Affordable Furniture Makeover Inspired by Scandinavian Design

Affordable furniture is easy to find if you know what to look for! Learn how to transform tired old furniture inspired by Scandinaivia. 

What are you going to do with your old and outdated bedroom furniture?


A. Live with it?
B. Sell it/get rid of it & buy new furniture?
C. Save your money and transform your old furniture into something you love!


If you've have visited a retail furniture store or shopped for furniture online his past year, then you know just how expensive it is to purchase new furniture.


Rather then spend several thousand dollars on a new bedroom set, I'm giving YOU a challenge!


Return that tax return refund $$$ back to your bank and save your money for something more important!


Choose option C and try your hand at updating your existing furniture with some fresh paint and new hardware.

Not only will it give your old furniture a fresh new look, it will truly save you hundreds and hundreds of dollars in the process!

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DIY Painted Thrift Store Picture Frames

Good morning, Friends! What in the world do you do with all of your old and outdated picture frames? Donate them? You could! What if I showed you the possibility of re-vamping them so that they'll fit your space and color scheme? Here's a quick and easy before of some old frames that I had lying around. Whatcha got at your house? Do you have any that match mine? ;)

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Layering Chalk Paint® On Furniture

Layering Chalk Paint® is a fun and easy way to give your furniture pieces some added depth, dimension and interest. Using these simple layering paint techniques, you'll learn how to layer two colors of chalk paint together to create visual interest and depth to your furniture piece. Layering paint with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® colors is really simple and easy to do! 

With a little bit of practice, even a beginner can do it! There are a lot of different ways to achieve a layered Chalk Paint® look. 

Today, I'm going to explain one of my favorite methods, called Dry Brushing. With this method, I'll be two color distressing with chalk paint and explain how to layer chalk paint colors. 

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Green Painted Furniture Ideas

Would you paint your furniture green? Take a peak at these AMAZING green painted furniture ideas. From painting upholstery with chalk paint® to refinishing furniture in green milk paint, we're showing you FOUR of our best furniture makeovers painted in green!

Top of the morning you 'all! Happy St. Patricks Day to you! We LOVE the color GREEN! From painting upholstery and fabric to painting wood, we've done it all. In celebration of this day, we'd like to roll back the clock and share some of our FAVORITE Green Painted Furniture transformations with you!

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Industrial Locker Makeover

I've been racking my brain for a storage solution for my youngest's bedroom and played with the idea of creating a custom shelving system. But then... I found a set of old metal gym lockers and I thought, "Nah.. this would be more fun." :) Another plus? Metal lockers are slim so they offer quite a bit of vertical storage space without sticking out. Painting and repurposing old metal lockers is a great way to create an industrial look for a small space!

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Painting Furniture With Chalk Paint®

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I saw this old chunky hutch in our local Craigslist ads. After a little bit of back and forth negotiating I had myself a vintage hutch loaded into our truck. I didn't need a hutch (isn't that usually how it goes?), but I decided that the bottom part of the hutch had the perfect dimensions to be converted into a media console. I couldn't wait to get my hands on a paint brush and some chalk paint® with all of those fabulous carvings!

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The Belcourte Collection

Today, I'm doing the happy Tuesday dance. Look at these AMAZING finds! Two matching vintage beds. They have detail, wood wheels, spindle legs and lots of worn chippiness. They are perfect! And there wasn't one, there were TWO of them!

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I may have actually thrown my money at the gal selling them.

Two sisters need these beds! They need to have pillow fights, late night discussions and lots and lots of giggles. But, before anybody can enjoy them, they need a serious face lift. Perhaps, somebody living in a gingerbread house might enjoy them as is. But....I don't know very many people that live in  gingerbread houses. Do you?

Inspired by Anthropologie, I wanted them to be bright & bold. 

I chose Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan in Florence which gives you a really deep turquoise/peacock blue hue. I highlighted them with a mixture of Clear & Dark Wax. 

Here are some of the details of this furniture makeover...

If I was the new owner of these beds, I'd pair them with white duvets and lots of fun patterned pillows. Here's to bright & bold!

