Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project
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Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project

 

One of the biggest things my husband and I were very conscious of the entire time we were working on the nursery was: THE BUDGET. We had a very strict budget and we tried to save in every little area that we could.

Babies aren’t cheap and, well, we didn’t want to go blowing all of our savings on just redoing a room.

One of the ways we saved a TON of money was doing an OLD furniture makeover and making it NEW by repainting or refinishing it.

The first piece we tackled: the DRESSER!

This dresser was actually in my HUSBAND’S nursery when HE was a kid! How cool is that? It was a very pretty brown wood, but it just felt outdated.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a REAL before, before picture because my husband and his dad had already sanded, primed, and painted the first coat before I could get a snap.

But, you can see the natural wood color on the inside.Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project by lifestyle blogger Still Being Molly

The key to an old furniture makeover dresser like this one is being sure it’s sanded well and primed well. Otherwise the paint can fade and wear really quickly.

We then opted to do an ombre effect on the drawers! I just picked out four greens (one of which is actually the green on the accent wall in the nursery) and we got the little paint sample jars of each color from Home Depot.

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

We then went to Hobby Lobby and got different mis-matching knobs to put on the drawers. They were each buy one get one free!! WOOP!

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

And here is the finished product!!Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project by lifestyle blogger Still Being Molly

Budget:

  • Dresser: free (old)
  • Primer and white paint: free (we had a bunch of cans laying around)
  • Four paint samples: $2/each = $8 total
  • Eight knobs from Hobby Lobby: $4/each set = $16

Total cost of dresser re-do: $24!

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project by lifestyle blogger Still Being Molly

Next was the bookshelf.

I’ve had this bookshelf for YEARS (I think I got it in high school). And while it was a fine bookshelf on it’s own, it was actually a more “shiny” finish and a more “off-white” color than I really liked or wanted.

So, on a whim, husband and I decided we were going to re-do this bookshelf as well!

I don’t have any pictures of the actual process, but thankfully, we didn’t actually need to PRIME this one. So, we just took white paint we had laying around and painted the WHOLE thing. Then, we took those same ombre green paint samples from the dresser and used the rest of those on the shelves and bottom drawer. We opted NOT to paint the back of the bookshelf because the height of the shelves is adjustable and we may want to change the height down the road.

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

And here is the finished old furniture makeover:Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

I also had a TON of fun “styling” the bookshelf. I went primarily for the “organize your books by color” idea.

So, you can see that the books on each shelf match or “go” in a general color scheme.

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project by lifestyle blogger Still Being Molly Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

Voila!

Budget for this old furniture makeover project:

  • Bookshelf: Free (old)
  • White paint: Free (old)
  • Paint samples: leftover from dresser project above
  • Knob for bottom drawer: $3

Total real cost: $3!

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project by lifestyle blogger Still Being Molly

Then came the under-the-window table. This piece will make more sense when I show you the final nursery reveal. But, I was looking for a table that would fit well under the window next to the glider.

I found this little end table at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store Warehouse for $15.

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

This one definitely needed like three coats of primer to fully cover the black paint. We also sanded down some of the rougher areas to smooth it out.

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

We then opted to paint it with some leftover extra high gloss white paint. This also needed at least two, maybe three coats. So, it was a lot of painting… took a whole night. AND, the extra high gloss paint takes a while to set… so we left it to dry for almost two days before we took it up to the nursery.Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

And VOILA!

Total cost of this: $15 (the cost of the table)

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project by lifestyle blogger Still Being Molly

Then, I had been searching for a shelf to hang next to the changing table so I could put the wipe warmer and coconut oil on it.

I found this beauty at Goodwill for $0.69 cents.

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

I primed it and put two coats of paint on it and BOOM. Done.

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Re-Do | Nursery Project

$0.69 cents for a brand new looking shelf that works PERFECTLY next to the changing table!

Just Paint It! Old Furniture Makeover | Nursery Project by lifestyle blogger Still Being Molly

So, all in all, we got a “new” dresser, a “new” bookshelf, “new” window table, and “new” changing table shelf for a total of: $42.69!

Not too shabby. In fact, the only “new” pieces of furniture we bought for the nursery were the crib, changing table, and glider. BUT, we got them all on sale! Duh. 🙂

What about you? Have you done any old furniture makeover projects recently? What areas are you saving money?

48 Comments

  1. Pingback: Furniture makeovers before and after - Little Piece Of Me

  2. Molly! I am so glad you did this because I’m buying furniture for my new room (not a nursery, but whatever) and I am probably going to have to paint stuff. And I’m pretty nervous about it but I am glad you successfully accomplished it! It all looks awesome, I’m really excited to see the whole thing 🙂 By the way, my coworker recently wrote a blog post on nursery lighting and it just occurred to me you might like it! http://blog.pegasuslighting.com/2013/07/5-tips-for-great-nursery-lighting/ Tell Lilly I said HEY GIRL! haha. <3

    Reply

  3. It all looks great and like so much fun!! Can’t wait to see the big reveal, I can tell already that you have a great nursery going! 🙂 I love stuff related to decorating and wish I could do more. Love seeing that you were able to do it on a budget, though! Gives me hope for someday. haha

    Reply

  9. This is such a good idea. There are plenty of gently used pieces out there that just need a little love. Also, I’m loving the Harry Potter books on Lilly’s bookshelf.

    Reply

  10. This all looks incredible!!! You make me want to do some craft projects STAT. I didn’t realize repainting furniture was that easy… Or maybe it’s not and I don’t know exactly what “sanding” entails… haha

    Reply

  11. I bought an old dry-sink that had a shelving unit on it that was a horrible dark brown and painted it a creamy white for my kitchen. I love it now!

    Reply

  17. It really is amazing what a few coats of paint can do! I did the same thing for my apartment that you guys did here–a few white coats of paint for my dressers and bright yellow for my best, and it was like everything was brand new to me!

    Reply

  21. These are reat projects, Molly! I love the dresser and was just thinking a dresser would be a good addition to our nursery. The closet gets overcrowded! We didn’t end up buying anything but the rocker as far as nursery furniture. We were so blessed to be given our crib and changing table. Can’t wait to see the rest of the room 🙂

    Reply

  24. Such GREAT DIY projects and they all look like brand new stuff. I have painted two end tables and a desk before & I know the sanding is hard work, but it is great to see the finished product. Lilly is such a lucky girl to have such creative parents.!!!

    Reply

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