Guest post: Antique vanity makeover by Lenore Mizrachi

Ok, I promised you a great guest post and here it is! Lenore Mizrachi is back, with more of her frugal and creative home decor makeover ideas.  Being an HGTV junkie myself, I absolutely love love love this stuff. Find out how she refinished this antique vanity (below) for less than forty bucks. Yes, I said $40.

My husband is a fan of frugality. I'm more into design. So this scenario is not an uncommon one around our house:

"Why go buy furniture when people we know are giving theirs away in perfectly good condition?"

"Because they don't MATCH!"

Fortunately for my ambitious design ideas, I'm also an artist. My experience with paint and every kind of commission you can think of has taught me that pretty much anything can be painted in a lasting way if properly prepared and finished-- see my other recent article, "How to Redo Your Floors."

So when a relative of mine was ready to let their beautiful antique vanity go, I stepped in to rescue it from obscurity, refinished it, and made it the perfect finishing touch to my modern bedroom. if you're contemplating updating an old piece of your own or searching through a flea market for a diamond in the rough, I definitely recommend this for an inexpensive way to give your decor new life.

Here are some instructions and things to keep in mind to make the project easier for you:

1. The smoothest, most even surfaces will be the easiest to paint. This isn't to say that the unique wood-grain you love so much in that old dresser of yours is impossible to refurbish, it'll just take longer to evenly coat all of the grooves. You should choose pieces based on a realistic assessment of how much time you can devote to the project- nobody wants a half-painted piece of furniture.
2. If the piece has previously been painted, you won't need to prime it but should still sand it down for an even base. If you're dealing with raw materials (unfinished wood, for example), sand it down and then apply two thin coats of primer. What primer to use depends on the type of paint you'll be using; keep it simple by using acrylic based paints. These are the most widely available and dry the fastest. Oil paints can take up to a week or more to dry, while acrylics dry in minutes.
3. If your furniture has tight-fitting drawers, you may find that after applying coats of primer, paint and varnish they no longer fit into their grooves. Avoid this problem by sanding their edges down significantly beforehand to ensure they won't "grow" too large during the painting process.
4. For priming, painting and finishing make sure you have a range of different sized brushes on hand. Don't get lazy and try to paint the small embellishments with the same giant brush you used to paint larger areas; this will only yield sloppy work and serve to frustrate you. A professional looking job is all in the details. Pick up that tiny brush and work slowly; you'll thank yourself later. Also, don't be afraid of making a mistake during painting. All paint can be obscured by more paint, and if you take your time, you can produce perfect results. If your piece has a mirror on it, don't forget to tape it up to protect it from flying paint. In the event of an accident, take comfort in the fact that glass is non-porous and won't absorb the paint. A razor blade ill take it right off once it's dry.
5. After sanding, cleaning and priming the surface, you're ready for color. The easiest route is obviously to use one color over the entire piece; the more ambitious and artistic may consider mapping out a design in pencil first. Your specific design really depends on the setting you're leaving it in, just be sure to consider it thoroughly beforehand since, after all this effort, you're likely to want to keep the furniture around for a while. Besides for a patterned design, you may also want to try using the one that's already been laid out for you-- pay attention to the shape of the furniture itself. Many pieces have built in trim, grooves, curves and other elements that you can simply paint in a different color than the rest of the item for an easy yet sophisticated effect. This is what I did with my vanity!
6. Make sure you're completely satisfied with your work before priming. Paint shouldn't be applied over varnish because it won't last as long as the rest of the piece. As with the primer, make sure the varnish you use is compatible with your type of paint. Allow your paint to dry one full day before applying the varnish.
7. Be careful with brush strokes- try to apply the varnish as smoothly as possible and don't leave globs of it anywhere on the furniture. If you do, you'll get a giant, immovable, unattractive and quite permanent lump. 
8. Allow the varnish to dry one day, and you're done! The total start to finish time for my vanity was less than a week.

Find materials for this project (acrylic primer, paint and varnish and a few brushes) at your local art store. My vanity cost me less than $40 to redo, though costs will vary depending on the size of your piece. Make sure to thoroughly wash all of your brushes each time you finish using them to ensure their longevity. Please check out my Facebook page for pictures of other furniture I've worked on, including designs for glass tabletops.

 If you love Lenore's work (as I do), please follow her on Twitter, and like her on Facebook.

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