Makely

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Face Lift

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About three years ago, I found a chair with beautiful bones on Craigslist.  I was looking for a chair to go in my new sewing room in the house we were building, and this one really caught my eye.  She was in bad shape but had gorgeous lines.  With a little TLC and a recovered cushion, she was ready to serve her purpose in the new house.

Well, times (and my taste) have changed, and I decided to repuropse her to be used in another location.  So, I gave her a face lift…literally.

Since the chair was already painted a bright white, I simply popped off the seat and recovered it with a scrap of linen I had left over from the nursery project.  I thought the chair needed a little whimsy, so I cut out a silhouette with my Silhouette (heh) and applied the vinyl to the back of the chair.  The update took 30 minutes at the most, but I think it really gives her a whole new look.

Now, she thinks she’s all fancy and hot stuff.  I have to agree.

TIP JAR: Recovering the seat of a chair is a cheap way to change the look of a room.  Staple the fabric on the underside on all four sides of the cushion, pulling tight, before you put in the additional staples on each side.  This technique will keep your fabric from sliding and will make it easier to keep patterns from getting wavy.

{Your} Complete Guide to Painting Furniture

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Have you tried your hand at refinishing a piece of furniture? Among all of the decor projects I have completed, the 4 or 5 pieces I have saved from an ugly life have been my favorites.

The thing is, I don’t really know what I’m doing.  I muck my way through it and just keep my fingers crossed that it will turn out good enough in the end.  I get many comments and emails from readers each week asking for my advice on how to refinish this table or that chair.  I never really know the best way to tackle each project, since I just sort of make it up as I go along.

Thankfully, I now have an answer for you!  Mandie Morris, the creative genius behind Altar’d Funky Chic Furniture, has released an e-book – a complete guide on how to paint furniture.  I have been a fan of Mandie’s since I saw some of her pieces for sale on CraigsList last year (we’re both Texas gals, y’all!), and I am just over the moon that she has provided her extensive knowledge to those of us who just fake it (or are too scared to fake it – I know y’all are out there, too).

The How to Paint Furniture e-book is 83 pages chock full of excellent information.  Mandie details every step of the process, from how to select the right piece of furniture to refinish to how to hold a piece of sandpaper to achieve perfect distressing.  She teaches you how to properly prepare your furniture for painting and how to work with glaze.  In fact, Mandie even tells you exactly what products she uses and where she buys them.  That alone, my friends, is worth its weight in gold.  There are so many products on the market, that it is unbelievably helpful to know exactly which ones to select.

All that for just $10.  I know you’ve wasted more than $10 working on the wrong piece of furniture or using the wrong products, right?  Gosh, I know I have!

Still need to be convinced that this is one of the must-have e-books on the market?  Take a look at some more of Mandie’s work:

Y’all, I can promise you that none of my “faking it furniture” looks anywhere near this good.

To purchase the e-book, just click the button below.  You’ll be able to download it immediately and get started on your new furniture projects ASAP.

I can’t wait to see your new furniture!  Be sure to email me photos so I can “Ooooh!” and “Ahhhh!” over your transformation!

Living With Lindsay is an affiliate for this e-book.  However, I have this book and personally recommend it to everyone interested in learning to paint furniture.  It will be my go-to resource the next time I have a furniture project.