Updating Old Furniture
July 17, 2008 § 9 Comments
I love a bargain. And if I can get something for free, all the better. I got this wicker settee from a friend moving to a city condo and the chair was a consignment store find. Both original pieces were not so great-looking. The chair was a dingy “white” and the settee a pretty banged-up natural wicker. All it took to update this furniture was two cans of dark brown spray paint and a tarp to cover the grass in the backyard. Within an hour, the furniture had been rescued.
For cushions, I used an inexpensive cotton (even covered some buttons) and splurged on a few new pillows.
Don’t overlook old furniture that can be spruced up with a little elbow grease. It’s really fun and rewarding to take what might have gone to the dump and make it fresh and usable again.
Your Home & Color Coach 
Hi there! I’m so happy to have stumbled upon your blog. I love the wicker rescue idea and others posts as well.
I also love the fact that you have Candace Olsen listed on your side bar. She is so inventive, to me at least.
Question…I’m in a color bind and not sure how to solve this problem. I have espresso brown furniture and an old olive colored satin kimono that hangs on my current wall. I thought a butter yellow would be great for three walls but am stuck for a color for an accent color. Part of the accent color problem is that I’d like to find a color that ialso acts as a neutral so I can change out accessories, drapes, etc., as the seasons change. Yellow seems to be in the pallette of all the seasons and works well with the furniture and kimono. Any ideas on an accent color that is neutral and still work with the olive, reds, purples and blues of the other seasons?
I saw your wicker room above and thought, “That’s my room! How would she switch accessories and accent color to make this work?”
Am I foolhearty to believe that I can have my cake and eat it too? Color virgin in desperate need of color help! lol
Thanks!
Forgot to say that the butter yellow I picked and painted looks great on two walls and has a tangerine cast on the others. If you know of a good butter yellow shade, I’d love to know that too! lol
Hi Victoria (#2),
I like Ben Moore’s Fresh Butter (290) paired with red and dark brown.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hi Victoria (#1),
Choosing an accent color for your focal point wall depends on what looks best behind your olive green kimono. If you think that the butter yellow just doesn’t give enough presence to the kimono, then you might try a dark chocolate brown which would tie in with your furniture yet create a neutral enough backdrop that you could change out the accessories with the seasons.
Another color that works great as an accent wall, especially for something with an Asian inspiration, is red. But it is a hot color and may be best left to pillows in the winter if you’re planning on switching everything out in the summer to cool the room off.
Bottom line? You don’t have to have a different color on your accent wall. Leaving it yellow will give you maximum color options for seasonal changes.
See what you think.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
I want to paint my small master bath..I was thinking along the lines of sage green with white…do you have any suggestions for decor colors?
Also want to do my bedding in blue and chocolate brown…I hear its very calming..do you have anyh suggestions on wall color?? I have average ceiling height…and no crown molding.
Thanks
Jonnie
I want to paint my small master bath..I was thinking along the lines of sage green with white…do you have any suggestions for decor colors?
Also want to do my bedding in blue and chocolate brown…I hear its very calming..do you have any suggestions on wall color?? I have average ceiling height…and no crown molding.
Thanks
Jonnie
Hi Jonnie,
Try Soft fern (2144-40) from Ben Moore on your bathroom walls along with something like Gentle gray (a nice soft blue) on the bedroom.
Hope that helps.
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach
Hello. I think those look really nice.
Thank you K C (#8). And thanks for visiting!
-Barbara
Your Home & Color Coach