painting wood is probably never going to be a non-confrontational topic, so i’ve come to embrace it as something that will almost always be a “love it” or “hate it” sort of situation. for me, the essence of a before & after is giving a piece of furniture a new life- one that means it will be loved and cared for by the owner for years to come. and for me, these two projects are great examples of that idea. first up is designer katie inglis. katie and her boyfriend moved into their apartment last year only to find that their landlords had abandoned a bunch of random furniture in their space. among the forgotten lot was an old lester piano with cracks, broken keys, bent wood, and cigarette burns. katie had a hunch that it once served as a honky-tonk bar piano and wanted to keep the piece in her home, but mask some of the serious damage that had been done over the years. she decided on a low-VOC acrylic mustard paint that accented the subway tiles on the nearby walls and managed to successfully hide the harder years the piano had seen. now the piano has a central place in their home and a new life after its honky tonk past. thanks for sharing, katie!
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images!]
next up is kristen from kfd designs. she gave a found desk a makeover with a decorative green paint finish and hand-painted black and white floral print on the drawer faces. great work, kristen!
56 Comments
Oh the green desk looks absolutely marvelous!
What a wonderful idea. I have new inspiration for an old fuddy-duddy I have sitting around!
Wow. That piano is amazing! I am wondering what kind of precautions had to be taken in order to insure the piano stings/keys etc. weren’t damaged by the sanding and painting needed to accomplish such a nice finish? Do you have to take the piano apart?
I love this!
I really like the yellow piano.
emily
i’ll check with the owners- but i think most of them were pretty damaged before, so it’s possible they were replaced all together.
grace
LOVE these, especially that gorgeous yellow piano.
I love painting furniture, but understand the controversy of it all. I am pretty sure I have made my great grandmother role over in her grave a couple of times by painting some of her pieces. I love the piano! Everything else looks so fun as-well. Paint on, paint on!
My first comment on your site (I love it!) I had to comment, the makeover of the desk is *lush*. The colour is gorgeous, as is the sheen, a terrific job! The piano too, what a fab. colour for it. Keep them coming – these bits are my favourite part of the blog and have inspired me in my own home :)
I love the painted yellow piano!! I understand that some people don’t believe in painting wood, but it sounds like the piano was pretty beat up, and a bright paint color was a good way to cover that up. Also, what a fun way to update a sad looking piece!
I’m usually not in favor of painting over wood, but that yellow piano is fabulous!
WOW! I’m not normally a huge fan of painted wood, but that piano looks amazing. Great idea!
That piano is incredible. So punchy!
Love it! Especially the green desk. There are so many pieces I want to paint around our house but my husband is one who believes painted wood never looks good. Oy. Maybe I’ll have to sneak paint while he’s away to show him how great it can be!!
Wow, wow and wow! That piano is stunning. I never would have thought to paint it yellow and it just so works.
Love that the desk’s drawerfaces are hand painted — nice!
Wow, I love the desk! I’ve always see that style of furniture and and thift stores and passed it up because I couldn’t imagine. Glad that someone could! It’s brilliant!
GORGEOUS. Especially the desk. Face it; sometimes wood is damaged or ugly, but the piece is still useful. I say, paint away!
the piano looks awesome!
I love how paint can totally transform a piece.
I lve the desk. We have two desks that are less than fabulous. This is wonderful inspiration.
ooooh. love the lamp on the desk. Where did she find it?
that desk is LOVELY! And I second the “paint away” comment these pieces are born again and the end results are incredible!
ooh i love that green drawer
thanks guys! the lamp is from cb2!
I love the drawer faces! A little something extra…and it’s perfect.
WOW this is great!! I love the green color and what a transformation!
Does anyone know where the lamp on the green desk is from?
Wow! I absolutely LOVE that yellow piano. I would have never thought to paint a piano, but given it’s condition, to turn it into a statement piece with such pizazz is very inspiring. Love the green desk too, but I think I’ll probably dream about that piano tonight. :)
Both of these are gorgeous!
We have a piano that was husbands gran’s – it’s in bad shape, but I’d never throught of painting it. It’s about to be red!
Thanks for all the wonderful comments!
Before painting the piano we masked off the keys and pedals but left the strings covered by the wood paneling and not masked. I think it would be wonderful to see pianos painted with different paints — milk, oil based, and decoratively embellished…
It sounds so much better now and I’m so proud of it!
<3
Huge fan of this style. Love it.
That yellow piano is AMAZING!! Wow.
I DIE over the yellow piano. Craigslisting, commence!
WOW, these are absolutely gorgeous!! Love, love, love both of them!!!
oh my god I love the yellow piano. I wish it were mine!
oh my word, that piano is stunning. it makes me want to play (even though i quit piano twice because i couldn’t stand it!!)
LOVE the piano!
LOVE that yellow piano!!!
what a huge difference a little paint can do. i love both makeovers.
I’m surprised by how much I like these projects.
I really didn’t think a mustard yellow piano could look good, but you’ve proven me wrong. The piano looks fabulous and fun. Seriously, I want one. Great job.
As for the table, I always thought that style was fuddy-duddy (like something you’d see in a stuffy grandma’s house), but you made it look youthful and stylish. Great job here, too.
i am completely in love with both of these projects! my husband is a piano player and one day we will have a crazy cool piano like that. and i adore the green. awesome!
Okay, I LOVE the piano. I have been thinking of painting an old beat up, but sentimental piano that was in my husbands family. I think this will give me the final push I’ve been needing. Any tips from the people who did this one would be much appreciated!
Love the yellow piano. I live in an old dance hall with timber floors and have a brown wooden piano. I think it looks a bit too too wooden everywhere and have always wondered about painting it. Definetly inspired. I agree with previous comment a red piano would be awesome!
I have dreams about yellow pianos…
any chance you could tell us the name of the green paint? thanks!
painted pianos are my favorite. it gives them such character. i’m dying to paint ours but my husband is adamantly opposed to painting wood. darn.
well, to me the piano looks desecrated. On old instruments wood grain is so much more appropriate than that plastic-looking yellow paint…
How could you not like that great yellow piano! Congratulations on your leap of faith- re: colour choice.
A yellow piano, genuis! One day I´ll have a flat big enough to fit a piano in it! :)
Did I miss the brand/name of the yellow paint? So snappy! I have a project for which that color could be perfect.
Um.. that green desk is to die for!!!! Absolutely amazing!
I’m SPEECHLESS at just how beautiful that desk looks.
That floral print is great!
Would you give us the source for the green paint? This is the green color I have been looking for.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the yellow piano!
From blah to booyah! Love the colors.
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