Family Furniture

Recycling, Refinish, and Relocate your inherited furniture to fit your design plan. Family furniture can be a blessing and a burden. If your torn between wanting a comfortable living space that reflects your personality and is a cohesive style, but yet feel of obligated to keep the gifts that are given to you. How do you find a balance? It is true that Eclectic designs allows for a mix and match of styles, but you need to be very careful with this design style because it could very easily turn into a hodgepodge of junk. By following a few design principles, you will be able to tastefully work your family treasures into the space.

Another truly great thing about pieces that are gifted to you is wll frankly the "budget." Often these pieces are gifted and may need to be refurbished to look brand new. The best advice I can give is ALWAYS think outside the box when it comes to design.

Repair and refinish a piece helps to fit the old with the new. Incorporating antique furniture into your home and decor may will require you making some changes. Revive a rundown piece and time worn item by having them repaired. Or reinvent the look of the piece by adding new hardware or slipcover.

Reconfigure the purpose of the piece. A small, old fashioned chest can be used as a night stand. If your want to be adventurous, you can turn a old dresser drawer into a bathroom vanity.

Relocate pieces can be a quick and easy solution for using extra or duplicate pieces. A chest could be used as a great coffee table.

Letting go can be a hard decision, but if you are holding on to too many pieces of inherited furniture can lead to clutter and chaos in your home. Always consider the wood finishes of the other furniture in the room when you are choosing to refinish a piece. Do your best to keep the wood stains the same.

Updating hardware to give an old piece of furniture a fresh, new look. An old bench with paint peeling can give a real cottage feel. (Just be very careful with lead paint and peeling paint.) A nice trick is to paint the bench over with a clear polyurethane that will coat the piece and protect it from peeling further.

Go out and design with passion and love that is what makes a house a home.