Get new furniture without getting new furniture

My wife and mother-in-law are doing some painting in our new house, in addition to a few other things.  I have the color coordination sense of a doorknob but my wife more than makes up for this.  She's very creative, and loves to make things pretty.

She's able to do wonders re-purposing items by dressing them up, turning them from tacky (in our opinion) to attractive.  A couple of examples:

• I had a coffee table that had a veneer top and bamboo legs.  It's gone through two design changes.  First, the legs were painted silver with a spray paint that was suited for these kinds of surfaces.  The silver matched our matte silver table lamps.  Then she covered the top with a black leather-like vinyl to match our furniture upholstery.  Recently, for “look #2” she repainted the legs green to match the walls in our basement, as well as recovering the top with a greener vinyl.  The table fits right in, looks great, and we didn't have to buy it again!
• We were given a china cabinet from a couple in church shortly after we got married.  It's also gone through two design changes.  First, she painted it white to match our bright dining room in our old house.  It also was a veneer finish, so she had to use a special primer to get the paint to stick.  Now, today, it's a dark brown.  Totally different look, same piece of furniture!

The point is that is doesn't take much to dress up an existing piece of furniture.  Stenciling, painting, and fabric can transform a piece so that it fits into an entirely different setting.  It's a great way to add complementary pieces to your home: mix things up a bit, and change the way your furniture looks!