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Trash to Treasure: Tips for Finding and Refinishing that Perfect Piece

With spring comes tag sales and time for bargain hunters to put the old adage "One man's trash is another man's treasure" into action. Those with the patience for searching for the right piece and the vision to see what it could become can transform their spaces at home for a fraction of the cost.

"The draw is really two-fold," says Gary Greenstein, owner of The Madison Stock Exchange, a consignment and furniture painting shop. "It's about saving money and wholeheartedly believing that the vintage...has quality craftsmanship."

When you're on the hunt for a new find, there are a few important factors to consider, according to Greenstein. If the piece of furniture has drawers, make sure they slide and are in good repair. While Greenstein has the tools and skills to be able to fix drawers, he will often pass over a piece that needs those repairs in favor of an easier piece.

The other deciding factor in choosing a piece should be the odor. Many older pieces of furniture, depending on where they were stored, can have a musty or mildewy smell. Tung oil can be used to eliminate some odors, but some are too strong and are hard to eliminate.

One of Lissa Cast's favorite pastimes is refinishing pieces of furniture she finds. The Branford resident is a visiting nurse and often finds pieces of furniture at tag sales or left on the curb.

"During that season I get in so much trouble because I bring everything home and fill my porch up with projects," says Cast. "I like old, heavy, solid pieces that are going to last and that I'll be able to pass down."

When it comes to refinishing pieces, there are many options depending on the look you want and how much work you want to put in. Cast looks for more porous, natural wood pieces as she prefers to use milk paint, a water-based paint used for more than a thousand years.

"If it's super shiny, you'll have to sand it down so I look for more porous pieces that I could just wipe down with a damp cloth and paint right away," says Cast. "I like the milk paint because it's thin and you could still really see the wood grain through the paint color."

Once Cast paints her piece and it dries, she often distresses it with sandpaper, hitting the corners and the edges. Another technique she sometimes uses is whitewashing, where she paints an entire section—for example, the top of a dresser—and when the top is covered, she gently wipes it down with a damp cloth to leave just a color tint over the wood.

At Madison Stock Exchange, Greenstein solely uses Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, noting that you can wipe any piece of furniture clean of dust and debris and then apply the paint without any prep work. After two coats of paint, you apply a coat of wax.

"Within 24 to 48 hours you've got a new piece of furniture," says Greenstein. "There are three very important words when looking at recycling furniture: Less is more. The less you have to do, the better off you'll be in the long run."

Greenstein noted that a little chalk paint goes a long way and one quart can cover up to three large bureaus. In addition to the quart of paint, to get started, you also need a large tin of clear wax and paintbrushes for both the paint and wax, making the startup costs about $130.

For anyone starting out and wanting to try their hand at refinishing furniture, Greenstein recommends starting with a small project like an end table, night stand, or plant stand, while steering clear of items like chairs with many edges and surfaces. He hosts classes "Bring Your Own Piece" classes throughout the year. He also encourages people to come in to the shop or call with questions as sharing his knowledge is one of his favorite things about his job.

"Every day I'm getting questions about challenges people have in painting and then they email me or show me pictures of their finished product—it's pretty rewarding to be able to give them a little knowledge so they can understand what to do and implement it," says Greenstein. "I enjoy that interaction."

Send us your before and after of home projects or remodels for a chance to be featured in a future issue! Email e.shanley@shorepublishing.com.