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No Mess Makeover | 5 Tips for Updating your Old Furniture

Fall For DIY no mess makeover

I must admit I’ve made my fair share of makeover messes whilst attempting to create a home interior I love. My ethos is (quite clearly) that everything can be updated and given a new lease of life with a quick coating of paint. Most of the time it works out really well, but usually ends up being more effort, taking up more time and becoming a huge mess in my kitchen for several days before this point. This can be a little off-putting when you’re thinking about starting a project. Just moving the often bulky furniture to my little kitchen can be a nightmare in itself. It got me thinking. There must be a better way…

And there is!

Fall For DIY no mess makeover 1

I transformed this project from a very dated, watermarked dresser I got for just £12 in a charity shop sale into a modern piece that now brightens up my bedroom, without a single lick of paint! No getting my hands dirty. And, if you needed any more convincing, the whole project took less than two hours. No waiting around watching paint dry. Here are my tips to updating your furniture (relatively) fuss free.

1. Contact paper

This is my new go-to material. It will cover any project big or small and gives such a professional finish. Whilst I was using it to hack this project I discovered this great trick to creating a smooth and seamless surface. Using a squeegee to pull out any air bubbles when you’re placing the sticky back paper will give your surface a totally pro look. Measure carefully and line up two corners along a long length before sticking the rest down. This will help you align it correctly. For more pictures head over to my Ladder Shelf Hack to see more.

Fall For DIY no mess makeover 9

2. Melamine Iron-on Edgebanding

I love how easy this is to use. You can iron this onto practically any surface to add neat, straight and pro edges. This dresser had faux wood laminate edges covering chip board edges so after peeling these off the surface was ready for it’s new, fresh edging. Just hold the end in place and carefully run a medium/hot iron over the surface. Make sure your iron is clean so it doesn’t leave any marks.

Fall For DIY no mess makeover 2

3. What’s underneath?

Rather than adding over the top, it’s always worth investigating what’s underneath. The legs on the dresser were covered in a thick, black, shiny plastic that gave the whole piece a much darker feel. My first thought was to spray paint them but who want’s that hassle!? I peeled back a little of the plastic and saw the gorgeous raw pine underneath. After stripping the legs the piece was so much brighter!

Fall For DIY no mess makeover 7

4. Can’t reuse? Replace

The feet were rusted and one was missing so I’m on the hunt to replace these with something much cleaner and perhaps DIY? I also want to make some new draw pulls and replace the screw covers on the mirror. This is where your imagination comes in and you can create a piece that encompasses your personality and tastes. It’s often the smaller details that make something so this is your chance to really shine.

Fall For DIY no mess makeover 11

5. Clean and polish

Sometimes just a good scrub can transform a piece of furniture. Before you treat any surface you’ll want to make sure it’s free or dust and dirt and you never know what you might uncover? (I definitely need to practice what I preach and get some glass cleaner on that mirror… yeugch)

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For now I’m so happy at how this project turned out. It’s actually one of my favourite pieces of furniture in the house right now! So much so I’m eyeing up other things to cover in contact paper as we speak…

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DIY// Interiors29 Comments

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Comments

  1. Kaelyn says

    May 6, 2015 at 7:29 pm

    Wow! The dresser looks so much better! Who would of thought it was transformed by contact paper? I may have to implement this idea on my dresser. Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
    • interior MISMATCH @ sarahroseHENKIN says

      July 31, 2015 at 9:37 pm

      Me too! I just got two ikea dressers from Craiglist, but they need some extra umph~

      Reply
      • fran says

        August 5, 2015 at 12:14 pm

        I love updated preloved furniture! Good for the wallet and for the environment as well! Good luck with your project! Tag me on Instagram if you like so I can see how they turn out :)

        Reply
  2. Marlene @ Jade and Fern says

    May 7, 2015 at 1:49 am

    ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF CONTACT PAPER! I would NEVER have guessed that you didn’t paint this cabinet. It looks absolutely stunning and so pro. And I am all agog over your fantastic no-mess tips–so helpful and practical!! I’ve been toying with the idea of contact-papering our kitchen table until I can give it a more permanent makeover–now I’m sold. Thank you Fran!

    Reply
  3. Tegan says

    May 7, 2015 at 2:26 pm

    Wow! I can not even stress enough how much I love everything about this! The furniture makeover and all the plants! Love love!
    Tegan xx – Permanent Procrastination

    Reply
  4. Kate ~ Beak Up Crafts says

    May 9, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    I love this Fran! Looks like a totally brand new piece of furniture. I would never have thought of using contact paper for something like this but it looks amazing x

    Reply
  5. Rebecca from We Are Scout says

    May 12, 2015 at 8:18 am

    Looks amazing and I love all of the plants. I found a similar laminated dresser on the side of the road and I’ve been wondering what on earth to do with it. I’m still a bit worried about getting the contact paper nice and smooth! X

    Reply
  6. Krista says

    May 17, 2015 at 6:55 pm

    Just wondering if you put the melanine on the side or the contact paper?

    Reply
  7. office design ideas says

    May 27, 2015 at 4:29 am

    This makeover are superb. I like the style of yours. I would like you to add Creativewood on your list.

    Reply
  8. Mama z przedmieścia says

    June 16, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    It looks fantastic now! Great idea!

    Reply
  9. Claudia says

    July 31, 2016 at 7:31 am

    Hi! :) Where can I get that white contact? Thank you very much.

    Reply
    • fran says

      August 1, 2016 at 11:31 am

      Hey Claudia,

      You can get contact paper or self adhesive paper in any DIY store. I buy mine from Homebase. Hope that helps :D

      Reply
  10. Siobhán says

    November 5, 2016 at 6:10 am

    Wow, I have a newfound respect for this project and all other contact paper projects. I am contact papering my mid-century credenza and let me tell you, there are a lot of expletives leaving my lips. My biggest issue is lining up the sheets and the edges. Ooooffff, the edges.

    Reply
  11. Deedee says

    November 23, 2016 at 5:07 pm

    Hi, I might be very late with my comment but I have a question. I would like to redo my dinning table and was wondering if I could use contact paper for it. You know…. it is a dinning table, you kind of eat there. The table is wood color and glossy finish.
    Your project turned out fabulous.

    Thank you!

    Reply
  12. Carmen Ellis says

    August 11, 2018 at 9:54 am

    Indeed a great read.

    Reply
  13. Vans España says

    October 5, 2019 at 11:15 am

    Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Taking a few
    minutes and actual effort to generate a really good article… but
    what can I say… I hesitate a lot and never seem
    to get anything done.

    Reply
  14. Kirtika saha says

    July 9, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    Really appreciate this wonderful post that you have provided for us.Great site and a great topic as well I really get amazed to read this.

    Reply
  15. Amanda Soll says

    September 21, 2022 at 3:10 pm

    I don’t know how to update furniture like that, moreover, many of the old things look just awful that I rather go to the West Elm website – this is a furniture store and find something suitable to replace. I read reviews about them https://west-elm.pissedconsumer.com/review.html not so long ago and did not understand why their reputation is so low in the market

    Reply

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