Many college students like myself are beginning their transition from living in a student housing apartment to a much more adult-friendly complex. Living in a student housing apartment definitely has its perks for your first few years of college, but living in an apartment complex that doesn't require you to have 2+ roommates makes your last few years of college even better. For me, I moved to a student housing apartment for my first two years at Florida State. However, now that I'm in my last year, it's definitely time to move to a complex that could potentially be my home post-graduation.

Since my new apartment is unfurnished, I needed to consider my options. I could either buy all new furniture or take the furniture I have from back home and try to recreate them in a new way. My boyfriend and I really hit the jackpot with having furniture that would easily be refinished. Here is what I learned during my first experience with refinishing furniture:

1. The Transformation

One of the most rewarding parts of the refinishing process was seeing the transformation during and after it was complete. For example, take the dining room table from my parent's house that we refinished. We took a sander and completely sanded the top and the base to get rid of the finish that was on it already. By sanding it, we broke it down to its original form, and then we stained it to give it the natural look we were going for.

2. Refinishing is hard work, so patience is key.

Since I am someone who has little to no experience with refinishing furniture, I had to step back for the first part while I learned the basics. I had never worked with a sander or anything like that, so I definitely had to get a quick lesson. Once I understood what was happening, I realized I had to have a lot of patience if I was going to work efficiently. Refinishing furniture is hard work, so having patience and knowing that it is all a process was key to our success.

3. Saving Money

One of the greatest perks of refinishing furniture rather than buying them brand new is that is definitely saves you money. Consider the end tables we refinished. We got the tables for about $40 each, which was a great deal. We refinished them and they look like brand new end tables.

4. It's a great learning experience.

Definitely the main takeaway from my experience with refinishing my furniture for my new apartment was the entire learning experience that came with it. I had never done anything like this before, so it was really unique and different for me. I really felt a sense of accomplishment when it was all said and done, and I would definitely recommend refinishing rather than buying them brand new.

Take a look at the pieces we refinished!

Before:

After:

Before:

After: