…DIY Materials

I thought it might be helpful if I talked about some of the important tools that I use for refinishing furniture and home decorating that use almost I every day. Take it from me, the creative process can seem much less frustrating if one has all the proper tools available at all times. That way you are not searching the house for a screw driver or cursing under your breath that the kids took the Frog tape again.

Let’s start with t-shirts. You can use a ripped up t-shirt, your husbands new or old shirt, a bag of rags or an old JCrew tank. You need them. You need lots of them. You need them to wipe down your dingy pieces, apply clear and dark wax, clean your wood surfaces and spilled paint.

4 lbs of cut of t-shirts! Ha! I can’t help but think where these rags actually originated since they are all different in size and texture. Buy a 4lber at your hardware store. You will be so happy to have them handy.

These rags are lint-free and white. Why does this matter? Well, if you rub your piece of wood with a pink cloth guess what can/will happen? Your piece may take that pink color. What happens if not lint-free? You will see fabric particles in your piece.

After you refinish a piece of furniture with whatever type of paint you choose (furniture paint is coming out of the woodwork now days!) You will want to finish your piece. This requires wax or a poly. You will want to protect the wood and I find that a cloth like this one works the best.

Cloths like this are also great for staining a piece of furniture. I know I don’t talk a lot about staining on Blue Egg Brown Nest, but I used to do quite a bit of it. Want a beautiful, wood look? You will need a rag like this that you can control.

I should mention that it is also very helpful to have some type of tool bench or shelving system to contain your materials. I have an old dresser that I use and it’s still not enough space.

Tomorrow: Brushes.