Furniture Flip Part 1

I’ve never flipped furniture before.

This is a new experience for me and a skill I want to learn which consequently means I’ll be making many mistakes along the way. I decided I want to record the process this way – more for my benefit than yours. But still, I would be happy if this can help you on your furniture flipping journey. (Let me know in the comments)

I got these EKET cabinets from IKEA a couple of years ago.

I used them when building my own DIY storage bed. But since I moved to a new apartment I was able to get a new bed. However, I obviously didn’t want to throw out these perfectly good (albeit a bit scuffed up) IKEA drawers. From both a sustainability perspective and a monetary perspective, it just didn’t make sense. So I decided to repurpose them as a TV console with storage.

It did its job well but it still looked plain and a little dirty so I decided to give it a little makeover and “flip it”.

I’ve been a fan of the recent furniture and interior design trend of wooden texture and wanted to implement it into my design (and on a larger scale, in the decor of my living space).

Here was the original plan:

Step 1:
I began by lightly sanding the drawer. Honestly, I’m not 100% sure why because I planned on painting it anyways but I’ve seen everyone do this in online videos. I think the goal is to get it to a base layer and get rid of any scuff marks or “blemishes” that might show through.

I used this sander:

Apparently, as you get more experienced you learn that there are different kinds of sanders and grits based on the shape and texture of the item you are sanding. But from my research (and experience) it does the job for sanding a top layer of the furniture off.

Mistake to Learn From: if you are able to, do the sanding outside. Even with the holes and vacuum feature the sander I used has, dust still gets everywhere. It’s dusty and (although I’m not a doctor) I’m sure it is not good for your lungs. Plus it makes a mess.

Step 2:
Next, I primed the drawer. At this point I still wasn’t sure what color I wanted to paint it so I thought at least by priming it I could figure that out later.

Luckily I was smart enough to do the priming outside. This is a must.

However, I was too big-headed to think that the primer would get on my clothes – and not come out. I thought I could be careful enough but in retrospect, that thought was delusional. Also because no one can account for accidents and every drop of paint.

Mistake to Learn From: wear clothes that you don’t mind getting ruined while priming. It will not come out of your clothes. So if they weren’t your paint clothes, to begin with, they will be now.

You have to wait a while for the primer to dry before you can carry it back inside without ruining the paint job.

However, if you are painting outside (which you should be) be aware of wind blowing leaves, twigs, and bugs into your paint job. If it does happen you can hopefully remove them and repaint as soon as you notice so the primer doesn’t dry like that with a leaf stuck inside.

This is all I had time for this week.

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