Updating Thrift Store Finds with Paint

Thrift stores are full of fabulous, vintage and antique, wood furniture pieces. I recently found a bench with a caned seat and an antique mirror that would have been on a dresser.

While I love the look and warmth of natural wood, both of these pieces needed some work and so I made the decision to paint them a dark, bluish green color that I mixed up from several different paints.

The mirror had cup hooks all along the bottom of it that I am sure someone used for jewelry. I pulled those out and filled the holes with wood filler. 

I knew that the holes, even though filled, would still show if I didn't paint over them. The bench was scratched and one of the wood medallions on a leg was missing so I decided it needed paint as well.

I taped off the mirror and the caning on the bench and used a knife to trim the tape on the rounded corners. Paint prep is a pain, but so worth it in the end.

After lightly sanding each piece and wiping them down, I painted two coats of the self-mixed dark green paint.When the paint was dry, I sanded a pit off it off on the detailed area on the top of the mirror and on the legs and handles of the bench. A matte clear coat of Min-Wax Polyacrylic completed the transformations for these two thrift store pieces. 

Oh, and removing the tape to reveal clean lines is so satisfying!

I did not paint over priceless antiques and the paint freshens and updates these wood finds and gives them new life for a new owner. I staged the bench with two thrift store pillows, neither one has green in it, but I love how they look with the bench and wall tapestry.

My daughter studied in Italy last spring and so many of her photos had art and mirrors layered over tapestries or fabric covered walls. The layers add warmth and interest to a space. This thrifted tapestry is the perfect backdrop for the green mirror and bench and easy to change up or move. Ohh, and hello! There I am in the mirror.

Hint--if you resell, paint items that can work together the same color and hope for a bundle purchase. While I love both of these pieces they will be for sale in my pop-up shop at the end of the month.