Forever ago, we had Q and A day, and Thank You to all of you who picked my brain. Sorry it took me forever to get back to you. Now I am not an expert in just about anything, but I will do my best to fill you with knowledge.
Nicole’s question was
What was your best furniture find? Do you have a before and after picture.
I actually have three favorites.
The desk I recently did. I liked the character this piece had and I really was happy with the paint color against the stained top. On the before picture the desk is upside down on the top.
The next is the huge nasty brown dresser I re did. It was just so ugly and it was such a big transformation.
The last would be the antique dresser. I loved the carving and great lines on this. I also loved how the color turned out. I almost didn’t sell this one.
Joy asked:
So do you have any tips on me taking my linoleum floor? There are 2 seams that have produced tears. We got a floor man to give us an estimate, and it was going to be costly to put down new subfloor and re-do it. I just keep thinking I could sponge paint it some of the way, and then put the sealer over it. But then I have thought about painting my carpet by sponge painting it, or do a swirl pattern of some kind, because the carpeting is stained.
I don’t know much about the new paint techniques for anything. I was just thinking about that carpet idea before I rip it up and saw what kind of hardwood floors were underneath it.
I have never done any type of carpet painting before, so I’m not going to be much help there. I am all about hardwood floors, though. First, I would pull a corner of the carpet up and take a peak at what you’ve got underneath. If it’s in horrible condition, just glue it back down. I worked on a floor the other day that was in pretty good shape except it looked a bit dull. We thought about sanding, but first we went over the whole floor with Old English furniture polish and we were amazed at what a difference it made. We were really happy with all but one spot on the floor, so we threw down a floor rug and it worked out great!
Comment about Aubree’s
How do I make chalk paint at home?
Hi Aubree! This is the recipe that I use:
- 1/2 Cup of calcium carbonate
- 1 1/2 Cups of paint
If it’s too thick I add a teaspoon of warm water to it. You can get the calcium carbonate (the powder form, not the pill form) at any health food store. I get mine at Natural Grocers or I order it off of Amazon depending on if it’s on sale at either place. A little goes a long way. You really need to mix it well so you don’t end up with little chalky deposits on your finished project (a mixer attachement for the drill helps).
And an unrelated question…
We have wood floors under our nasty carpet. We’re going to pull the carpet up and see what we have to work with. Do you know what do do with the wood floor? Sand? Stain? Help. I’m the handy one believe it or not.
To expand a little on the earlier comment ..when you pull up the carpet, you’ll want to pay close attention to how damaged the wood is underneath, particularly around the edge where the carpet tack-strip sets — sometimes those are glued down and can cause quite a bit of damage to remove.
I’d probably start peeling back all the corners a little bit to make certain it’s all the same hardwood. It’s not uncommon for a problem to occur that causes an area underneath to get ruined and have to be patched. If that’s the case, you might want to rethink since matching a patched section would be difficult.
If you peel it back and everything looks good, then you have a great start. Hardwood is not too difficult to update, but it’s time consuming, hard work and messy. I’d recommend talking to someone who’s done it for the details, but in general terms, you’ll want to sand the entire floor, stain it, poly it, poly it again, and then move back in. And a word of warning … it’s a difficult task to complete with dogs too!
Another option may be laminate flooring. A lot of times you can score great looking flooring at your Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Menards. With 10% off coupons from Ebay, you can save quite a bit. May save time in the long run.
Hope that helps! We will have another Q & A day coming up soon!
I know someone who came into some antique cast metal lawn edging. The pieces are unpainted with minimal rust. I can see someone using them over a bed or shelf, etc. Some pieces have the legs broken off and they would be cute as a backdrop on a shelf or in a vignette. I am trying to help him find the value and the best way to sell them. I know I find pieces on etsy but he has quite a few and the packing and shipping as well as the weight makes that type of thing prohibitive. Do you have any suggestions or know of anyone locally who might have an interest?
Thanks.
Kerry
Hi Kerry- I know here in Wichita there is Old Town Architechtual Salvage. They might be interested in that sort of thing. I have no idea what they pay though. If you send me a picture, I might have a better idea of what we are dealing with.
Thanks
Shanna
I was thinking of sending pics but wasn’t sure how. Do I need to have you email me so I can send them or is there another way?
The paint you use for the chalk paint, is it any thing in particular? I often buy wrong mix paint at a much cheaper price and the colors, brands and finishes vary I can usually get a gallon of paint for around $5. Should I be looking for flat, semi or gloss, or does it matter? Also do you use brush or rollers? I used to think rollers gave it a more fine finish, but I have been told that brushes give it a an even finer look. One last question regarding chalk paint…. by making it into chalk paint, does it preform like a chalk board now? I have a ying yang table that can be separated into a table representing each piece. I wanted to do the black in chalk paint, and the white in a dry erase paint (if there is such a thing) . Its all sanded and ready to go, I just wasn’t sure how to proceed. <3 Lisa
Hi Lisa! I use a semi-gloss paint or an eggshell when I make chalkpaint. Glossy looks weird and flat looks blah. Chalkpaint is not the same as chalkboard paint. You can get chalkboard spray paint at Michael’s or Hobby Lobby or you can get a quart to brush on at Lowe’s or Home Depot around $13 a can. I use brushes. I rarely use rollers. If your surface is sanded and smooth your ready for the chalkboard paint but I have never used the dry erase paint before so I don’t really know anything about that. Good luck to you!
Hi, just wondering what colour and type of paint you used for the turquoise painted piece and the green piece?? Thanks.
Those pieces are so lovely. I understand how you had a hard time parting with the antique dresser!
Shanna it is so awesome that you took the time to answer all our questions! All of your answers to all of your questions were so very helpful. I am just amazed at how much you know how to do, even after working with you for 5 years. Kudos to you on your DIY and kudos to you on the support you give us with your blog!! You are the best!
Thanks so much Joy! Thanks for reading everyday!
Thanks for the help Shanna!!!
Anytime Aubree! Are you coming to the craft show?