Turn a New Leaf on Old Furniture

They're an eyesore and too big to fit in a garbage can. So what can you do with old furniture? A lot, actually. You can paint it, stain it, distress it. You can sew new pillowcases for it and cover ugly upholstery with slipcovers. You can replace boring hardware with whimsical ideas, and generally turn a new leaf in the life of your decrepit furniture. Just take a glimpse at the possibilities.

The stunning effect of paint

Wood, plastic, metal'"you can paint any type of furniture to change it completely. Just paint the surface with water-based primer first. Then, once dry, paint (or spray paint) your furniture. Choose lively, semi-gloss colors like grass green, apple red, sunny yellow. Or sand the edges of the piece to give it a distressed look with the white primer showing through.

The power of staining

Special wood pieces should never be painted. Sand them with a palm sander to remove the old stain or paint. It's dusty work, so take yourself into the open air. Before staining, condition the wood, then stain in a fresh color. You'll find a whole selection of hues at your home improvement store.

The refreshing look of white

For furniture in a small room, there's no better makeover than whitewash. Prime the pieces with water-based primer, then follow with semi-gloss white paint. If you paint all the pieces in the room in white, you'll be amazed at how much larger the space will feel.

The day-and-night effect of fabric

Don't try to blot out ugly upholstery by placing new seat cushions on an ugly sofa or a blanket over a loveseat. No! Take drastic measures! Look for cotton or velvet slipcovers online. Jeans looks chic, green velvet dramatic. White looks fresh, red lively. Take a peek at 10 steps to decorating with slipcovers.

The whimsical possibilities of hardware

Bring old knobs to life by spray painting them in metal or bright colors. Tie silk ribbons around handles to give them added charm. Remove handles and slip a rope through the hole and tie it in a loop at the back where the screw used to be. Or if you can afford it, look for whimsical hardware from leaf-shaped knobs to handles that look like tree branches.

The wondrous Charm of Pillows

Don't throw them away, your old pillows or seat cushions. Buy new slipcover pillowcases for them. Or measure them, cut beautiful fabric down to size and sew it on three sides to create a pillowcase yourself. Then sew strings of ribbons down the fourth side of your homemade pillowcase and tie them in bows to seal the pillowcase after you slip the pillow in. (more ideas for making alluring pillows yourself).

The charming appeal of Tassels

You'll find all sorts of tassels at fabric stores. Hang them from your furniture hardware for a catchy addition. Hang little silk tassels from the handles of a dresser, for a Victorian look. Or hang large beaded tassels from the knobs of an armoire for an exotic look. Search for tassels online and let them fill you with ideas.

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