u/MaraBrightwood

I just picked up a pair of these nightstands with some awesome fluted detailing and I’m trying to figure out what color to paint them (for resale). I’ve done a lot of green lately, so I want to go with something that’s more of a true neutral. I like black, but I’m worried that going with a darker color is going to make that fluted detailing disappear, so I want to go with a lighter neutral. Right now, I’m between a creamy mushroom color (SW Shiitake) or a darker taupe (SW Spalding Gray).

I’ve seen a lot of nightstands done in Shiitake-like colors on my local marketplace recently, and they’re selling quite quickly, so I know it’s a popular and safe color. But I fell in love with a taupe dresser I saw on Pinterest (photo 3, credit to Jewel in the Wall Furniture) and I can’t stop thinking about doing a furniture project in a similar color, and I think these nightstands would be great candidates. However, I’m worried that it’s not a safe bet like Shiitake would be. I did a mockup of the nightstands done in Spalding Gray and in Iron Ore, which confirmed my thought that the fluting would likely be lost in a darker color, but I sure do love the way they’re looking in this rich taupe!

What are folks opinions on taupe as a neutral? Has anyone painted and sold stuff in this color? Did it sell well? Is anyone seeing this color pop up on marketplace? I’m hoping that crowd-sourcing some opinions will help me with my indecision. Thanks in advance!

I have this three piece set that I’m planning on refinishing in the near future and I’m wondering two things. First, should I go with black (SW Caviar) or dark green (SW Shade-grown)? I’ve done a few pieces in Shade-grown recently and they’ve been really popular, but I’m kind of curious to see how well back is selling these days. The last thing I did in black was a nightstand set that was stylistically a little fussy so it took longer to sell, so I don’t have a good gauge on the color on a less fussy piece/set.

Also, what are people’s experiences selling 3-piece sets - long dresser + chest of drawers + single nightstand? I included original photos of the whole set (pieces are in storage right now so I have to work off the original marketplace listing photos). I’m kind of feeling like the long dresser might be more valuable as just a stand alone piece rather than being lumped in with the rest of the set, especially given that I unfortunately only have a single nightstand. I’m thinking the chest and nightstand together might be a good set for someone to use in a guest room or smaller bedroom. With that in mind, should I consider a different color? Something not so dark?

I’m most interested in hearing folks’ experiences with selling certain colors and selling 3 piece sets, rather than just personal opinions (though opinions are still welcome). Thanks in advance!

I have a Danish teak two piece cabinet that I’d like to restore. The top piece cleaned up beautifully and looks pristine, but the base piece has some failing finish on the top and some chipped veneer. I’d like to strip the base back to bare wood and refinish it but I don’t want to have to refinish the top piece, so I need to match the finish as closely as possible.

I’m thinking this is maybe a lacquer finish, but I’m not sure. Looking for suggestions on what to use once I’ve got this stripped. Thanks in advance!

This is part business question and part mini rant. I’m frustrated by the fact that the term “solid wood” has come to mean nothing on Facebook marketplace. This photo is of a dresser that’s listed as solid wood but it’s paper laminate over particular board - which I know for sure not just from the photos but because I own this same dresser.

There seems to be 3 definitions/uses of solid wood when it comes to furniture resale. Actual solid wood is wood through and through. You can keep sanding and sanding and it’s just more wood. The literal actual definition of solid wood. Some people also seem to use “solid wood” to mean veneer over all wood substrate, so no mdf or particle board. And then the third definition is of course the example in the photo where it is simply marketing nonsense and a lie. This dresser is all exposed particle board across the back, so one would have to be extremely ignorant to mistake that for solid wood.

All that to get to my business question. As a refinisher who sells my finished work on Facebook Marketplace, I personally do not use the term solid wood unless the piece is actually solid wood. But I’m wondering if customers, seeing so many other listings marketed as “solid wood,” are going to think my pieces are lower quality because I don’t use that term. I’m wondering if I should at least expand my definition to include veneer over all-wood substrate. Are consumers seeing furniture as either flat pack or solid wood with nothing in between? I’m interested to hear from folks who flip to sell about how you handle this dichotomy in your listings.

