Project 5 of 52 Part 1 - Roaring Transformation: Refurbishing a Queen Anne Set of Drawers into a Leopard-Inspired Masterpiece

Welcome to our ongoing series of 52 weeks of furnishing facelifts! As part of our commitment to helping you revitalize your living spaces, we're excited to introduce a special three-part painted project.  Today, we're diving into Part 1 where we've transformed a traditional Queen Anne set of drawers into a striking, bold statement piece with a touch of wild elegance!  We've infused this classic furniture with a contemporary twist by incorporating a fierce leopard print design and sleek black finish.

Whether you're a seasoned DIY enthusiast or just starting your home improvement journey, this project is designed to inspire creativity and add a fresh touch to your surroundings. Join us as we delve into the details of this transformative endeavor.

Step 1: Preparation and Repair before diving into the creative process.  We were thrilled to discover these matching bedside tables at our local op shop.  They're larger than typical Queen Anne bedside tables, have glass tops and feature moulding at the top of the front legs. Immediately, we recognised the potential in these bedside tables. However, our excitement caused us to overlook the obvious issue: the legs were unstable. While they weren't broken, they were wobbly.

Oh no!  Consequently, what was initially to be a brief restoration project turned into a more extensive endeavor. Repairs were necessary. Reinforcing wobbly legs ensures the longevity and durability of your refurbished furniture.  As shown above, we removed the wobbly legs to address the issue.  In repairing wobbly legs we need to add a few extra steps to our normal process.  In summary, remove legs, sand both the top of the legs and the underneath of the drawers where the legs attach.  Clean, glue and clamp.  Be sure to wipe any excess glue.  Leave for 24 hours to dry and set.  You may then need to re-sand that area.

🔥 HOT TIP: Titebond is our preferred glue for repairs due to its strength and reliability. Depending on the specific project, we use Titebond Ultimate and Titebond Quick and Thick.  If we need to re-secure wobbly legs we use the opportunity to also replace the screws holding them in.  Older pieces usually have slotted screws whereas Phillips heads screws are so much easier to work with. 

Step 2: Clean, sand and paint. After the repairs, we continued with our usual process which you can read here. After painting the bedside tables, we were ready for the next step: Fabric Decoupage.

Stay Tuned: for Part 2 of our Leopard Print Bedside Refurbishment.  Click here to read how we used fabric to decoupage the drawer fronts.