Dual Purpose Dresser

I found this dresser several months ago at Impact thrift store in Hatboro, PA.  The brass handles and its exceptional curve appeal (ha!) are what drew me to this beauty.  When I inspected the dresser, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found -- solid wood, in great condition, the insides of the drawers were clean and spacious and the price was oh-so-right! 



i scored this dresser on sale for $36.  it just doesn't get any better :)



This baby had to be mine all mine.  And speaking of baby, I thought of an idea which justified why the dresser was coming home with me.  I've been searching for a dresser for our office, a.k.a. future baby room, for a long time.  The criteria for the dresser is that it has to work well in our office and also serve double duty for our future plans for the space. 

So, this dresser will not only fulfill my immediate need for storage in the office, it will also serve as a changing table when the time comes. 

Here are some examples of DIY changing tables I found on the internet:  



via Kelly Rae Roberts



via BABY Lifestyles



via Swanky Baby



If you find a dresser for a mere $36 in perfect condition and it happens to satisfy your specific design taste as is, I'd consider you INCREDIBLY LUCKY!  And since I'm NOT one of those people, although scored for a great price, this dresser needed a lot of TLC. 

Here's what I did...

First step was to strip the current paint (several layers actually) off the dresser.  I used Klean-Strip Stripper (shown below).  This is an extremely toxic product so it's important to follow the directions carefully for proper use and disposal.

About five minutes after application, you'll notice the paint begining to curdle.  After waiting about 10 minutes, I used a metal putty knife to scrape the curdled paint from the dresser. 

pretty crazy stuff, huh?  this has to be one of the more toxic products i've used to date.  i performed this step in my garage with the door wide open for plenty of ventilation.

Next, I performed my first step of applying the stripper two more times.  Depending on how many coats of paint your piece of furniture has on it, you may need to apply the stripper more or less. 

this is what the top of my dresser looked like after applying and scraping one coat of the stripper.

this photo shows some of the progress I made while stripping the paint.

Then, once I removed most of the paint from the larger, flatter surfaces it was time to work on removing the paint from the hard to reach areas.  For hard-to-scrape areas, such as the intricate wood work on the dresser's leg shown below, I used an old toothbrush and the head of a pen to scrape the paint off. 

Next up, I sanded all surfaces with a rough sand paper.  Then, I sanded the dresser with a softer sand paper that left the dresser with a nice, smooth-to-the-touch feeling. 

sanded (left) versus unsanded (right)

Finally, I finished the dresser and made it custom to my specific design taste. I painted the outer surfaces (except for the top) with three coats of Minwax PolyShades - Mahogony, left over from my powder room makeover.  This product is great because it has Polyurethane in it, a protective top coat great for furniture, so it saves you a painting step at the end. 

As for the top of the dresser, I painted one coat of Zinsser's top coat, and two coats of high-gloss white.   My inspiration to paint the top white came from this beautiful dresser, which is also a DIY project.

via Young House Love

I wrapped this project up by painting a protective layer of  Polycrylic on the top of the dresser.  And the finale:

close-up of the brass handles

intricate wood work on the dresser's legs

how awesome is this top drawer with the dividers?  i love it.

this dresser is the perfect storage solution i needed

i chose a high-gloss white for the top because i love the modern, sleek look of it.

Spray Painted Mirror

Hello and happy Sunday my friends!  I hope you're having a good weekend.

I eyed up this mirror over the summer at a thrift store and snagged it immediately.  I thought it was so cool and I knew that a simple coat of spray paint would instantly revive this baby.

Let me explain the red paint on the top part of the mirror -- for a moment, I wanted to decorate our office with red accents.  I saw a picture of a room somewhere that had green walls, very similar my office color (Behr Garden Spot), with red accent pieces and it looked really nice.  I used this mirror to test the red and good thing I did because I decided that red wasn't for me, or our office. 

Cha Ching!!!  Check out the price tag. Yup, $15.  Ahhhhh.

As I took the mirror apart to prepare for spray painting, I noticed it said something on the back.  It reads, ".......... June 3, 1966."  Although it looks like it reads "1866" in the picture, it's actually "1966."  I don't think this warrants a visit to Antique Road Show, but how cool!  This mirror is 44 years old!

After one coat of white RUST-OLEUM Gloss spray paint, my 44 year old mirror now looks like this:

A rather nice touch to our office if I don't say so myself. 
BTW - pay no mind to the ugly yellow chair in the corner of this picture.  Hopefully, one of my x-mas gifts will be to have this reupholstered.  Fingers crossed :)

I love the glossy white paint. And my favorite part is the dotted border along the frame.

All said and done, this mirror put me $19 in the hole.  I'm certainly not complaining.

So the next time you're about to throw out - what you think is an old and ugly mirror - think twice before chucking it the curb because a can of glossy spray paint can make a world of difference. 

I LOVE SPRAY PAINTING!!!!

This mirror is partying with the best of them at:

  

 

Long Time No Post

It's been several weeks since I've posted something new.  I like to write about projects I've completed.

My husband told me last week that I have too many "projects" going on at once.  He said, "You need to finish one thing before starting another."  And you know what?  He couldn't be more right.

See, the thing with me is that I get so exicted over DIY projects and as soon as I get a good idea in my head I want to execute it immediately.  To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, the projects I'm currently working on include painting curtains for my guest bedroom, refinishing a credenza, creating a picture collage in my living room, designing our office (which is a hundred little projects in itself) and giving all of the doors in our town house a fresh coat of paint.  Phew!  I know...it's a bit ambitious.  So, since my husband's eye-opening comment, I've prioritized my projects and promised my hubby to finish one thing before starting another.

In the meantime, here's a few pictures of what I've been up to.



I purchased this votive and red candle at a thrift store- all for $1.50.  The red berries are from the tree in my front yard.  This adorable little decoration is so cute on our dining room table.



Rob took this picture of me on Friday.  I was in the midst of organizing my picture collage for our living room wall.  [can you see my blue credenza-gone-wrong on the right?  I know...yuck!]

 

This is one of the curtain panels that I'm painting for the guest bedroom. 

 

I've decided to spray the credenza with a white HI-GLOSS Laminate spray by Valspar.  I painted the first coat this morning.  Just two more coats to go....





Rob and I hung the mirror and picture yesterday. I've had this mirror since I was 14 and it's one of my favorite things that we have. The mirror has been leaning against a wall in our bedroom since we moved in because I wasn't sure where I wanted to hang it. I decided yesterday, with Rob's help, that it would look fabulous in the dining room. I snagged the picture on the wall at HomeGoods yesterday.

 



I also snagged these lovely little shevles at HomeGoods yesterday. I need to decide on something AWESOME to put on the shelves.




This is a picture of our office, which we've since finished painting.  [I normally don't use painters tape but Rob was painting that section so the tape was absolutely necessary.]