Taking a piece of old furniture that is ugly, out of style or broken and making it fit into your home decor design really isn’t hard. Below you will see some pretty ugly pieces of furniture that I turned into fab from drab.

The first thing I did on all of these pieces was sand them with a sanding block like the one pictured below. They cost a couple of dollars and you can buy different grits.

After lightly sanding (depending on the piece of furniture) you can start using chalk paint. For all of these pieces in this  posting I used different chalk paint. I’ve tried out paint from Walmart, Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, Amazon and the traditional go-to chalk paint—Annie Sloan. To be completely honest I didn’t see a huge difference between the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It is more expensive and you will get more furniture painted with it versus other chalk paints (at least that is what I have experienced).

Chair Remodel 

This chair was in pretty bad shape when I picked it up at a yard sale for $5. The cushion needed to be completely redone and I wasn’t a fan of the color or design on the wooden part of the chair.

I started off with pulling the cushion off of the chair. Then I used a white chalk paint on the wood. There were some intricate designs in the chair, so I added a light turquoise chalk paint color to this part of the chair with a very fine painting brush. This was probably one of the more difficult parts of this makeover because I had to make sure I didn’t paint outside the lines.

I then added a couple of beach-themed stencils to the back of the chair.

I finished off the chair with a light coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax. I have found this brand of wax works the best with chalk paint.

The final part was upholstering the cushion on the chair. I picked up some cotton fabric that matched the blue in the chair. I used a heavy-duty staple gun to fasten the fabric to the cushion and then I screwed the cushion back to the chair.

Now I have a chair that matches my bedroom perfectly.

Bed Headboard Makeover

This headboard makeover was really simple. I bought the headboard for $15 (I would have liked to pay less, but we needed a new headboard). I first sanded down the ugly 80s style wood. Then I got right to painting. There is a part of the headboard that is inlay. I used a thin paint brush when I painted this. White and light turquoise chalk paint were used. After the paint dried I used a thin coating of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax to finish it off.

Nightstand Updates

This first nightstand was a trash find. One of my neighbors was throwing it out so I picked it up. It was a bit beat up when I got it. Like the other pieces I have shown in this article already I lightly sanded the wood before starting to paint. White and light turquoise chalk paint was used for paint and I finished it off with a light coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax. I also found some really cool glass starfish knobs in Amazon for under $5. I think the knobs are what make this piece unique.

This other nightstand I picked up for $5 at an estate sale. This one needed to be glued back together in some places with wood glue. It also needed some wood putty for a couple of places were the wood was very chipped. I painted this nightstand the same colors as the previous one (white and aqua chalk paint). I added sparkly glass knobs that I found on Amazon. I paid $12.99 for 15 of these knobs.

Coffee Table Update

This coffee table update was very simple. All I needed to do was put a coat of chalk paint and a light coating of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax and this piece was finished. I used the white and aqua chalk paint and this table quickly went from very dark to bright.

Serving Tray

I found this unfinished serving tray for $1 at Goodwill. I picked it up and decided to use the same color chalk paint I have in my living room to bring it to life. I finished it off by adding a shell stencil in the middle and added a coating of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax so I can actually use the tray.

Wall Clock Remake

I’ve been wanting to get a large wall clock for my dining room for awhile now. All the ones that I liked and that matched the decor in my home were too pricey for my wallet. Then I found a large wall clock at a yard sale one weekend for $4 and decided to pick it up. It was large, but it was dark and not the color I was looking for. I bought it anyway figuring I might be able to paint it and give it a new look. It was only $4, so it wasn’t a huge investment.

I cleaned the clock with window cleaner first (it was pretty dusty). Then I used Antique Aqua chalk paint I purchased at Michael’s Craft Stores. I lightly brushed it on to give it an antique look. When it dried, it looked like it was always painted that way. I sealed it with a light coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Wax.

As you can see, with a little time and effort, it isn’t too hard to give your current furniture or second-hand furniture a home makeover.