How to renovate an old wooden trolley

Ruby Faisal
by Ruby Faisal
This is a really old wooden trolley. I am using it as an end table in my lounge but need to make it look new. I need ideas.
The wood is scratched and seen better days.
  14 answers
  • Alicia Gillentine Carr Alicia Gillentine Carr on Mar 12, 2015
    I would sand and stain to hide the flaws and then wax it.
  • Liliana Wells Liliana Wells on Mar 13, 2015
    There are lots of painting and staining projects on HomeTalk to give you inspiration. Just write "painting furniture" or similar words in the search box to see what other people have done with tables, dressers or other small items. Good luck.
  • Judy Ellison Judy Ellison on Mar 13, 2015
    I hve one to and just not sure paint or sand and stain?
  • Carole Carole on Mar 13, 2015
    This is what I did with one I was given. I sold it after to a professional cake maker who wanted it as a prop to display her cakes on.
  • Suzanne Suzanne on Mar 13, 2015
    Look at "teacarts" or "tea carts" on Pinterest for more ideas.
  • Nancy Nancy on Mar 13, 2015
    I have one of these. I removed the handle and filled holes with wood filler. Then painted it a neutral color I liked. The fun part was putting 1/2 inch tilesinto the recessed top. Gave it a new look! You can use porcelain or glass tiles....whatever you like.
  • Are Are on Mar 13, 2015
    Paint it a bright punchy color to a accent a neutral room; bright glossy, the wow piece in the room
  • Terri Terri on Mar 13, 2015
    I've done several of these. You can either restore the original wooden finish and cover the top shelf with glass or laminated fabric to protect from moisture, or paint the entire piece. If you paint you could use wallpaper/laminated fabric on the shelves to protect and beautify, or stencil, decopage, etc. As many others mentioned, hometalk and pinterest can give you more ideas than you could ever imagine. Good luck!
  • Gay E Gay E on Mar 13, 2015
    I just did the same with old end tables. They were scratched and needed a make over real bad. I sanded them as smooth as I could and then used wipe on Minwax poly clear gloss and they came out beautiful.
  • Me Me on Mar 13, 2015
    How about a different color for each shelf? I see that you have turquoise/aqua already in your room, so that may be one of the choices. And maybe leave all other parts as is. Perhaps, a dusky aqua, white and gray?
  • Debbie Doucet Debbie Doucet on Mar 14, 2015
    there is a line of products called Fornbys for wood refinishing. Easy to use, with beautiful natural results...even an oil for a beautiful rubbed finish. Those scratches.... that is the character of the furniture! work with them.
  • Pamela Golden Pamela Golden on Mar 14, 2015
    When I look at that teacart I see something "happy" painted a glossy sunshine yellow.
  • Duv310660 Duv310660 on Mar 14, 2015
    I'm just in the conceptual stage for my tea trolley... we actually use ours to bring food, drinks or snacks into the living room and save extra trips. Altho I love wood, I've had my fill recently of sanding every nook and cranny (there's a lot on these trolleys), so I am going to paint. After a lot of googling, I decided that the main part of the cart will be a warm neutral and I will add a splash of colour on the top (mine has leaves that fold down) and also on the wheel spokes. Then, since I am a graphic designer and I love typography, I will find some type to transfer onto the tabletop - probably a script face spelling "Time for Tea!" and I will pair that with an oversized ornate spoon graphic. Or teapot. Or something. Basically, I just view examples that other people have done, or search for images and/or type that I really like. Once you've found the thing that you really want to try (it's the thing you woudl buy if you were out shopping and not designing), you're on your way, and the rest of your decisions are just supporting your favourite part!
  • Franciscosalazar46797272 Franciscosalazar46797272 on Mar 24, 2015
    Use each layer as serving treys