Realtor Rehab: Sweat Equity Goes a Long Way in Staging a Home for Sale

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Many times when you think of putting sweat equity into a home, you’re thinking about painting or plumbing or completing some other type of major repair, but have you ever thought about putting sweat equity into staging your home?  It’s a relatively easy way to bring your old furniture into modern times without spending thousands of dollars.  I know, because I did it.

Now, let me preface by saying that we are not staging our house to sell, but rather, I’m just trying to update the look in an economic fashion.  There is nothing that says you can’t improve the way your home looks just for you, right?!  So, here was my inspiration for my sweat equity staging project:

staging sweat equity

This is a dining room set that Mason & Magnolia in Simpsonville has (maybe it should be had…I haven’t been in there in a few months) for sale.  When I saw it, I immediately loved it.  It’s just so different from everything else I had seen.  However, a new dining room set was not in our budget.  Then it occurred to me…I can do this!

staging sweat equity

So, I gathered my cast of characters and got to work.  What is not shown in this picture is glossy, white spray paint.  I used that for the bottom of the table and chairs.  The black paint for the top of the table and the seats is actually paint I had leftover from when I painted my shutters (You can catch up on that process here).  It’s a satin finish and I thought if it was good enough for outside, then it would be good enough for inside.

 

I started this staging sweat equity project by giving my chairs a light sanding, dusting them off and sending them off to the paint booth, i.e. my side yard 🙂  I used a glossy, white spray paint and went to town.  As you can see, I have six chairs and it took me four cans of spray paint to finish that job.  I put on three coats, allowing them to dry in between.

staging sweat equity

 

 

 

 

 

Once they were dry to the touch, I moved them into my garage to dry for 48 hours.  I know I didn’t have to do this, but as you’ll see, I taped up the white part to paint the seats, so I wanted to make extra sure the white was dry.  Painting the seats were pretty simple.  I used a sponge brushed and put on three coats of my leftover, satin black Behr paint.  Now, you can use any type of paint you prefer.  I tried another, cheaper brand one time and I will never do that again.  I am a Behr or Benjamin Moore kind of girl. (PS, this is not a paid endorsement for either of these companies:)

staging sweat equity

Ok, back to my sweat equity staging project…I let the coats dry in between.  It was hot, so that didn’t take long.  After it dried completely for a couple of days, I went to town with the MiniWax Polycrylic.  The poly provides a protective cover that will help to keep the paint from chipping and cracking.  This was my first experience with spray on polycrylic.  A little tip…follow the instructions on the can if you choose to spray vs. paint on.  Basically, you spray, let dry for 30 minutes, sand (I know, this scared me too!), wipe off, spray and repeat two more times.  If you can’t get the process started and finished in 90 minutes, don’t do it.  It has something to do with the curing process and it being cured too much and having to dry all the way.  You can read more about it HERE if you really want to.

The sweat equity continued (actually it began) with the dining room table.  It’s not as exciting of a story because I forgot to take before pictures.  I did the table before the chairs and wasn’t quite sure how it was going to turn out, so blogging wasn’t top of mind.  Had I known how great it would look, I would have thought about it.  I’ve even searched my pictures for random photos in the dining room that would show a glimpse of the table, but nothing.  So, you’ll have to use your imagination.  The table looked just like the chairs…oak-type finish on top and antique white on bottom. I sprayed the bottom with the white spray paint first, then worked on the top.  I used the sponge brush on the table too.  The sponge brush just seemed to work much better than a regular brush.  I finished it off with three layers of Miniwax Polycrylic.  And here is the finished product (please ignore the carpet…I don’t know why someone would put carpet in a dining room…it’s going away very soon!):

I am so happy with how this sweat equity staging project turned out!  Now when we have dinner guests, this is where we sit to enjoy good food and good company:

If we were selling our house, this dining room set is much more appealing than what it looked like before!  However, I didn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to achieve the look.  With a little sweat equity and less than $40, I now have a dining room that I am happy to show off!

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