Although I no longer paint or renovate furniture for a living, I still enjoy an occasional project. When I saw two badly decoupaged wooden stools in a local Devon charity shop I knew they would be a quick and easy DIY painting project.

The before pic

First task is for hubby to dismantle the stools to enable him to easily remove the awful paper.

So when I said a quick and easy makeover, I did of course mean with the help of the husband !

A quick sand removes all that awful paper in minutes and reveals the lovely wood beneath.

Doesn't that look better. I did consider leaving them unpainted but unfortunately they have four ugly screws that really spoil the top of the stools. Time to get painting, white of course.

First coat. We always use good quality trade paints. They are far more cost effective and cut down on the need for multiple coats, cover really effectively and are hard wearing.

Looking good. Leave them to dry for a few hours.

A light sand to give a lovely soft finish and a look of natural wear and now just have to put them together again .

When the screws are put back into the stool they do not really give the finished look I like. You can either paint them or as we do, fill with Polyfilla. This gives a smooth finish and you won't see the screw head.

Once filled, I leave them to dry for a few hours, give the stool a quick rub down again to smooth over the polyfilla and maybe a touch of wax and there we have it. All done.