Restoration Takeover

Restoration Takeover

Donna Jones and her daughter, Brittany Garber, are the creative duo and owners of Revival Designs & Decor. Creativity has always come natural to Donna, who was a stay at home mom for many years. Brittany’s love of do-it-yourself (DIY) projects was nurtured from a young age as she tagged along with her mom to crafting clubs and helped with family projects on the weekends. After both of Donna’s kids were grown, she discovered a new career in real estate home staging, where she found cost effective ways to help people furnish, show and sell their homes. Together this mother/daughter team scours thrift stores, hunting for pieces of furniture to makeover. The result is magazine worthy rooms that help sell the home every time.

The world of home staging taught Donna about furniture painting, and eventually they opened Revival Designs & Décor on Hilton Head Island together to share their passion for flipping furniture.

For this makeover, Donna chose an old dresser from the ‘70s. While it’s a solid piece of furniture, the color of the wood is a bit outdated and doesn’t fit well with a Lowcountry color scheme.

Donna claims the secret to flipping furniture with ease is a line of products she uses and carries exclusively in Beaufort County called Rethunk Junk. The line includes prep spray, 24 different colors of chalk style paint, glazes and sealers. Rethunk Junk was created by a husband and wife team. The wife was in the business of flipping furniture while trying to raise five kids—constant interruptions. Her husband was in the flooring industry. She knew she needed a paint that didn’t require waxing. They combined their knowledge and came up with their own line of paint with the finish built into it. The beauty of using these products is there is no sanding, no priming and no waxing.

STEP 1 PREP: All you have to do is spray on The Prep and wipe it down, removing all of the old polish, dirt and grime.

STEP 2 PAINT: This is a simple two-coat process. Since the paint has the finish built in, it’s important that you shake it completely. Apply one thin coat (watch for drips). You will find that this self-leveling paint won’t leave brush strokes, and it dries quickly allowing you to apply a second coat without a long wait. It’s possible to makeover a piece of furniture in just a couple of hours. With regular paint, if you don’t sand or strip the piece, the paint will just chip off. That’s what makes this product so different.

Donna chose Gray Mist for the shell and Cotton, a warm antique white, for the drawers. She says using two tones is a great way to tie together different pieces to create a bedroom suite with a Lowcountry feel. Gray goes with any wall color and can be lightened or darkened if needed.

STEP 3 PERSONALIZATION: This is where the fun comes in. You can leave it as-is. For some the two-tone look is decoration enough. You can also go back and sand the edges to give it a shabby look, or use a dark glaze to give it an antique look. For a more factory finished look, add sealer to give it a higher gloss. All this piece needed were some new decorative knobs to add the final touch.

Using the Rethunk Junk products, you can paint wood, metal, glass, ceramic, fabric, bamboo, wicker—you name it. It’s an inexpensive way to have a whole new look.

If you have pieces that you’d like made over, but don’t want to do the work, let Revival Designs' & Decor do it for you. Just take it in for a custom paint job. Got that DIY bug? They also offer classes.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Donna Jones and Revival Designs & Decor: 124 Arrow Road, Suite 5, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928, 843-785-5557. Visit their 2000 square foot showroom for furniture and inspiration.