If you have a room in your house in need of new furniture but don’t have the budget to support a shopping spree, consider refurbishing what you already own.

Not only will this be a budget-friendly option, it will also allow for the utmost creativity and originality when it comes to personalizing your pieces. Refurbishing can help modernize older items, taking them from worn and shabby state to fresh and current.

A Los Angeles furniture repair specialist could be vital in helping give your favorite pieces new life. Sign in to see which of the 900 furniture repair companies in LA have been highly rated by Angie's List members. You will also have access to ratings and reviews describing recent services, such as the one by Angie's List member Edith Parker, who recently hired highly rated Finisher's Touch in Santa Monica, Calif.

Parker says the company "retrieved an ugly oak table we bought at a store closing in Culver City."

"[The repair specialist] stripped it and required us to bring a wood sample in the desired color. Our color required him to very carefully gently bleach the oak without leaving the whitish tone often seen in bleached oak," she says.

The end result, Parker says, was "fantastic."

When thinking of completely transforming any piece of furniture, consider these vital refurbishing steps:

1. Sanding is vital in removing old, chipped paint and smoothing rough edges that are commonly found on older furniture. Start by lightly sanding all of the edges of the furniture, especially those where paint has fallen loose. This process will make stripping the paint much easier. After you have smoothed the furniture to the desired texture, apply paint remover to the wood.
2. Applying paint remover is a vital step that must not be ignored. The paint remover acts as somewhat of an "anti-adhesive," breaking down the chemical bonds in the paint. This allows a fresh coat of paint or stain to hold at its maximum efficiency.
3. After applying the paint remover and allowing the furniture ample time to dry, it is safe to then apply a fresh coat of paint or stain to the wood. Simply take a paint brush and spread the product evenly throughout the piece of furniture until it is at the desired consistency.
4. In the case of using stain, it is best to apply a protective sealant to the furniture after the stain has completely dried. This will protect the furniture from scratching and maintain a longer lasting end result.