An old loft bed refinished to fit in a little boy’s Star Wars room, plus tips and ideas for refinishing large furniture. This loft bed refinish is part of the Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest.
A few of the products I mention in this post were given to me free-of-charge so that I could share them with you. All the opinions about them are my own honest experience.
April Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest
I’m excited to be a part of The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest this month with the theme “Make It Pretty,” sponsored by D. Lawless. If you’re interested in being part of the next Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest, contact info@eveyscreations.com. D. Lawless Hardware sells knobs, pulls, hinges, slides, hooks, screws, fasteners, and wood trim at great prices. I found some beautiful modern knobs at dlawlesshardware.com, and I knew exactly what I wanted to flip for this month’s contest: a loft bed.
We were given a loft bed by some friends whose kids had outgrown it. It was perfect bed for my son’s room, but the paint was chipped, the drawers were dirty, and the entire loft bed was in pieces for easier storage. I wish I had a good before picture to show you, but we never saw the bed before it was taken apart. Mostly I wish we had a good before photo because it would have made reassembling the whole thing a lot easier. We spent a lot of time looking for matching screw holes and figuring out which piece went where.
Fortunately, we got it together and the whole thing turned out beautifully and fits perfectly in my son’s Star Wars themed bedroom. And I learned a few things about refinishing large furniture that I’d like share with you.
Tips for Refinishing Large Furniture
Repair and Fill Major Holes
Use a good wood filler, like this Famowood Wood Filler I got from D. Lawless, and repair any major holes and eyesores. Mostly, we used it to fill in the holes left after we removed the old, chipped knobs from the dresser and desk pieces. I just added the wood filler to the holes with my finger and let it dry for a day. Then I quickly sanded down the dry wood filler so it was smooth with the drawer face.
On large furniture, don’t sweat the small chips and scratches. They aren’t as noticeable on large pieces and the paint will hide most of them. Here’s a pretty major scratch that barely shows after painting.
Simplify the Prep Work
Ideally, you should strip or sand down the old finish on furniture before applying a new finish. But sanding and cleaning all the parts of a loft bed (including a dresser, desk, shelves, ladder, and the bed) was more than I could tackle. Find a solution like Oil Bond to combine cleaning, sanding, and prepping all in one step.
Use a Paint Sprayer
A paint sprayer saves a lot of time and work, especially on large furniture. I could have painted the entire loft bed with a paint brush, but I my son needed his new bed some time this year. With a paint sprayer, it only took me a few hours over three days. Plus, a paint sprayer gives a much smoother finish than a brush. 
Update the Hardware
Replacing the hardware on any furniture, large or small, can update the whole piece and totally change the look. The loft bed has 8 handles, so replacing the old wood knobs with new modern knobs from D. Lawless made a difference. The handles look sleek and new, making the whole bed look updated and modern.
Add Something Custom
Large furniture gives you lots of options to add something that makes it uniquely yours or customized to your space. I got an under-cabinet light from D. Lawless to install under the loft bed. That space is pretty dark, and the light will brighten up the whole area and make it a better play area. I haven’t finished the light box yet, and it deserves it own post, so I will be sharing the finished light in a few weeks. 
Loft Bed for a Star Wars Room
My son’s “new” loft bed looks great in his Star Wars room. You can see how his room used to look with a white crib in my post on his Star Wars Nursery. I like the black bed so much more, plus the loft bed adds a lot more play space, which is really important right now.
He has a shelf for his Star Wars toys.
A shelf for his toy cars. There’s even space for the bucket that holds his Cars 3 Felt Racetrack and roads below the shelf.
In a couple of years when my son has homework to do, he will have the perfect space to get his work done while having a nice view out of his window. For now, it’s a great place to color and play LEGOs. The new under-cabinet lighting will help a lot here. 
A special thanks to the hosts of The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest: Evey of Evey’s Creations, Scottie of Saved by Scottie, Christie of Rizty Parties Inc., Jodi of Glittered Barn Designs, and Jessica of My DIY Envy.