My $350 Bedroom Set + Painting Furniture in 5 Easy Steps

This post contains affiliate links to the products I used.

I’ve been making a lot of things for around the house lately. I think people are starting to think I’m a magical DIY-er who can do anything. It’s not true!

I’ve become a DIY-er out of necessity. I enjoy having nice things, but love saving money. Mostly relying on my husband for our income, means I buy just about everything used — with the exception of our undergarments 😉

I have been a thrift store junkie my entire life. While the cool kids shopped at Hollister, I would go thrifting. My poor mom begged me to shop at nice stores so I would be more mainstream, but it just wasn’t me…I’ve always been a little different like that. I love having unique things, and I also love the green aspect. Reuse, baby!

Since we got married almost 5 years ago, I’ve been pining for a bedroom set since all we had was ugly hand-me-down dressers from the 1960’s. I have literally spent the past 2 years looking for one — on Craigslist, thrift shops, antique stores, and the big box furniture stores. I couldn’t find a single somewhat complete set I liked that was in my price range. OK, I did like ONE set, but it was $4,000. My budget was $500 — and even that would have been a stretch to make work.

I came to the conclusion that not only could we not afford anything new, but also, I prefer the look of old furniture. First, most of it is made in the USA. Also, it’s actually made of REAL wood — not that particle board crap. Third, there is much more detail in it. When did we all get so boring? Older furniture just has charm — something that is severely lacking in today’s styles. However, re-finished antique furniture is VERY expensive.

So, I had to improvise. I found an early 1900’s French Provincial set I was in love with at a resale shop in Fenton, that was below our price range {thanks to LOTS of bartering with the owner — ALWAYS negotiate price!}, but needed a lot of work. We wound up purchasing a dresser with a mirror, a highboy dresser, and two nightstands. We were lucky because it’s extremely hard to find a matching set in the antique world.

Thankfully, a little paint can go a long way. I looked at TONS of painting furniture tutorials on Pinterest and they were scary and seemed complicated. After consulting friends, I decided to experiment with this process first on an old table. It turned out well, so then I did the furniture.

Thus began the process of turning these beat-up pieces…

…into these nice pieces!

How did I do it?

Here’s my tutorial — painting furniture in 5 easy steps! {I apologize for not taking photos along the way. I didn’t intend on posting a tutorial on here, but had many requests to do so!}

1. Take out the drawers and all hardware and sand all pieces completely using 3M general use sandpaper, or use medium sandpaper with an electric sander {I did some by hand, some electric}. I also applied Elmer’s Wood Filler with a putty knife in trouble spots and sanded to smooth.

2. Clean the pieces extremely well after sanding. {I love using the furniture wipes from the Dollar Tree}

3. Using a 2″ paint brush, I brushed on two coats of a cream-colored Behr paint/primer in one that we had in our basement, letting it dry for 3-4 hours in between coats. {On the tops of the dressers I used leftover Cabinet Transformations paint from our bathroom remodel!} I did not paint the inside of the drawers, but that is absolutely an option is you’d like — just make sure to give it ample dry time. I used satin paint to get a glossier finish, but any paint will work.

4. Use sandpaper to gently sand the edges to expose some of the natural color and give the piece an antique/shabby look.

5. Cover the pieces with two coats of Minwax Rub-On Poly using a lint-free cloth {letting dry for two hours in between coats}. Let dry for 12 hours and replaced hardware and drawers.

BOOM. My own custom set for under $350 — with ALL supplies!

Don’t be shy to experiment, friends. There are so many wonderful products on the market to fix anything you could mess up. Plan a fun inexpensive project today!

Related: See how I turned an old interior barn door into a headboard and all the other goodies I’ve repurposed for our master re-vamp. Cool doesn’t have to cost much!

What crazy DIY things have you done to get what you want when you couldn’t afford other options?

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