11. Updating A Nightstand
The nightstand is the perfect first refinishing project: small enough to finish in a weekend, visible enough to enjoy daily, and cheap enough at thrift stores to survive a learning curve. This update covers the fundamentals in miniature – cleaning, sanding, priming, painting, and a hardware swap that modernizes the whole silhouette. Every skill scales directly up to dressers and beyond. Confidence is the real product; the nightstand is the diploma. Pretty Handy Girl walks it step by step, and first-timers could not ask for a better teacher.
12. DIY Furniture Chalk Paint Table
Our own chalk paint table tutorial earns its place in this lineup, and we stand behind every coat. Chalk paint’s no-prep promise is mostly true – it grips almost any surface without sanding – and our walkthrough covers the technique plus the wax finishing that makes the matte surface durable. We made the mistakes so you do not have to: the tutorial flags where thin coats matter and where the wax wants buffing. The full project is right here on DIY Joy, photographed at every stage. If this list gets you painting anything, let it be this table.
13. Strip A Vintage Furniture
Sometimes the wood under the paint is the prize, and stripping is how you collect it. This guide covers the honest version of the process – stripper, scraper, patience, and the toothbrush work in the carvings – without pretending it is a one-hour job. Little Green Notebook demonstrates on a vintage piece where the payoff justifies every scrape: real grain, real patina, ready for oil or a clear finish. Gloves, ventilation, and drop cloths are non-negotiable equipment. It is the messiest job in refinishing and the one with the most dramatic reveal.
14. DIY Gold Dipped Bar Stools
Honeybear Lane dips plain wooden bar stools in gold – visually, anyway – taping a crisp line partway up the legs and painting below it metallic, and the trend lands as fresh today as ever. The dipped effect reads intentional and modern with about twenty minutes of actual painting. Sharp tape lines are the entire game: press the edges firmly and pull the tape while paint is barely wet. The same trick upgrades chair legs, plant stands, and table feet. Minimal paint, maximum design credit.
15. Refinishing Folding Chairs
The metal folding chair is the workhorse nobody loves until this makeover: cleaned, primed, and sprayed in cheerful colors, the fleet of sad beige folders becomes party seating with personality. Spray paint formulated for metal handles the hard part, and fabric or foam seat updates finish the comfort story. Do all four (or fourteen) at once assembly-line style. They store exactly as compactly as before, just without the shame. Kenarry shows the process, and holiday hosting seating gets a glow-up for the price of a few cans.