I have a dresser and nightstand set that I am refinishing with wood tops and painted bodies. So far I have stain the tops and sealed with two coats of dewaxed shellac. I am planning to top coat with water based polyurethane.

My question is on masking off the tops so I can use my paint sprayer on the bases. Should I mask it now over the shellac coat, paint, and then unmask and apply my top coat? Or should I top coat now and then mask off to paint?

I’m going to use delicate surface frog tape either way, but I’m worried about taping over polyurethane that has only had a couple of days to cure. I’ve never used dewaxed shellac before, so I’m not sure on how durable/tapeable that is.

Just wondering what the best order of operations is for this. Any advice would be appreciated!

I have a set of nightstands that were really heavily damaged on top. I knew going into it that the wood might not be salvageable, but I needed to strip the damaged finish off no matter what, so I figured I’d see what I ended up with.

This is after stripping and sanding with 120 grit. This is veneer, so I know I cannot sand any further besides a clean-up with 180 grit. My next step would be to hit it with an oxalic acid treatment to see if I can lighten those stains up any further, but I’m just not sure if it’d be worth it. I would be doing a dark stain on this, but I’m concerned that it’s just going to end up splotchy and terrible.

So, is it worth continuing to the oxalic acid treatment to see if I can lighten things up a bit, or should I just call it and paint?

I’ve got a dresser and nightstand set that I’ve started on and I’m trying to figure out which direction to go with it. I really wanted to do wood tops on all the pieces but the nightstands are in pretty rough shape. Today, I stripped and sanded the worse of the two and unfortunately I think the wood is too stained to salvage (see last photo).

The dresser top is in much better condition and I think it could be striped back and restained. My question is, would it be weird to have a dresser with a wood top paired with fully painted nightstands? Will the set still feel cohesive? Would it be better to just paint everything?

I also have the option of stripping back and staining all of the bases, so the dresser would have a wood top and base and the nightstands would just have the wood bases. That feels like it would be more cohesive to me but I’m not sure it’s worth it to add all of the stripping, sanding, sealing, staining, and masking to the project.

So what should I do?

1. Wood top on dresser, fully painted nightstands
2. Fully paint everything
3. Wood top and base on dresser, wood base and painted tops on nightstands

We’ve had plenty of squirrels lay in the sploot position on our back railing to cool off on hot days, but I’ve never seen one lay like a loaf like this before. He’s been in the same spot for 20+ minutes - we’re hoping he’s just relaxing and fancies our deck a safe spot, but could he be in distress? Our bird bath is just out frame so he does have access to water, if that factors into things.

I have an awesome Bassett dresser and nightstand set and I’m thinking I’m going to go with a painted finish, but I’d like to try to keep some wood if possible. In between doing a dark green body (SW Shade-grown) with a wood top or a black body and top with a wood base. I suppose a third option would be to do the green with a wood base.

I’m planning to sell this set once I’m finished. Does anyone have advice or opinions on what will have the broadest appeal? I’m having trouble deciding which direction to go!

I have this massive Bassett dresser and nightstand set that I’m planning on refinishing to sell, and I’m trying to decide if attempting to save the wood tops is worth it. I’m planning to paint the bodies a dark green (SW Shade-grown) and was envisioning a dark stained wood top. But, as you can see, the tops are in pretty rough shape. The corners are going to need to be rebuilt with epoxy putty, so a wood top will require extra color matching and blending, and who knows what kind of stains might be waiting under that damaged finish.

Basically, I’m looking for opinions on whether it’s worth it to try to save the wood on top or if I should just take the simpler route of going fully painted. Does anyone have experience with wood tops on painted pieces increasing the asking price enough to justify the extra hours of labor? I think it’d be worth it if the tops were not so damaged, but is this far enough gone to consider the tops a lost cause?

I’ve stripped and refinished wood before so I wouldn’t be learning on this set, if that makes a difference in peoples’ answers.