Do It Yourself Furniture

I grew up in a do-it-yourself family. My grandfathers could do almost anything. Both did woodworking and made beautiful furniture, cabinets and keepsakes. Both made jewelry. They did their own metal work, cut and polished stones and my Grandpa Rounds even hunted for his stones in the desert. They painted their own houses, took care of their own yards, raised some of their own food and handled many household and automotive repairs. Then there's my Dad. He makes and/or refinishes furniture and has been known to refurbish an 80 year old house all by himself. So when it comes to doing things myself, I have a lot of experience to draw from. Plus I like to think there might be some genetic disposition to being successful with DIY and really that's what gives me the courage to try these things. But really, any of us can learn.

Here is my latest DIY. This was my husband's childhood desk. Well used, wouldn't you say?

I had written the thing off but since we just put the household budget on a diet, I decided to suck it up and do the work.

You might think that stripping, sanding and refinishing furniture is quite a chore and you would be right. However, while there is a lot of work involved, it isn't that hard.  Being that I am less than a professional in this line of work, I am not offering a tutorial for furniture refinishing. I simply want you to know that it can be done by the likes of "us". And yes, results are better having it done professionally. If you have a valuable or expensive piece, go professional. Things like this, flea market finds and hand-me-downs, DIY!

Here are the results:


Not bad for an amateur!