Just because an item’s old doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Often, all it needs is a bit of elbow grease and TLC to make it shine again. When you uncover old furniture in the attic or come across a rare antique find while secondhand shopping, you can make it come back to life with a bit of ingenuity.
Our team at Bored Panda is featuring some of the most creative furniture flipping and makeover projects, as shared by the talented members of a few popular online communities. Scroll down to check out the cool photos and to get some incredible inspiration for your next big creative project.
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Before was AWFUL. At least 25+ years of neglect. My parents kept them but they had been exposed to the elements for so, so, so long even after getting them. And then they were just left on my dad’s porch like skeleton decor after they separated. Moved back home and decided it was time to save them. They are covered in Rust-Oleum primer and it was multiple coats before the rust quit eating through. Once I knew that was good, I hand painted (never again) the glider and chairs set then spray painted the clam sets. (Tried to match the colors my parents like or this would have been a harvest/fall color vibe set.) Very happy with the results. It’s been a few months but they still feel like new and are the star of the porch.
MafiaMommaBruno Report
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purpmom Report
I picked up this MCM dresser at my local Goodwill for 29.00. Other than typical wear and tear damage- scratches, chipped veneer and a failed finish- this dresser was in pretty good shape. I really wanted to restore it to its original glory, but I was stumped by the laminate top. It was faded in color and there is really no way to correct that issue. I knew that it would totally clash with the beautiful refinished walnut, so what could I do? As much as I wanted to keep things as OG as possible, I quickly, and somewhat sadly, realized that there would have to be paint involved. I restored most of the wood and painted the top, some trim and the base. What would you have done?
TlyTlymama Report
Its_migi Report
This took months and I may get hate for painting it, but I’m no professional & this looks so much better in our house vs a landfill.
dejavu1251 Report
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FootParmesan Report
So far, I have only done pieces for myself and not to sell…probably a good thing as I made a few mistakes on this one. I think I’m just about ready to try doing a piece to sell, though. Started with a $20 solid wood cupboard from Marketplace, repainted light grey and dark grey (looks black and white in the pic). Replaced hardware and added matching hooks on the side for leashes and other gear. Finished it off with a silicone mat to protect the top. The wallpaper on the door and drawer faces was a last-minute addition, I didn’t sand them enough and after painting, a ton of dings and gouges were evident. I’m happy the way it turned out, though!
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Marvel-ous_gal311 Report
When I spotted this massive 80s-ish swivel coffee table for $40 at ReStore, I really had to convince my spouse that I had a vision, and promised that it would look wicked cool. We were about to move into a much bigger house with a large living room, and I knew this would be awesome in the space. I always dreamed of having a house with a conversation pit-style living room, so this was just the funky piece I needed. The paint job was yellowed, scratched up, and fairly ugly. I spent a few weeks mulling over a colorblock style with a different rich color on each of the three major pieces, but landed on a simple off white. We sanded it all down and disassembled the whole piece. The biggest surprise was discovering that the table was so heavy because it’s FULL of like 50lbs of sand in the base. We picked out Rust-Oleum Heirloom White spray paint and went to town. If I was going to do this again, I would definitely get rollout paint and not use spray paint. It took a long time to get it smooth and full covered. A big point of distress was when we went to spray the clear gloss coat. I’d let the color paint dry for 3 weeks, and when I sprayed the gloss, the entire color layer had a bad reaction and shriveled up. This was the source of some major tears, but I sanded the top layer down again and did another layer of color to fix it. I waited a month to figure out what kind of top coat to pivot to, and ended up going with a high class polyurethane. This was super easy and a way better choice. It took about 2 days to do 4 layers. Putting the table back together was awesome and filling it back up with sand was a relief. I did cry again at this point out of sheer elation at how amazing it looked, and the fact that it was exactly how I had envisioned. This was such a hard project labor-wise, and I feel super fulfilled and validated by the result. We finished it the night before our housewarming party and we got so many compliments on it. It’s a wild statement piece and looks really unique in the space. It almost looks like, gravitationally impossible, it seriously rules. This is my favorite piece I own now. My friend got me a huge decorative vintage ashtray to complete the vibe, and it looks perfect! I am so stoked on it and hope y’all like it!
HorseGirl666 Report
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Got it from a thrift store. repainted it, pressed some flowers and got a piece of glass custom made to keep it all pretty💗 a lil rough but it was my first time so I’m learning to work with my vision! :)
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courtneyrel Report
I am by no means a professional so hopefully you guys don’t see too many mistakes haha… this was my first “restoration”. The piece had a wood finish originally, but when I found it, it was white washed and stressed to look farmhouse/country. I personally don’t care for this look. I chose this color to make the beautiful hardware really pop.
Miserable-Lion8836 Report
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So I LOVE to read and a lot of the pieces I paint are themed after my favorite books, authors, or short stories. Sorry, I don’t have a before picture, I did them a while ago.
Fox_hunt_1980 Report
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TlyTlymama Report
Had this old cheap farmhouse table that was so ugly after many years. Even the mismatched chairs couldn’t help distract. Found a little inspiration and some “Ooops paint” samples for $1/each and crossed my fingers. I used clamps to hold a board straight and gouged out indents, like it wasn’t one solid piece. Added some calcium carbonate to the paint, I had on hand (cheap DIY chalk paint) to go over the glossy finish, with zero sanding. Sanding only came after the desire to give a “distressed look” and less circus 🎪. Last photo is the finish after a couple years. It’s holding up well and shockingly I think works with the weird eclectic vibe of furniture collected by chance.
Monkey4life-80 Report
G-Weaver Report
Abbs_2319 Report
It took a few weeks but I finally finished painting and sealed it. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
Ill_Pepercat Report
My parents recently retired and moved into my grandparents condo in Florida which has looked exactly the same since the early 80’s. I was inspired and itching to do something creative last time I was visiting. This project took all week but I am really happy with the final product. I might paint the hardware on the doors gold next time I go down. I also painted the inside and lined the two shelves to match the top. It needs a second coat thought. What I envisioned in my head, worked!
tankgirl45 Report
TlyTlymama Report
Key-Rock-5415 Report
This is an old dresser I found at my local thrift store for $20! I had to have it for that price! It had veneer that was peeling all over and was in pretty rough condition overall. I haven’t done any kind of restoration like this before so it was a big learning experience and a lot of research, but I’m really happy with how it turned out and I thought I’d share it here.
hry113 Report
isthisforsale Report
I didn’t quite understand what I was getting into with a dresser covered in old chipped veneer, but this was a fun project and was able to learn some new skills.
Ludwigfan97 Report
My daughter was throwing this away because the drawer slides were warn down. I replaced the drawer slides gave it a new paint and hardware. I think it looks super in its new home.
Sufficient-Gate2793 Report
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TlyTlymama Report
skettiD Report
soulshine_walker3498 Report
My granddaughters asked me to fix their broken down dresser and add a little splash to their room. They loved what i did for them. Its fun to be a Nana.
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