How to Turn Furniture Into Unique One-of-a-Kind Pieces

There is nothing as special as making your home into a space that feels comfortable, safe, and happy. Many of us spend the majority of our time in our homes and it is more important than ever to have a home that brings you joy.

I have been working on my home this past year and it definitely feels more comfortable with each change I make. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my home before but I love it even more now. The changes didn’t cost a ton, in fact, they hardly cost anything, but they have all had a huge impact.

Over the past year, I have updated my Master bedroom, painted a tricky stairwell and hall, refreshed one of my bathrooms, and recently finished redecorating my living room. All of the projects took some elbow grease but all felt so good when they were done. They have each contributed to making my space feel more peaceful and more me.

Vintage Furniture

Today, I wanted to share a few tips on using vintage furniture to create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces for your space. You can often easily find vintage furniture for next to nothing at thrift stores, garage sales, and online marketplaces. Sometimes you even have what you need right in your own home!

When I was working on my living room, I knew I wanted to move things around and give the furniture a freshening up as well. Not wanting to spend much, I took a look around my house and decided to use these two pieces I already had.

This vintage side table has been hanging around for a long time. I honestly don’t even remember where I got it?! It was used at several Home Shows for display and for the past few years it has just been tucked away in my spare room. The shape was perfect for the space at the end of my couch though so I dug it out and hauled it down.

The other piece I decided to use was this Queen Anne dresser. I originally received it from my sister who picked it up but then decided she didn’t want it. It is a handmade piece that someone loving created a very, very long time ago.

Unfortunately, the drawers have been repaired so many times that they never really worked well. I had planned to use the top as the counter in my bathroom when I was refreshing it but then wasn’t able to. We were on lockdown at the time so I couldn’t get it cut to size and now I’m so glad I wasn’t able to!

Tips for Creating Unique Pieces

This dresser may have missed out on being a bathroom counter, but it founds its purpose a few weeks later as my new TV stand!

Furniture like this is a perfect candidate for making a one-of-a-kind piece. Parts of it may have been broken but the rest was still in great shape (and look at those gorgeous legs!)

When you are looking to create a unique piece, ask yourself these questions…

Is it the right size?
Is it the right shape?
Can you work with it?
Is it well made?

If these things are all yeses, then go for it! You can always paint, remove drawers, change up hardware or cut something down to size if the piece is speaking to you.

This dresser was all of those things for me and has turned into a beautifully unique tv stand.

The Transformation

To change the dresser, I started by removing the top drawer – it didn’t work anyway. The bottom of the drawer was easy to remove from there so it became the shelf to put my cable box etc… on. Since it was already the right size for the opening, I was able to just lay it right inside on the existing wood pieces that had kept the drawer in its place.

The only other alteration the dresser needed was some holes to slip the cords through. I used my drill, punched some holes in the back (low enough so they can’t be seen), and slipped the cords through them.

The Paint

The last thing I did to the vintage pieces was to give them a new coat of paint. I painted both with Milk Paint by Fusion in Night Swim. It is the perfect navy blue and I have always loved a beautiful navy blue! To seal the milk paint, I gave them both a good rub of Lavender scented Furniture wax (oh it smelled heavenly!!)

I love that not only does the room feel lighter with the new wall mural but that these two pieces, which I already had, help to make the space feel even better. And I am not done using the old drawer yet either! The rest of it is being reused for another project that I will share next week…

If you are feeling the need to change your space as well, look around and see what you can find! I bet there are pieces you can use that you hadn’t thought of before.

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**Please note that this post includes affiliate links for your convenience.  All links are for products that I have tried and use regularly.  By using the link, it in no way increases the cost of the item to you should you choose to purchase.  However, by using the link, a small portion of the sale is given back to help fund this blog. Thank you and Happy Creating! **