Bringing Old Furniture Back to Life!

Before I do start telling you about this entire process, just wanted to say please mind the mess in the back :p

Now that's out of the way, Let me tell you how I made my old furniture into something that is actually presentable!

What I used for this conversion:

-Old furniture (I converted an old bookshelf and an old dresser)

-Extra wallpaper

-Simple elmers glue/Wood to paper glue

-Screwdriver, etc for removing + reassembling parts

-Chalk paint + brushes

-Wood Varnish (matte finish)

-Sandpaper/orbital sander (makes your job a lot easier)

I took this old bookshelf, completely rejected, hiding inside the depths of the storeroom, and gave it a new life, using just some leftover scrap wallpaper, regular liquid glue, and some chalk paint.

Being honest, this was the project that got me my orbital sander. I used it to sand all the surfaces of the bookshelf lightly, and it made quick and easy work of it. This then makes our bookshelf ready for step 2.

I started by painting the sanded down surface of the wood, and applied 2 coats of chalk paint, giving it a nice white, grainy. This is just personal preference, but I really like how it looks.

Now, what made me use chalk paint? One would be the texture and look it gives, and the second would be how versatile it is. No primer was needed for it, and it can be painted on almost all surfaces. Just make sure not to get water on it, as it is water soluble, and a few coats of varnish afterwards are very important.

At this step, I glued on the wallpaper, after cutting it to size. Simple elmers glue did just the trick for me, and I used a credit card to make sure there were no air bubbles left behind. While doing this, I also replaced the knobs of the closet, and got new and stronger screws for the glass doors.

This project is really nothing hard to achieve, you just need the time and determination to finish it. Just remember, take it easy, and don't rush it. I took my time, and made both the dresser and the bookshelf look completely different in around 5 hours of work, over the course of three days.