Credenza Makeover Tutorial: Part 1

After taking a break from writing for a couple of weeks to spend 10 fun-filled days making trouble around Seattle with my little sister, I am back at it finishing up some house projects before I buckle down and find a full time job. 

My last big DIY project for the summer was a beast to work on, but I am SO happy with how it turned out. I thought I'd share a two part step-by-step tutorial on how to refurbish a large piece of furniture, so here we go...

Have you ever expected to breeze through a project and end up completely wrong about how much time and energy it would take to finish? That's what this project was for me. I kept thinking, "I've done something like this before, how hard can it be?" And "I have plenty of time to finish this. It will be a piece of cake." Yeah... I was wrong. I learned a few things from this project that I will share so that you don't have to make the same mistakes I did :)

Since I stopped working full time my days have been filled with A TON of DIY projects, which I have loved, but I am glad to be wrapping up the many projects I have going on and I know my husband will be glad not to have our house in a constant state of chaos :)

I bought this credenza at Goodwill for $70. It was a pretty exciting find. The piece is REALLY well-built and has some great character and beautiful detail. Here is the before picture of the piece...

And some after pics...

As you can see I kept the original hardware and tried to go for a Spanish style that would brighten up our office. I am loving it! It makes the whole room seem more welcoming. Here are some tips on how to refurbish your own piece of furniture:

1. Make a Plan

Having a plan in place will save you a lot of stress and time later and while this might not be the most fun part of the project, trust me, you will be glad that you put some thought in up front.

Some good questions to ask yourself before you start: 

Where will I work on this? 
What is my timeline? 
What kind of materials do I need? 
How much work am I willing/able to put in? 
Where will this piece end up in my house?

2. Pick Your Colors!

This is the fun part. Now you could just go to Lowe's and spend hours browsing all of the colors trying to envision what it will look like and narrowing it down swatch by swatch, (like I did) but I would recommend NOT doing this. Instead of spending WAY too much time at the store and getting all confused about what color you even wanted in the first place because you've looked at so many color swatches your eyes can't seem to distinguish between blue and green, a better idea would be to consider what color(s) you want to paint the piece based on what you already have in your house. After that you can pick 5-10 of your favorite shades, take them home and see how they fit with the rest of the room and the piece itself and then... sleep on it. 

Paint can be expensive, and so a helpful tip to save money is to go online to some of the home improvement and paint store websites and see if they have any promotions going on. That's what I did and I ended up getting some great paint on sale.

3. Gather the Necessary Tools & Materials

Here is a list of materials you may need for the project, depending on your vision for the finished product:

- Sand paper or electric sander
- Your choice of paint and the right quantity (I went with two different colors, 1 gallon for the main color and 1 quart for the trim color)
- Several sizes of good quality paint brushes
- Painting tape
- Drop cloths
- Washcloth
- Any tools to take the hardware off

Once you've bought all of your materials and decided where you will be working on your project, it's time to get the piece ready for sanding and/or painting. 

Stay tuned for part two of this tutorial next week where I will get into sanding and painting the piece. 

Do you have any fun DIY and/or house projects you've been working on this summer? Tell me about it in the comments below!