Furniture Face-Lifts With Overlays

Whether painted to blend in or contrast with the base color, these details are definite standouts

By Michelle Brunner

High-End Details to DIY

Straight-from-the-crate furnishings often lack the personality—and detail—of their high-end counterparts. Now you can give plain-Jane pieces a more expensive look with the use of easy-to-apply overlays. Made of lightweight materials, such as medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and PVC, the intricately cut panels and trim pieces can be adhered to almost any surface with a compatible glue.

Glam Dresser: Final

We gave a pine dresser Hollywood Regency style with custom-size panels.

See a stenciled version.

Glam Dresser: How-To

Overlay: about $17 for a drawer-size composite panel, plus a $25 fee for custom sizing; myoverlays.com

Paint:: Glidden's Silver Mauve

Textured Mirror: Final

We gussied up an unadorned mirror with trim in a Moroccan tile pattern.

Textured Mirror: How-To

Overlay: about $7 per linear foot of 2-inch MDF trim; fretworkdesigns.com

Paint:: Behr's Emerald Lake

Overlays for Added Dimension

Set a plain side table or standard framed mirror apart from the norm by adding some creative overlays and a few coats of paint.

Begin your creation from scratch with How to Build a Three-Tiered Side Table.

Make a color choice you won't regret with our advice on How to Pick a Paint.

Dimensional End Table: How-To

Overlay: about $20 for a 2-by-6-foot MDF panel; outwatercatalogs.com

Paint:: Glidden's Nautical Blue (table base) and Country House Blue (overlay)