What to do with hand-me-down furniture?

Hello Friends!

During these times, it pays to be frugal. After moving into my new house, I started working on a hand-me-down dining room set that was given to me a few years ago. I lived in apartments up until now, so I didn't have much space for doing anything major. Now that I have a lot more room, I decided to spruce up the old dining room set.

Here is what it looked like before:


Over time, the seats of the chairs became cracked because they were just made out of particle board. The fabric had become a faded pink and was very worn. The chairs and table legs were filled with chips in the paint and large scratches from being moved around so much.

The seats were replaced with plywood which is much more durable than particle board. With the help of Sister "S," we picked out a new fabric for the seat covers from Jo-Ann's.



I went with a cream base color with a tan and brown design to tie the room in together. The curtains I had picked out for the dining room are a cream and chocolate brown. Having the seat covers the same color as the curtains helps bring the room together.


Once the seat covers were done, I removed them and painted the chairs and the table legs. The top of the table is sealed and would not have been paint-able so I left that alone. I purchased a black paint in a very high-gloss finish so I could keep the original color as best I could. I had to be very careful with my brush strokes because they would show up once it dries. I did this by taking my time during the painting process. Once I had spread the paint evenly over an area, I went back over it with one smooth brush stroke in order to give the overall look a flowing feel.

Here is a close up of my brush strokes:


As you can see, the paint job covered up the scratches and paint chips nicely for the finished product:



To tie the room together even more, I used some of the leftover fabric to fill in the box that covers our doorbell chime. Thanks to Sister "S" for the help!


Until next week!