OK, I know I said I wasn’t going to schedule any blog posts while I’m off visiting my mom this week, but then … well, I thought, how about some re-runs?

I was paging through my old furniture makeover posts a few days ago looking for a specific technique to share with someone and I was reminded of some of my favorite pieces, so I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you this week.

I’m going to break them down into three categories:  simple paint makeovers, makeovers using transfers, and mid-mod masterpieces.

Today let’s start with the simple paint makeovers.

I think of these pieces as having the best ability to fit into an already existing space.  They might still steal the show, but in a subtle way.  All of them were achieved with just some paint and some elbow grease.  So here we go.

No. 5 is the black bed from August 2018.

Here is the before …

To be honest, looking back at it now I remember that it was quite beautiful even in its ‘before’ state.  However, it did require a few repairs, and it also had some missing trim pieces.  The finish was rather worn too, but it certainly could have been sanded down and refinished.

But that’s not my thing.  I have never been a fan of stripping furniture.  So instead I gave it a simple paint job using Dixie Belle’s Caviar.

I distressed the paint job just slightly to make the details really pop.

I finished it off with some of Fusion’s Black Wax.

No. 4 is the Romantic Prairie Washstand from July 2019.

Here is where this one started out …

Your basic primitive-ish washstand.

I stripped the top (I know, I just said I wasn’t a fan of stripping furniture, but I am OK with stripping the occasional flat top), and then painted the body with Sweet Pickins In a Pickle milk paint.

The milk paint did what milk paint does best.  It chipped and crackled and ended up looking perfectly aged.

I finished this one off with Fusion’s clear wax.

No. 3 is the Soldier Blue dresser from July 2021.

I loved the details on this piece, but those white knobs were not doing it any favors.

After sending this one over to my neighbor Ken’s workshop for some much needed repairs, I once again stripped the top.  Then I painted the body in Homestead House milk paint in a color called Soldier Blue.

This is another of my favorite vibrant milk paint colors.

I replaced those white porcelain knobs with some round wooden knobs that I painted to match.

This piece was finished off with some of Dixie Belle’s Big Mama’s Butta, which I consider to be the perfect blend of the qualities of wax and hemp oil.  It works beautifully over milk paint.

No. 2 is the Bunker Hill Blue Buffet from June 2018.

OK, in my opinion this piece was quite hideous in its ‘before’ state.  Something about that sort of ombre stain job just hits wrong for me.

This piece was actually a freebie, but we had to risk life and limb picking it up in the middle of January and carrying it up an icy hill to get it to the van.

Once again, this piece needed some repairs from handyman Ken before I could get around to painting it.  I also, once again, stripped the top and painted the body.

This time around I used Dixie Belle’s Bunker Hill Blue.  If you’re familiar with Dixie Belle colors, you’re probably thinking ‘wait a minute, Bunker Hill is a bit brighter than that.  In fact, if you aren’t a fan of using milk paint, Bunker Hill Blue is a good chalk paint substitute for the Soldier Blue milk paint.  But this time around I toned the brightness down with some of Dixie Belle’s Black Glaze.

I also swapped out the knobs for something a little more subtle than the originals.

I added a fun pop of color to the inside of this one with Fusion Mineral Paint in Coral.

No. 1 is the French Wheat Hutch from September 2016.

This was a gorgeous piece of furniture.

But back in 2016 this orange-ish wood stain was definitely not in style.  Everything was getting painted back then.

I ended up mixing two different brands of paint together for this piece (because I didn’t have enough of either one to paint the entire thing), Annie Sloan’s French Linen and Cece Caldwell’s Young Kansas Wheat.  Of course I called my new color French Wheat.  Also, FYI, both of these are chalk style paints and it was fine to mix them even though they are two different brands.

Back in 2016 I was still holding my occasional sales (I quit after this sale in 2016, and then resumed them again in 2024).  Anyway, I had already moved the hutch into the carriage house to prep for the sale before taking any ‘after’ photos, so the lighting was pretty poor for photos.  I wish I had taken more time to get better photos of this piece because it definitely was one of my favorites.

Instead of the chicken wire inserts that came with the hutch, I added some grain sack style cloth to line those two upper doors.

I just loved all of the details on this piece, those curved sides and that pretty detail at the top.

I hope those of you who have been following me since way back have enjoyed seeing these pieces again, and likewise, I hope some of my newer readers who are being introduced to them for the first time have found this post interesting.

If you have a moment, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know which of these five are your favorite.  Or, maybe head over to my ‘fab furniture (before & after)‘ tab and pick out a favorite that I didn’t share here today.

Then come back on Wednesday to see my top 5 mid mod masterpieces!