Fixing Furniture

I often get sent pictures from my readers of furniture they…

a) found on the side of the road (Rock on brave girl!)

b) received for free from a family member/neighbor/friend (LOVES me friends like that!)

c) bought cheap at a yard sale, thrift store, etc. (score!)

I get asked questions like, “What can I do to get rid of this blemish? How do I hide this mark? What do I do if a chunk of wood is missing? Do you have any ideas of what I can do to make this look better?”

So I thought I would take a post to answer how I handle the issue of blemishes, cracks, wood chips, etc.

Here is a perfect example of a piece of free furniture that needed a little TLC before it became usable in my home.  I was on the lookout for a TV stand for the new family member moving into our home (more on that later…no I am not pregnant, thankyouverymuch).

I found it with knobs falling of and stickers on them…

And chips and digs everywhere…

However it had a few things going for it.  Number one it was solid wood, number two it was the right height and length for the space it needed to go in and number three it was free.

So I gathered a few supplies…

Wood filler is great for scratches, holes, and minor blemishes in the furniture.  I just apply a little to my finger and smear it into the needed area.  Let it dry according to the package directions and sand it smooth.  However what do you do when there is a good amount of wood missing and wood filler doesn’t cut it?

There are several options but the easiest and quickest answer I always give is, “Cover it!”  You can add molding, fabric, embossed wallpaper or even paint sticks like I did on my Roadkill Rescued Hutch.  Read more about that here.

So that is exactly what I did on this TV stand…

Chipped drawers got some one inch batten board molding around the edges.

The chunks of wood missing at the bottom got some door casing around all three sides…

When you are going to paint the piece covering it with molding is the easiest, quickest, and often cheapest way to make your piece move in ready.

Using a miter saw or miter box and hand saw cut your pieces to size.  I like my corners mitered because it gives it a finished look but you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.

I wood glue the pieces in place and then shoot nails into them with my air nail gun.  If you don’t have an air nailer use a hammer and small brad nails.

 

Then using wood filler fill in the nail holes and then sanded it.  I also like to caulk all the edges of the molding to give it a seamless look. A little trick when applying caulk…put a bead around your seam.  Then dip your finger in water and smooth out the caulk line.  It turns out perfect.  Here is the TV stand sanded, molded out, filled in with wood filler, nailed and caulked.  I also added a support piece in the middle because the top was starting to bow.

I will paint it tomorrow and hopefully give you a peek.  Do you have furniture that you don’t know what to do with?  How about add some molding to give it interest and hide its imperfections!