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Olivia Mirror: Reverse Distressing

Sometimes you get lucky enough to find the same piece twice. Which is fantastic because it always solves the question of, "Um, I wonder what it would look like in this color...". You're with me, right!?

Several months ago, I purchased this mirror and created an aged gold patina. If you missed that mirror makeover, you can find it here:

Finding this exact mirror a second time was a treat! I was curious to see what this gal could do with some turquoise patina. Perfect, because now I'm going to get my second chance! To get a rich patina, I chose Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan in Florence. This color all by itself offers a really bold flare. It's also one of my favorite colors for layering.

Since this mirror already had an original brassy bronze hue to her, I opted for a reverse distressing technique. Reverse distressing means your distressing while you're painting without actually using sand paper or wiping of paint. It's more of a painting technique. You don't paint for full coverage but rather you paint with push strokes so that the natural tone shows through the paint and looks as if it's already been distressed.

Once my paint had dried, I selectively covered her in targeted areas with Dark Wax.

The combination of her original color, Chalk Paint® in Florence and the dark wax gave her a stunning combination of colors that were to die for. Here's Ms. Olivia in all her turquoise patina glory.

Do you see how the original brassy finish came through? Those areas weren't painted, that's what we call reverse distressing.

Here's to second chances!

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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Pink Chalk Painted Card Catalog Dresser

I've had some extraordinary luck finding some wonderful pieces lately! I picked up this gem last week and was excited to break open a new can of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® in Scandinavian Pink, but before I could do that I needed to make a decision on the hardware. Although these French Provincial handles were true to the piece, it wasn't grabbing me.

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The Melinda Bedroom Collection

Would you let this furniture set walk into your house?

What if you could fix it up?

The construction and lines are there. How about the color and hardware? Yawining? Yeah, me too.  Four letters... D.R.A.B. And although I love the existing gold trim, in my personal opinion there was a little too much of it. We are bordering on goddy.

My plan? I'll keep the gold lines along the drawers of the dresser and on the legs and feet of both pieces and I would add some gold back to the hardware. Everything else would disappear in a silky smooth layer of turquoise.

Before you ask about the color I have to apologize. I don't have exact measurements for this turquoise hue. It was a little bit of trial and error on this project by dumping in a little Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan in Florence, Provence and Aubusson Blue and giving it a good mix. These pieces were finished off with both clear and dark wax. A little bit of paint went along way for these pieces.

Ms. Melinda, you're breath taking!

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Lenox Bedroom Set

I love when I come across a pair of matching vintage bedroom sets. I like to picture siblings playing games, flipping through magazines and listening to the oldies but goodies and telling stories to one another at bedtime. These headboards and night stands have memories and tell stories. There was a lot more life left in these pieces and we wanted to spruce them up for many more years to come.

We painted these beauties in Paris Grey Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan and sealed them with Clear Wax. I love how the dark wood pokes through the light hues and all that amazing charm now pops. 

Here's a before of the night stands.  Dark Dark & Dark.

Here's the After...

So much better, right?

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Jennison Mirror

A quick mirror makeover on the blog today. Would you have passed over on this?

I almost did. 

Then, I picked up my paint brush and did this with it. 

Products used: Provence Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan & Dark Wax. 

Yep, that's better. :)

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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The Taylor Dresser

I love One Kings Lane. I'm a subscriber even though my wallet can't afford them. That makes me a One Kings Lane window shopper. ;) It also provides some much needed inspiration! So imagine my surprise when I happened upon this beauty late one night. And then my gasp when I looked down and saw that price tag. $2295- Wowzers! I couldn't resist so I peaked...somebody apparently has that kind of money because it has already sold.

Can you believe that I had one of these sitting unfinished in my garage? Yes. The. Same. Exact. Dresser. 

This beautiful piece was refinished in Chalk Paint® decorative paint by Annie Sloan in Old White and the hardware received a good Brasso cleaning. Thanks for the inspiration One Kings Lane!

Making something pretty doesn't have to cost a fortune! I'm grateful I was able to create one at a fraction of a fraction of that cost. ;)

Now, it's your turn.. go and create something for YOU!
Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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