Furniture Facelifts: A Step-By-Step Guide [Paperback]

Liz Wagstaff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998

Transform flea market finds and hand-me-downs into stylish one-of-a-kind furniture! From the author of the best-selling Paint Recipes comes Furniture Facelifts, a fabulous new way to bring color and zest to any home. Here an artist's techniques, tips, and secrets are presented step by step, so anyone can perform a magical furniture makeover. Furniture Facelifts covers more than 30 techniques for paint, fabric, wood, metal, and glass. Twenty-five fun and funky detailed projects cover all the essentialstables, chairs, ottomans, nightstands, shelves, cabinets, and moreand offer easy instructions. A recipe-style format, inspiring pictures, and wipe-clean cover make this a truly practical sourcebook. The latest in the very successful Paint Recipes series, Furniture Facelifts is the ticket to creating works of beauty and utility without spending tons of time or money.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is a great book for flea-market enthusiasts and bargain hunters who, with some creativity and the techniques clearly outlined within, can transform even the homeliest of garage-sale finds into colorful, lively, and whimsical additions to the home and turn old hand-me-downs into delightful treasures. In all, 25 projects are described in detail. No-sew slip covers, frosted-glass doors, distressed-paint dressers, punched-tin screens, stenciled wicker chairs, and decorative fabric hangings and draperies are only some of the funky, colorful, and fun projects laid out here. Wagstaff notes all the tools and materials needed, as well as many shortcuts and simple ways to transform lackluster furniture into the eye-catching highlights of any room--without spending a bundle in the process. This is a great book for beginners and people working on a budget who desire dramatic, creative, and professional-looking results. The book even has a vinyl, wipe-clean binding that makes it practical to keep handy in the work area! --Mark A. Hetts

Review

Liz Wagstaff and Mark Thurgood's new book spills with inspiration for your next furniture makeover. Relying on basics, techniques, such as decorative painting, mosaic tiling, gilding, and stenciling, Wagstaff and Thurgood show bold, fantastic results for everyday junk pieces. Their detailed, step-by-step instructions, as well as pattern motifs, allow you to replicate these looks, or apply the techniques to create your own style. -- Quick & Easy Decorating

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811818993
• ISBN-13: 978-0811818995
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, packed with ideas, July 16, 2000

By 

Angel Lee "Liocorno Amethyst Moonstone" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Furniture Facelifts: A Step-By-Step Guide (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book for anyone looking to revamp old, tired-looking furniture. It is packed with many useful and inspirational ideas. A complete list of materials and equipment, as well as instructions for preparing the surfaces are given at the start of each project. Step-by-step directions are then given for each of these techniques or projects. Most of the projects use latex or acrylic paint, only a few use oils.

The book starts out with advice on preparing surfaces including an informative chart as well as basic instructions on filling holes, replacing hinges, removing nails, securing laminate and mending a wobbly chair. It then discusses tools and materials, including the use of power tools, working with metal, joining and application of chrome trim or faux leading. There is even a great chart on varnish and wax mediums giving details such as heat resistance, water resistance, durability and sheen.

Over 15 projects follow. Many are done in two or three different styles. Each has a photo of the finished project. There are also a few two-page galleries focusing of thing like masking, using seashells or decorating with tartan plaids to help give you ideas. Some of the projects include wardrobe doors with country curtains, drawers with stenciled vases, a metal trunk with verdigris finish, and zebra print dining chair. Tabletops are done in many styles including mosaic, faux lapis lazuli, decoupage, and with stamped large dots. There is also a no sew cover for an old sofa, a shaker fabric hanging, nautical banner and fabric canopy for a four-poster bed. Conveniently, templates of any designs are included in the back.

Techniques are also taught. Some of these include wood washing, high-gloss lacquer, aged paint, crackling, dragging, colorwashing, spattering, stenciling, decoupage, pattering with a paint roller, fabric painting, rush dyeing, punched tin, frosted glass and metal effects such as copper or pewter. Close-up photos show the techniques in a few different colors and recipes are given for each one. Experience has shown me that printing accurate colors is tricky and there are so many variables in materials and surfaces that results can vary greatly. I would recommend experimenting on a small scale and tweaking the recipes to get the colors you want.

Some of the techniques here are also covered in Chronicle's companion books, Paint Recipes or Decorative Paint Recipes. What sets this book apart is that it is focuses more on furniture.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars plenty of specific info for DIY types, October 25, 2000

By 

trystan "trystan" (Silicon Valley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Furniture Facelifts: A Step-By-Step Guide (Paperback)

This is preciesly the book I was looking for! Has copious details about re-finishing all kinds of furniture surfaces, from bare wood to laminate to steel, plus how to get a wide variety of effects. This book has a higher level of detail than many other faux finishes books (which often skip over how to prep the surface or how to deal w/any surface other than bare wood).

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars After borrowing it, I bought it!, June 30, 2000

By 

Ellen "Melon Bell" (South Bend, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Furniture Facelifts: A Step-By-Step Guide (Paperback)

I paint furniture as a side business and have browsed through many, many books about this new trend. Not only did this book have some great ideas (many of which I'd never before seen) but it gave impressive, detailed information on how to prepare your furniture - and not just wood, either - plywood, particleboard, metal and rattan to name a few. Also, don't let the title of the book fool you. It says it's a 'paint recipes book' but If you aren't interested in painting your piece you should still at least borrow it from the library. Clever ideas such as decorating a mirror with shells, or using decoupage, or even using fabric accents to beautify old furniture pieces makes this book great to have on hand.