As somoene who has furnished nearly every home I’ve ever lived in with yard sale finds and secondhand vintage furniture, this statistic shocked me: Did you know that Americans throw away 10 million pieces of furniture every year?
These are the very pieces I am excited to find at yard sales and thrift stores.
The very pieces I lovingly make over with paint, sweat and hard work, giving them a new life. The very pieces that were most likely handcrafted here in North Carolina decades ago in furniture factories that sadly have been shuttered or torn down.
When I find them, they don’t look like this. And sometimes these pieces of furniture need a lot of work.
But why would anyone want to throw a table like this (much less a pair of them) away?
When all you need is a little paint, a litle vision and a little time to rescue them and to preserve them.
I am sure someone’s grandmother saved her pennies to purchase these tables for her home with her new husband. They probably sat in her living room for decades, maybe next to the sofa covered in plastic. Grandma probably dusted them daily and insisted on coasters.
Why would you want to throw something so precious away?
Why, when they could be rescued? Reloved. Reused by someone — if not your family, than by someone else who can appreciate the beauty in old things, someone who realizes scuffs and scratches, like wrinkles, are proof of a life well and long lived.
Someone who realizes the right makeup or the right paint can make wrinkles and scuffs and scratches disappear.
Then, all that remains is a thing of beauty. A piece of furniture with a history, maybe even a past. But more importantly, a future.
Admittedly, it used to be very difficult to give old furniture a new life. You would spend hours stripping, sanding, priming, painting, staining and topcoating. And perhaps it was easier to throw away and buy new.
But these days, furniture makeovers are so much easier to accomplish, thanks to the proliferation of no-prep and no-prime paints, like Amy Howard At Home One-Step Paint. I used it to transform this pair of demilune tables I found at a yard sale.
Furniture designer and refurbisher Amy Howard has created a line of paints, waxes and other products designed to help likeminded souls rescue, restore, and redecorate our vintage finds with minimal effort.
The folks at Amy Howard at Home were kind enough to send me a sampling of their furniture refinishing products, and I’ve been working on a few projects I’ll be sharing with you in the coming weeks.
To transform these matching tables, I used the company’s One-Step Paint in Spa White, a taupey white. This paint is super buttery smooth, which is a definitely plus for me, as I like a really smooth finish and often sand a lot to get just the right feel.
These matching tables were just begging for a special finish on top, so once I’d coated the top and bases with One-Step paint, I cut a vinyl stencil and applied it to the tabletops, filling in with a light brown craft paint. (For my tips on how to stencil check out this post. For information about how to create your own stencils, check out this post.)
I’ve been enjoying testing out Amy Howard at Home products, including the Zinc Solution, lacquer spray paint and pigment powder (her version of milk paint.)
That zinc solution is amazing.
I used it to transform a shiny new coffee can into a faux zinc shade for a mason jar lamp.
A full tutorial is coming soon, I promise.
I’m also excited to show you what I’ve been transforming with Amy Howard’s lacquer spray paint. High gloss is definitely a new look for me, but I love it.
As for the pigment powder, I’m still searching for the perfect piece to paint with it. Maybe this weekend’s yard sales will offer up just the right find.
Enough with the paint talk…
Do you know this lady? Of course you do. It’s Marty from A Stroll Thru Life. She’s one of the sweetest bloggers I know.
Today, she is showcasing me as part of her weekly Show Off & Inspire series. I hope I can live up to that. I’d love for you to visit A Stroll Thru Life and check out my feature.
And on November 20, I’ll be joining Marty and Holly at Down To Earth Style for a holiday baking party.
I hope you’ll stop by then to link up the recipes for your favorite cookies, cakes, pies and breads.
Kirby
Love these—and you and I surely think alike! Thanks so much for the link…it means a lot to me to have folks spread the word.
Marty@A Stroll Thru Life
Oh what a fabulous find to come up with two of these tables. I love them pushed together and your makeover is gorgeous. I need to try some of her products, that zinc shade is such a cute idea too. Hugs, Marty