“It’s easy to give second-hand or unfinished furniture a great new ‘look.’ Twenty-eight projects that use stenciling, stamping, block printing, decorative painting, and creative finishes, will add a personal creative touch to your home d�cor.”—Country Decorator. “Shows different techniques, such as stamping, stenciling and decorative painting....Very easy to follow. Most templates are included.”—Expression.

A guide to painting any piece of wood furniture for any skill level. Techniques include: stenciling, stamping, block printing, decorative painting, découpaging. Several projects featured are: a twining ivy wall shelf, a garden window armoire, a flowers and sunshine chair, and a coat tree of many colors.

'A glossary and a chapter of tips on conservation, restoration and care of painted furniture makes this a useful handbook as well as a beautifully illustrated encyclopedia of an enduring style.' ---Chicago Tribune

“[The] step-by-step instructions are clear and practically foolproof . . . an essential guide to DIY restoration and antiquing.” ?Publishers Weekly (starred review) Whether you dream of restoring an heirloom to its former beauty, or just want to modernize a flea market treasure, Amy Howard has the design and refinishing secrets you need. Here are all the furniture finishing recipes, techniques, and tips that have made Howard’s beloved classes sold-out success stories, and made Howard herself the go-to guru of refinishing and “use what you have” redecorating. Try your hand at unique painted and faux finishes, and experiment with gold leaf, distressing, and marvelous graining effects. Along the way, you will learn a treasure trove of techniques, as Howard shares before-and-after makeovers from her studio and offers impeccable step-by-step instruction in all that is needed to achieve each look.

This title provides colour photographs, step-by-step instructions and patterns for making ten projects from flea market finds. These include a floral footstool finished with a sponging technique and a potting table created from a vintage sewing machine cabinet with a top that opens to reveal a sink.

Bring old furniture to life or transform an inexpensive, unfinished piece into the stunning focal point of a room. All it takes are some easy-to-do but very effective decorative painting techniques: sponge painting, wood graining, faux inlay, lacquer, stenciling, combing, and crackling. With scaled patterns accompanying the 27 fantastic projects, you'll work magic in no time at all.