Karin - Designs By Karin

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Karin - Designs By Karin

My name is Karin and I love breathing NEW life into OLD furniture pieces! I source out pieces that are ready for landfill and make them beautiful again!

I’m also a merchant for Melange paint and Zibra paintbrushes!

11/02/2026

I love a great Before & After!

These nightstands were well made, solid pieces but had definitely seen better days (and some really bad paint jobs!) so I got to work on them and stripped them right down before refinishing them using Burlap (by ) with some of their new Honey Wood gel stain to highlight the pretty legs 🥰

What do you think?! 🤩

11/01/2026

The details on this piece make me swoon 🤩

The original glass is still intact, the cabriole style legs are curvy and sexy, the apron is perfectly scalloped and has the cutest little detailed carving on the front…but my favourite is the antique brass push button hardware on the door front—it’s solid yet delicate, it’s engraved and ornate yet simply and it’s stunningly timeless and beautiful! ✨🤩

I’m such a sucker for these things…I love the imagery that comes into my mind when I think back of how things may have looked when it’s first owner brought this piece into their home…I get nostalgic over the memories that aren’t even my own (but would’ve loved to have been there to see them all unfold) 🥰

Maybe I’m the only one?! Or maybe I’m not alone!? Please feel free to share with me either way! ❤️

10/31/2026

Sometimes, pieces don’t need to be refinished. Sometimes, they just need to be given some love so that their original beauty can shine through! ✨
That was totally the case with this stunning, solid wood, antique display cabinet—with this piece, I wanted the beauty of the wood grain to speak for itself!
It is a beautiful piece with timeless charm and lovely traditional detailing that would work perfectly in a living room, dining room or bedroom if used to display collectibles, glassware or books or China. It could also be styled beautifully in a bathroom to showcase rolled towels, soaps, decorative bottles or bath accessories! 🤩
Here are a few things that make this piece special;
✨ Circa 1890-1915, it’s a true antique!
✨ Victorian/Edwardian revival
✨ Solid wood
✨ Rich mahogany finish
✨ Elegant Cabriole style legs
✨ Decorative carved fretwork
✨ Hinged glass front door
✨ Original glass & hardware still intact
✨ Beautiful interior shelving space
✨ Serpentine shaped lower apron
✨ Decorative carving on lower apron

Each piece from Designs By Karin is thoughtfully refinished with care and attention to detail, giving quality furniture a beautiful new life

Please DM for purchase details or for more information — local delivery may be available for a small additional fee. 🚗💨

Custom/Commission work also available. If you have a piece of your own you’d like to have refinished (or if you’d like me to source out an unfinished piece for you), I’d be happy to help! 🏡♥️

Thanks for your support of a Canadian small, local business! 🇨🇦

Karin
Karin - Designs By Karin

As always, used products from;

10/30/2026

Not all pieces need to be fully refinished…sometimes some wood conditioner or a “feed and wax” type product is all that’s needed to re-invigorate the piece and make it look like new again! ✨
Do you agree? 🤗
This one will be set up for photos soon and will be listed in the next day or two—keep your eyes on my feed (or DM now to claim before it hits FBMP if you’d like to purchase) 😉

10/29/2026

Designs By Karin—Furniture Refinishing🎨

If you live in the Okanagan and would like to learn IN PERSON how to refinish furniture so you can transform your own pieces, I can help! 🤗

Whether it’s via an online chat, through a written brochure added to your online order, in a group class (available in my shop or in your own home by booking in advance) or through an up close and personal one-on-one lesson with me here in my own workshop, the possibilities are endless!

In any situation, you’ll be introduced to Melange—it’s a superior quality, user friendly all-in-one artisan mineral paint designed especially for furniture refinishing! With ease, you’ll be able to paint your piece that you can proudly display in your own home 🏡❤️

For more information, please email Karin at [email protected]

10/29/2026

Hi! 👋

I’m Karin, the owner of

It’s just me, myself and I over here refinishing—I’d love to have someone do all the prep work for me LOL but at this point I’m the one and only 😆

If you swipe 👉🏻, you’ll learn a little bit more about me and what I do—I’d love to hear a little more about you and what you do too if you’d like to share in the comments! I’d also love to hear what else you’d like from me so feel free to share that as well 😉

I know a lot of you have been here for a long time so I just wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU—I appreciate your loyalty and support! 🥰
And for anyone who is new here, thank you too! I hope you’ll find my content to be of value and I hope you’ll enjoy what you see! 😊

I’ve had my custom work on hold for about 6-8 weeks or so (while I worked on refinishing my sons house to prep it for sale) but I’m super excited to be opening my schedule back up for custom work! Please contact me any time if you’d like a free quote!

I have also been trying to build my inventory back up…there are a few finished pieces already available and there will surely be lots more newly refinished pieces coming soon

Thanks again to all of you for your support and for being here! It means the world to me! 🫶

10/24/2026

If you’re looking for a guaranteed way to have clean lines, always remember to do the following;
-apply painter’s tape to your area you are planning to paint
-seal the tape line (this step is critical!)
-you conceal by using either a clear bonding primer or a clear topcoat (I’ve even heard water works!)
-apply your paint lightly and wait for it to dry
-then apply another coat if necessary
Have you ever done this before? If so, what do you use to seal your tape lines?

10/19/2026

Here we have Burlap by paired with Honeywood stain — the two colours I chose for refinishing my new bedroom set ✨🤩✨
The first photo is not my bedroom — my bedroom isn’t finished yet but is going to be done in a very similar colour scheme/design
The second and third photos show a close up view of the pieces so you can see the details of the colour and the last two photos show the bedside tables in my own bedroom so you get a true vision of what I’m working with 😋
I loved working with this colour—the coverage was amazing and it paired so nicely with the new stain for a natural, warm, earthy look! 🤩✨

Mélange Paints

10/19/2026

Who wants to see the full set?!? 🤩🤩

10/14/2026

I didn’t need the seven drawer long dresser in my bedroom space so I decided to list my set. I’m refinishing a new set. That will have two bedside tables plus a tall boy for a much better use of space 🤗

Address

Oshawa, ON

Website

http://www.designsbykarin.com/

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