One thing both a pro and a con was that it was unfurnished meaning we had to kit the whole house out top to bottom. Our landlords provided us with anything major that we needed but surprisingly we managed to borrow, steal (sorry mum) and find a few major things from both our houses. Secretly, I think my mum was pretty chuffed at the excuse to get a new sofa.
For my bedroom I managed to use my brothers old wardrobe and bedside table and despite normally being a lover of a good interior shop, challenged myself to renovating it.
The wardrobe was a sturdy, classic solid wood with a cork bark and the bedside table matched, similar to this one below. As much as the natural wood was lovely it didn't fit my taste. I recently have adopted a thing about everything being 'white'. I like the clean, spacious and chic vibe it has, and it suits as a blank canvas for my forever changing taste.
I read up online how to renovate furniture and it seems pretty simple so here are the steps in my own way.
Firstly make sure you have everything you need! Saves delay. If in doubt, buy more than less.
- Sand paper - fine, coarse - the lot. Around 1 sheet of each suffices.
- Dust Sheets
- Cloth
- Primer 2.5 L was enough for both my drawers and wardrobe
- Chosen Paint 2.5Litre
- White Spirit to clean your brushes
- Paint brushes in different sizes
- Roller for large areas (sponge not fluffy!)
- Handles or decoratives
- Swiss Army Knife or screw driver.
STEP 1
Decide on your space and choose in relation to how much time you have. Ideally a workshop or protected outdoor space if you have it but if you live in a flat or so on think the room that is least invasive to you and others. If you are going to do over a few weeks like I did, prepare to live with the mess and constant maneuvering when renovating larger pieces.
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| Prepare your storage |
Start by laying dust sheets or moving outside and removing any handles, doors or decorative pieces. If you want to be particularly precise, cover any metal clasps/screws with sticky tape to avoid paint getting on them. Sand paper down the wood, prepping it for the primer and paint. Sanding down will help the paint grip to the wood.
Tip #1: Use a fine sand paper unless you have major holes. Coarse paper will leave scratches across the wood if it has a coat on it as I learnt..
Tip #2 Keep all your screws together and somewhere safe. Take pictures so you remember how to put any doors back on etc. Trust me, you'll thank me!
STEP 2
Wipe down with a damp cloth and hoover if need be, getting rid of excess dust.
Apply the primer in thin coats. This doesn't have to be that neat but it is good practice and great for your arm and handle muscles. Allow to dry, which can be particularly quick if you have quick drying paint. An hour or two should suffice if not. Apply your second coat and allow to dry. This part is pretty easy!
Tip#1: Use a smaller brush to get into corners or decorative parts of the wood and a roller for large areas such as the wardrobe.
Tip #2When you pause in your painting fill a jar up with white spirit and leave you brushes in here so the paint strips easier. When ready to use, wash through and leave to try. I used fairy liquid before and it made the brush really hard.
STEP 3
Apply your first coat of chosen surface paint. Gloss? Matt? White? Pink? I went for White Glass so easy to wipe down. I found with gloss it was a lot thicker to apply and didn't spread quite so easily. I abandoned the roller at this stage, even the foam roller just soaked it all up and didn't apply much to the actual furniture.
Here, prepare for the fumes. I was doing my wardrobe in my bedroom which wasn't a great idea. Keep all the windows open and ideally sleep somewhere else!
Drying time takes a lot longer now with this coat, I left mine at least 3 days - a week (work schedule interfering!) before I felt brave enough to move it. Summer days it will dry quicker but the paint will remain sticky/tacky for a while. I would wait until you can completely grab it and have no fear of paint peeling on to you.
For me this took a sub stage where I tipped the wardrobe on its side to paint the top and base.
Apply your second coat and wait again. I decided only to do 1 coat on the inside, I had given up living in a tip and came to the conclusion, no-one would see inside once all my clothes in.
Tip: Buy all your paint at the same time or make sure they won't be discontinuing. If you have to go buy more, make sure you have an exact note of what type, colour the paint is - take a picture with you. You will never know how many shades of white there are until you forget these details! If you only need a little more, ask for a tester.
STEP 4
Reapply doors and handle and put into place. I got my handles from Ikea for £3.50 for two. Once done, hey presto, look at you, you did it!
LESSONS LEARNT
For me, I spread this process over a good few months as I had lots going on and couldn't always do it every weekend. It didn't actually take me that long if I had a solid week to dedicate my time to it. It's worth the effort; low cost and comes with some great self satisfaction.
I would say the biggest lesson I pass on is choosing where to paint. A wardrobe isn't an easy moving item and I didn't fancy taking it all into pieces. If you have a spare bedroom, great. If not, sort out alternative storage prior and suss out the sofa bed before.
The great thing is too if you don't like it or you colour scheme changes, you can just paint it again.
I definitely will be pursuing into other furniture DIY adventures. Pinterest, come at me!
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