and forgot to get a ‘before’ photo of.
I thought it was funny that the manufacturer said these pieces were ‘permanized’.
I once again tried googling “Kroehler permanized furniture” to see if I could find any info on it, but that mostly took me to my own blog post about these two pieces. So I still have no idea exactly what that means.
After scuff sanding and cleaning, I painted this pair in Fusion’s Ash.
This dark gray works beautifully with the mid-mod style. I don’t typically use Fusion anymore, these days I would swap that out for Dixie Belle’s Gravel Road. That’s simply because I find that a chalk style paint is more error proof than an acrylic paint. It adheres to a dicey surface better, it distresses more easily, and if you water it down a tad you don’t have to worry about brush strokes. On the other hand, chalk paint does require a separate top coat while the acrylic paints do not. It’s a trade off.
I painted the inside of the bookcase portion of the headboard in Fusion’s Mustard.
I love that pop of mustard yellow next to the gray, and it’s so easy to find bedding to coordinate with that combo.
In addition to the paint, I also refreshed the hardware using some of Prima Marketing’s art alchemy Metallique wax in Bronze Age.
The bronze was gorgeous next to the dark gray.
Although I painted these two pieces to match, if I remember correctly they didn’t sell together. I believe the dresser sold right away and it took a while to sell that headboard.
As for the 3rd piece from this set, I went in a different direction with that one. I painted it in Fusion’s Park Bench.
I definitely went through a phase where I painted at least half a dozen mid-mod pieces in this gorgeous green. They all sold super fast too, so it was definitely popular.
I lined the drawers on this one with some paper I’d found that was perfect to pair with the Park Bench.
I wanted to retain the original light gold on the drawer pulls for this piece, so I just washed those with soapy water and put them back on. But the little round knobs were a much darker brass color than the pulls. To get a better match, I again used the Metallique wax, but this time in a color called White Gold.
This trio was not actually the first time I followed this formula. The previous February I’d painted another pair of mid-mod pieces in the same colors.
When I went back and read the original blog post, I was reminded that this pair had sat on Craigslist unsold for weeks before I purchased them and they were very reasonably priced. Five years ago you could still get mid-mod pieces like this pretty easily. I feel like that no longer seems to be the case, do you find that as well?
This time the tall dresser was painted in Dixie Belle’s Gravel Road.
And the credenza style dresser was painted in Park Bench.
You can check out all of the details on those makeovers here and here.
So tell me, which color appeals to you the most, the dark gray (whether it’s Fusion’s Ash or Dixie Belle’s Gravel Road) or that fabulous Park Bench green? And what do you think of the mid-mod style, do you think it will continue to be popular for another five years or even longer?
Leave a comment and let me know.
q is for quandie 
I love Ash and use it frequently, but on your mid mod pieces Park Bench is a winner! Enjoy your vacation!
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Thanks Melissa!
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The transformation of these MCM pieces is just so stunning!
I remember the makeover of the ‘permanized’ pieces and no, I can’t believe it was 5 years ago. I swooned over them then, and still today couldn’t pick a favorite!
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Time flies doesn’t it Netti 🙂
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The green is very pretty, but the dark gray is the winner in my book…just yummy!
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I love it too, and I think I’ll be painting another piece in the dark gray soon.
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I love the grey! I tend to stick with neutrals for furniture and that grey is beautiful!
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I mostly stick with neutrals as well, but that Park Bench green was such a hot seller for me that I kept repeating it.
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I like reruns! Yours are no exception! I hope your vacation is perfect!
Smiles, alice
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Thanks Alice!
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I wish they were still available. I love them!
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Well thank goodness they aren’t still available because that would mean I’d had to store them all this time 😉
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Hi- found a 2014 post online:
A: Peter E. Kroehler started out as a clerk at the Naperville Lounge Co. in 1893 and bought the company in 1903. Then he founded another company, P.E. Kroehler Manufacturing Co., in Kankakee, Ill., in 1911. He merged the two companies with two other furniture manufacturers in 1915 to form Kroehler Manufacturing Co. The “Permanized” finish was advertised as moisture-proof. The company was sold in 1981. A new Kroehler double dresser and mirror sold for about $175 in 1957. If your dresser is in excellent and usable condition, it would sell for about $200. It is easier to sell a piece of furniture locally so that shipping costs are avoided. You can advertise in a local newspaper or online.
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Moisture proof huh? Thanks for doing that bit of research Kristin!
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I absolutely love the park bench, but that would never sell in my booth in North Texas. I sell mostly blacks, whites and blues when I paint furniture. I have definitely found mid mod pieces have gone way up in price the last few years. I can’t usually find a piece I can afford to refinish and make a profit at the same time. Hope your having fun and taking lots of pictures at Disney!
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Yep, same here. I rarely find good deals on the mid-mod stuff anymore. When it is priced low enough for me, it usually is gone before I can get to it. As for the pics at Disney, I have to say that I don’t take very many anymore. I have so many Disney pics that I never go back and look at. I did make a point of getting some photos for a flower & garden post though, so those will be coming up next Sunday.
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I love both colors, but the gray seems more practical This exact furniture set is what my parents had in their bedroom all the years of my childhood! Thanks for the trip down memory lane
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Oh gosh, isn’t that funny. I had one of those bookshelf style headboards in my room as a teenager. Of course, it wasn’t new when I got it. It was handed down from someone, and then my mom and I ‘antiqued’ it in lime green! It was the 70’s after all 😉
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