The Redesign Blog

Design/Decorating, DIY, Furniture Michele Design/Decorating, DIY, Furniture Michele

The Tale of the $5 Hutch

I love thrifting! Especially when it leads to stories like the one I’m about to share – The Tale of the Five Dollar Hutch. Sometimes lady luck shines on you, and you find such a great piece at such a great price you can barely believe it. In the first stroke of luck, I was actually thrifting for a client seeking a hutch for her business to add extra storage. I decided to check the Habitat for Humanity Restore close to where I live, another lucky stroke, and it turned out better than imagined. They were having a liquidation sale that day to get rid of extra inventory. After finding the right hutch more my client, I saw this little beauty in the parking lot…

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Furniture, Design/Decorating, DIY Michele Furniture, Design/Decorating, DIY Michele

Saving an Unsavable Piece of Furniture

This is a furniture makeover challenge I issued to myself. Let me set the stage…

My hubby and I recently redesigned my workshop in the garage. There was an old buffet piece I had been using as a workbench. Now, with the new workshop area, there was no longer a place for the buffet. Being a reuse and repurpose girl at heart, I couldn’t with good conscience throw out a piece of furniture (no matter how scary the current condition was) without trying to fix it up and pass on to someone who could use it. This is where the makeover story begins.

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3 Chalk Paint Recipes Compared

Chalk paint can be a magical tool to help you refinish a piece of furniture that has seen better days. Unfamiliar with chalk paint? It provides a hard finish that will cover a lot of imperfections and simply make them disappear. Many brands are available online, in a home improvement center paint department or even in your favorite craft store. While there are lots of good choices, they can be quite expensive. The simple solution to that is to make your own. Today, I will share three different chalk paint recipes I have tried and let you know which is my favorite and why.

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Design/Decorating, DIY, Furniture Michele Design/Decorating, DIY, Furniture Michele

Best Practices for Furniture Arrangement

Are you a “set it and forget it” person when it comes to furniture arrangement? If the answer is yes and you don’t THINK you have options, politely, you’re wrong. If you’re inexperienced or lack confidence, this blog is just what you need. Rearranging furniture is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to make a room feel new. It’s a core concept of redesign and one of my great pleasures in life. I’ve got six quick tips to help give your home a fresh look for the total cost of zero dollars. You don’t find bargains like that often, so stick around and let’s get our arrangement mojo in high gear!

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Thrift Store Bench Makeover

It won’t always be like this, but lately I’ve been on a thrift store streak. I scored a sweet little bench with a cushioned top and front drawer for storage for less than 10 bucks! As is my habit, a few Saturdays ago, I checked my local Goodwill to see if they had anything I couldn’t live without. Apparently, my survival depended on a cheap bench. It wasn’t much to look at, but I could see its potential and the price was too tempting to resist. While I gave in to impulse, my motivation was about sharing with you. Okay, a little about replacing the bench I’d grown tired of in my primary bedroom, but also the sharing thing. Read on to follow the steps I took to create a cute piece for a killer price.

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Furniture, DIY, Design/Decorating Michele Furniture, DIY, Design/Decorating Michele

Should You Refinish Furniture or Buy New?

Some people are all in when it comes to buying new versus used furniture. They can’t imagine why anyone would take the time to “save” a piece just to save a few bucks. If you’re on Team New, I respect that. However, in this blog I’ll make a pitch for refinishing—even if you’ve never refinished a piece before. I view refinished pieces like the rescue dogs of interior design. True, they may take more effort, and you may have to look past some initial flaws, but they have the potential to bring great fulfillment and joy to your life.

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Furniture, Design/Decorating Michele Furniture, Design/Decorating Michele

My $4.99 Table Project…

Goodwill store. Table. $4.99. As in less than five bucks. Four. Ninety. Nine! Yes, I’m more than a little excited about my latest thrift store find turned into adorable little accent table. Did I mention the table was only $4.99? That merits consideration for the bargain Hall of Fame! So, bargains do exist, and with a little elbow grease a bargain can become a treasure. Reading this blog won’t guarantee you’ll find a $4.99 bargain in your market, but it can help you turn whatever bargain you find into a keeper that will earn a rightful place in your home.

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Restoration in Blue

When I feel the urge to do a creative project, my car seems to drive itself to the nearest thrift store to look for that perfect little piece with plenty of issues and plenty of potential. To satisfy my recent creative itch I found the perfect piece at the Habitat Restore. I love buying there since they use the profits toward their house-building projects. A win-win! Read on to see how this little lovely turned out!

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