People often confide in me that they would love to redo their furniture, but they feel too guilty because it was given to them by their in-laws, or it was passed down from their grandmother or something along those lines. My typical response is “Who cares!?” (This is why I would be a terrible therapist.)
Who cares if your in-laws have ‘opinions’ or your grandmother’s item was ‘valuable?’ That shouldn’t be the deciding factor on what goes and stays in your home. An item is only as valuable as its value to you. Put that on a t-shirt and wear it to your family reunion.
But seriously, I know it can be tricky to navigate that type of situation. All of this could be easily avoided if your family members would stop being so generous and just gave you terribly run-down and rickety old furniture that desperately needed a makeover anyway. That’s what Susan started with when she was asked to redo this heirloom dresser for a client. The before picture doesn’t show the half of the damage that this thing had suffered. But now …
Stunning. Gorgeous. That wood grain, the gold hardware, ugh! I can’t take it, it’s so lovely. She’d better watch out, Grandma’s going to want this back.
See the whole story on her blog Saw Nail and Paint.






8 Comments
Jessica H
September 10, 2015 at 2:21 PMI want that.
Michelle
September 10, 2015 at 3:04 PMBeautiful piece! And, AMEN!!!! Why surround yourself with furniture you’re not crazy about to save someone’s feelings? If they loved it so much, they would have kept it. If they’ve passed on, they would by now just want you to be happy with it. I do my best to tell anyone I give anything to, “This is now yours. Do with it as you want; keep it, toss it, paint it, tear it apart,give it away. It’s YOURS.” I also make sure if someone offers me something to that they do NOT want it back! I let them know I WILL do something to it. It’s a sickness. Or a blessing. Not sure yet.
Susan Handler
September 10, 2015 at 3:30 PMThank you so much for featuring my dresser makeover. I love that piece so much and it was a joy to bring it back to life. It it hadn’t been a custom piece, I would have kept it for sure!
LeeAnn
September 10, 2015 at 6:26 PMJust beautiful and I love the dark blue against the wood. Truly elegant!
Virginia Cumberbatch
September 11, 2015 at 3:59 AMThat is absolutely freaking gorgeous…can’t believe it’s the same piece….great job.
Kelly @ Turned up to Eleven!
September 11, 2015 at 6:00 AMI often worry about this with some of my family heirlooms – but if I could make it look like THIS the happy medium between modernizing the piece AND bringing out the natural wood grain to it’s near original state, I’d make over ALL my furniture!!! 🙂
Lindsey @ Better After
September 14, 2015 at 1:50 PMI agree! It’s perfect on all accounts!
Cathie
September 13, 2015 at 8:37 PMMy mom gave me her cedar chest and we totally redid it… Then I found out it was my great grandma’s. But you know, it was in bad shape! The not knowing did make it easier to make bold choices.