Author: The Wood Spa by Pat Rios

It all started in the spring of 2013. I realized how tired I was to see my house entirely decorated with IKEA stuff. Nothing against IKEA, but after 12 years, I just needed some change. I wanted stylish, original furniture, but noticed that everything I liked from retail stores was way out of my budget. Thanks to Google, Youtube, and a couple of amazing blogs, I was able to discover and explore the world of furniture refinishing, and it was the beginning of my addiction. I now spend my days rescuing old, dull, unwanted pieces of furniture to give them a fresh look so they can be displayed, used and loved again for many more years to come. Thanks for stopping by.

Blue Ivy Side Table – Before & After

May 31, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

I’ve had this little side table for over a year. I love its design, but the veneer on top was badly damaged and the legs a little wobbly. It was lost in a corner of our dining room with no particular function, except to display our exuberant Christmas Tree. My plan has always been to […]

Before & After – Silver Chest of Drawers

April 19, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

Hello everyone, Spring is finally bringing some warm-ish days, so I’ve been able to spend a few hours in my uninsulated and unheated garage to play with furniture. This time I decided to work on something very large I’ve had stored for years! I love this chest of drawers. It is so simple and yet […]

Before and After – Blue Cabinet

March 15, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

Hi friends, This is a short post to show you how I painted this cabinet. We are redecorating our fireplace room, which we have now started calling “the studio”. Although it is not ready yet, it’s already my favorite room in the house, and the place where my boys and I spend most of our […]

How I Painted our Fireplace (with Video Tutorial)

March 4, 2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

Hello friends, I know I’ve been very quiet here in the blog, but with winter almost over, I’ve been busy again with several DIY projects, still trying to make some improvements to our lovely farmhouse. We are now almost done decorating our “fireplace room”. It is funny how so many colonial houses were built with […]

Orange Buffet – A Second Makeover

February 4, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

In case you haven’t noticed, I just took a long break from working and blogging. It started around Christmas with a one-week trip to St. Louis, followed by three weeks back home with my mom and nephew visiting from Brazil. It was time to celebrate, eat good food, be out and about and enjoy family […]

How I Painted my Bathroom Cabinets (with video tutorial)

January 4, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

Hello friends, I’ve been procrastinating on writing this post for over a year! For some reason, I didn’t have all pictures and information saved in a single place, so I knew it would take a lot of time and effort to do put everything together. The holiday break and freezing temperatures outside gave me the […]

Watercolor Inspired Nightstand Makeover

November 2, 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

Hello friends! If you are familiar with my furniture work, you know that most of my pieces have a very simple finish. I normally spray paint them in one or two colors, and a few of them have stained top and/or maybe some distress or antiquing effect. This time I wanted to try something different. […]