Howdy and welcome back to Flawed yet Functional! In the past weeks, I’ve been focusing on decorating our master bedroom using primarily antique furniture inherited from my grandma. The lessons I’ve learned from incorporating old furniture into a modern home have been so valuable, and I can’t wait to use them on the next room! Today, I need to take a step back and show you one simple trick I used to refresh wood furniture without paint. It’s so easy and yet so dramatic, you aren’t going to believe it. Check it out!
- A New {Old} Bed!
- Select Paint to Complement Wood Furniture
- Change Textiles
- Swap Accessories to Contrast and Compliment
Shabby Chic or Just Shabby?
As I mentioned in the accessories post, I wanted to hang matching frames on either side of the bed. They were, of course, another find from my grandma’s house, and they weren’t in the best shape when I took them home.
My grandma’s house had been unoccupied for a couple years by the time it was emptied out, and as I got the frames ready for hanging, I noticed the backs were in perfect condition (in sharp contrast to the front!). There were no holes from staples, hanging wire, or saw-tooth hooks. I don’t think my grandma had ever used these frames.
Since they were new, you’d think the wood on the front was in perfect condition, but it wasn’t. From dust and spider webs to funny sun/age spots and overall scratches/dings, the wood looked a little rough.
Since this room refresh is NOT dependent on painting every little thing to make the room look beautiful and cohesive, I intended to just use the frame as is.
To be honest though, they looked a bit more shabby than chic.
An Old Fix for Old Furniture
In a stroke of inspiration, I remembered I had a bottle of Old English lying around somewhere. I quickly found it to try it out.
One quick swipe and buff brought instant LIFE to the frames!
It covered up all the small scratches and most of the big ones while giving the wood a shiny luster again. They almost looked new!
Look at the edge of one of the frames! It’s the same frame, I promise!
Old English is not a new product, but I bet it’s one not many people use anymore. However, it works great for restoring the beauty of wood! If you’re looking for a quick fix for your wood furniture, grab some Old English and start wiping!
Now to Refresh All. The. Things.
Since the frames looked so good, I had to try it on the bed too. You can’t tell from a distance, but the old bed has it’s fair share of bumps, nicks and bruises.
You’re going to love this. It’s so instantly gratifying! Look!
The cannon ball bed still has plenty of “character”, not every nick is erased, but it’s more of a vibrant-and-beautiful character vs. I’ve-lived-through-too-many-moves character.
How to Use Old English to Refresh Wood
Very quickly, let me give you a short list of instructions for using Old English.
- Make sure the surface is clean: free of dirt, dust, food stains, etc.
- Place a small dab of Old English on a microfiber cloth then rub into the wood in the direction of the wood grain. (Just watch the scratches disappear!).
- Use more Old English when the scratches are no longer fading, using small amounts on the cloth each time.
- Wait 20 minutes.
- Buff with a clean microfiber cloth to remove any remaining Old English and enhance shine.
So easy! Since I was refreshing an entire king size bed, I worked in sections so I didn’t have a lot of down time waiting for the Old English to soak in. Wipe sections 1 and 2, go back and buff section 1, wipe section 3, go back and buff section 2, etc.
A Little Tale About DIY Projects
You may or may not know this, but I try to keep my DIY projects posted in as close to real-time as possible. So when my projects are very spread out, it really took me that long to do it! (Six weeks, some would say, to reupholster one chair!)
Did you notice that the bed frame is empty in the pictures above? No, I did not use the Old English back when I set up the bed in October.
In preparation of hanging the new lamps and pictures, I asked my sweet, dear hubby to move the bed over 4 inches so it would be centered on the wall. While cleaning up breakfast dishes, he and the boys went up to do it, and I soon hear a CRACK THUD. ::silence::
No one was crying, so I knew no one was hurt, but they were all soon back downstairs to report that the bed was broken. Rats!
After I assembled the bed, I noticed a screw on the floor a week or so later. I couldn’t readily see where it went, so like any rational person would do, I ignored it.
Well, it went in the corner that Dan gave a good tug on that fine Saturday morning and the two remaining screws couldn’t hold on.
So what I thought would be a 1-2 hour project turned into an all day event. First, Dan and I fixed the bed with new screws (The bed doesn’t creak a bit anymore!). Then I cleaned everything with Old English. Third, I hung the lamps but ran out of drywall anchors. Now a quick trip to the hardware store! Finally finished hanging the lamps and pictures.
I think I finished right at 5pm.
So don’t be discouraged next time your project doesn’t go as planned. They never do!
Sorry for that little diversion! The point of this post is use Old English the next time you want to quickly refresh anything made from wood. It quickly brings life back to old furniture allowing you to love your pieces even more! You CAN refresh wood furniture without paint! Next time, grab some Old English for an in-a-pinch quick refresh!
Check out this room refresh from the beginning!
This entire guide to refresh wood furniture with no use of paint is amazing! I never knew about all this until I came to this page, you’ve done a wonderful job on the explanation of the entire process. Really appreciate your efforts.