Yard Sale Furniture!

Anyone who has been to my house knows I've gotten some of my favorite pieces of furniture at yard sales. The coffee table in my den? $7. The queen sized solid maple bed in my son's room? $10. The list goes on and on! When people visit the house and compliment something I have to stop myself from giving a tacky play by play of where I've found my finds!

Now that yard sale season is upon us, I thought it would be an appropriate time to share some very easy tips for refinishing yard sale furniture.

First of all, you want something with good "bones", i.e. it doesn't matter how ugly it looks on the surface, if it's made of nice solid wood (not vaneer), pick it up. What's the risk? $10? Who cares?

If the wood needs it, give it a light sanding with a medium sand paper and then work your way to the finest paper. Wipe clean and PRIME (do NOT skip this!) with either KILZ or BULLSEYE primer. I usually do 2-3 coats of primer. Next? Paint your find! I like taking my Benjamin Moore paint wheel to the store and having something mixed custom, since I like to really customize the colors. A semi-gloss is nice. You'll want 2 coats of the paint.

To the right are pictures of my favorite find to date. I got this table at the local Salvation Army for $10. It's a late 19th century dining room table. I sawed the base down, reattached it, painted it white and made a coffee table. Love it! Do you know how hard it is to find a table big enough for the whole family to play games and make puzzles?

Happy Hunting! See you at the yard sales! p.s. don't forget to keep bungee cords in your trunk, ladies!