Well hello! It's been a while! With work and refinishing projects (and trying to fit a work out in), it's been really crazy! I feel that it's time to update on why I've been MIA! I wanted to hold off on showing you what I've been working on because nothing has been staged to look pretty. But I realize that if I wait until I stage my refinished projects this blog post wouldn't happen until probably next year because I'm slow and get easily distracted. I'll upload pictures once everything gets staged!
So here we go! I found this cute little dresser for $15 at Goodwill last spring and had been using it at Peppertree (my old Williamsburg apartment) in the guest room. It went great in the guest room because I had a "sweet, victorian" thing going on due to some white iron day beds I had. The 2nd room was great because my parents/guest could have their privacy and visit...something I miss in the new loft. Anyways, I'll stop living in the past :P It's mostly wood, and was is pretty good shape. I had to fix a few places with nail glue, but nothing serious. When I moved to my city apartment I wanted to keep it because it was a good, sturdy piece, but the floral hardware and white didn't go with the decor. So, after about 10 hours of labor, I turned it into this cute little dresser!
I hand-sanded the entire piece, which, I have learned, will never do again. I promptly went out and bought an electric sander for $60 at Lowes. I also completed this redo in my apartment, which has no outdoor area, and is a bit small to be redoing furniture in! And the polyurethane spray coat...let's just say I may have lost a few brain cells. I used Victorian (Antique?) Pewter by Olympic to do the grey, and a paint sample for $3 at Lowes was enough for the entire job. I believe I did about 2 coats and a few touch-ups. Although I used painter's tape to make off the white area, some of the grey color leaked through. I painted the drawers with a brush, but used a small cabinet and door specific roller for the rest. I kept the original hardware on the top drawer, but got new pulls for less than $1 each for the bottom drawers. I'm really pleased with the outcome! And with the price of the dresser, paint and supplies, I got this for about $30!
My next project was to redo Adam's piece of crap lovely little wine rack he somehow obtained from his former place of employment. This rack sat in the bowels of a hotel for a few decades (I'm assuming) and he brought it into our old apartment while I was away and I let it stay without further examination of the little staples, tape, nail holes, splinters rustic details. Here it is, all decoared at Christmas time at Peppertree!
When we moved, I decided it didn't go with the contemporary decor, and would get an overhaul when I had the time. This past weekend, I went to my parent's house (thanks Mom and Dad for having an awesome garage for me to do all my projects!) with my new electric sander and got to work.
I didn't realize how difficult it would be to sand and paint all the little nooks and that there were a lot of staples, nail holes, tape, etc. These were on all the sides, in addition to other nail holes, tape, and staples I had to remove.
Also, while sanding, the varnish smelled terrible. Like grandparents musty attic or something...yuck! Here it is post sanding/nail holes filled with wood filler:
And here's the completed project! Paint color is Phantom Mist by Olympic. Sprayed with a polyurethane coat after the paint dried. Excuse the poor quality cell phone picture, as I forgot to take an "After" with a camera...
