Makeover for a Vintage Room Divider

Hi friends!  Jen from Girl in the Garage here again sharing another lovely furniture upcycle with you- and a bit of advice today too.  I spotted this very cool vintage room divider at a boutique thrift store and knew it had so much potential.  (FYI “boutique thrift store” means they seek out and buy cool secondhand items and then re-sell them in their store for a profit.  Usually I find unique decorative items but occasionally they have furniture too.)  That is totally my definition by the way!

It was in great shape and I loved the spindles and curves – and the top reminded me of the Taj Mahal.  🙂

When you’re buying pieces for your home or even to makeover and then sell, it’s important to really love the item – especially if you’re planning to put a little work into it.  You don’t want to get halfway through the project and then get bored with it!

I chose my favorite fabulous paint color: Provence Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan.  This one little quart has painted 3 side tables, one bookcase, and now this divider – and there’s still paint left for a couple more projects.  This type of paint is great for low prep time and cleanup.  If you’d like more info I wrote an in-depth review on painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®.

I used my trusty Purdy brush and a little artist brush for the tighter areas.  For a seemingly simple makeover, did you see all those spindles?  There are 54 of them!!!  I spread this project out over a few days just because my wrist kept getting tired.

Also you can see my ceiling in the photo below – this divider is about SEVEN feet tall!  I had to use a ladder just to reach the top of it.   😉   #shortgirlproblems

The paint job isn’t perfect because I like how it looks a little unfinished and distressed.  Sometimes it’s fine not to worry about perfection; just paint it until you’re happy with how it looks!  (Tip: You can use sandpaper to make a piece look more distressed.  The more you rub, the more distressed it will be- and whatever color is underneath will show through.)

I thought the vintage Tiffany blue piece would look great staged with my fab gold accent table from Target.  I love these colors together – I even painted a pair of matching tables in these two colors.

Have you painted any furniture?  Do you have any questions you’d like me to answer about painting?

Ask me here or visit me on my blog anytime!

Jen {aka Girl in the Garage}

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