Flea Market Makeovers: 25 Projects for Fabulous Home Furnishings

by B.J. Berti

The eclectic look is home decor's hottest trend, but flea market shopping has become a national obsession, making it difficult to find real bargains. BJ Berti reveals how easy it is to get the look for less by giving new life to inexpensive castoffs and finding unusual ways to make the most out of ordinary pieces.

A flea market veteran, BJ is a pro at reimagining the wobbly end table as a vehicle for vibrant color and seeing beyond a coating of ugly paint or covering of faded fabric. In Flea Market Makeovers, she reveals secrets for spotting diamonds in the rough at local flea markets, neighborhood garage sales, and vintage furniture stores and shows how to gauge the potential of the curbside castoff.

Through twenty-five projects and a special section of basic techniques, BJ explains how a little loving care and a touch of elbow grease can transform the most forlorn-looking pieces into charming additions for all rooms of the home. Step-by-step instructions make it easy to follow her philosophy of restore, revive, and reuse. Why overlook a piece just because it has loose joints or a shaky leg? Minor fixes are easy to accomplish with a little craft know-how, and sometimes just a rigorous cleaning is all that's needed to unveil a prize find.

BJ carefully describes how to strip away layers of paint, smooth nicks and dents, and replace old stuffing and fabric. She also illustrates how simple it is to revive a piece by adding a painted pattern, some beveled mirror pieces, or a carved wooden molding. For example, a simple folding card table looks entirely different after BJ replaces its dull floral tabletop with new painted canvas. Finally, BJ demonstrates how to successfully reuse pieces with unexpected placement. For example, a bookcase with fresh detailing stands out as smart storage for a dining room, and a panel from an old upright piano makes waves as a headboard over a bed.

With projects that range from a new lamp to brighten a corner of a living room to a mirrored panel for sectioning off a study, Flea Market Makeovers balances the best of crafting with extremely chic results for every room of the home. Flea Market Makeovers makes it easy to spot the hidden gems with the acumen of a pro.

Genres: How To, Nonfiction

159 pages, Hardcover

First published May 9, 2000

Reviews

[Cheryl Licata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book for my daughter because she is a dumpster explorer at her apartment complex. I think she will enjoy the photographs and may try some of the projects. I found the information about picture frames interesting and the cleaning of old prints and glass may be useful for me. "To remove grease or grimy spots from an old print use an art gum eraser or...fresh white bread? The book says roll the bread into a ball like a gum eraser and rub gently over the surface." I guess that slice of bread would not be suitable for a sandwich after that.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose I should start by specifying that I am not a flea market junkie, though I have been known to haunt garage sales and search for bargains that I could transform into something fun and wonderful for my home. This book does have a wide variety of projects in it, and the directions and materials needed for each project are laid out neatly and expertly. If you can follow directions, you should be able to accomplish most or all of the projects in this book.
That said, I was not attracted to the majority of the projects in here. You can, of course, customize each project to fit your home, and yes there are some decent tips in here as far as doing general fixer-upper jobs on old flea market finds...but in general the projects in this book appeared flashy, trendy, and too frilly for my tastes. I can flip through this book and my mind writes it off as 'just another fru-fru craft book', which I have an inordinately large pile of. :)

If you LIKE fru-fru craft books this would be a good one to get, because not only do you get a wide variety of projects, you also get handy tips on repair and maintenance, as well as a guide to tools and materials needed for this type of restoration work.

So go to it and good luck with those flea market bargains of yours!

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting projects and good ideas in here.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting projects to make out of flea market finds.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tried the shabby chic look, did quite pull it off.