Just ANOTHER makeover!!!

A few weeks ago I promised to share some of these makeovers….

I shared the details of this one….

here….

It sold in a couple of days!

This chest was a mess…

It is solid wood and pretty sturdy. A few of the drawer tracks needed some minor repairs but all in all it was a decent piece…just super ick.

Again, I have to have my “wood fix.” Since the drawer fronts were solid wood, I decided to use gel stain on them.

First I removed all the old hardware and gave the entire piece a good cleaning with a mild detergent.

There is no need to remove the old finish when using gel stain…maybe a light sanding to remove any boogers and dull the shine on the existing finish.

I ONLY use General Finishes brand gel stain. I applied three LIGHT coats with an athletic sock over a rubber glove, allowing each coat to dry overnight. The first coat will look like crud, the second will look a tad better, the third coat looks awesome. I sprayed on polycrylic to seal them. General Finishes has a wipe-on poly and it is pretty awesome…but I had polycrylic on hand so that is what I used.

I sprayed the “cabinet” with Kilz, sand, tack and latex paint (KSTP). I ALWAYS use an additive with paints I am going to roll and brush…Flotroel for latex.

New hardware…and PRESTO….

Another piece saved from the clutches of ugly and dated!
I share these makeovers to remind you….IT’S NOT HARD to take dated, ugly furniture and turn it into something you will be proud to have in your home.

Life is too short to live with ugly furniture!

Entry cabinet/console/buffet makeover...

Occasionally I will buy something at an auction for resale I THINK I won't need to do anything to! Example...this nifty "primitive" cabinet/console/buffet...

It could be used for many things...hence the cabinet-slash-console-slash-buffet.

It would make a darling entry table. Or a tv console. Or even a small dining buffet.

The wood is really rustic and rough...nifty iron hardware.

But alas, no one shared my vision and it sat in my space at 410 Vintage for MONTHS!

Last week I did a little reset...technical word in the world of retail for "move stuff around." Since this little cabinet/console/buffet had been hanging out for quite some time I decided to bring it home and give it a little facelift.

Darker gel stain on the top and a grey/blue chalk paint and distress on the base.

I think it is darling and HOPEFULLY someone else will agree! 

Another example of how easy it is to change things up a bit with just a little effort!

I blame it all on "Fixer Upper" ...

As I mentioned here, Matt is buying a house so I have been on the hunt for inexpensive pieces he will need. I often remind my children that it took decades for me to accumulate the pieces I have in my own home...so patience!

But I find myself being terribly impatient when it comes to someone else's house. I blame it on "Fixer Upper." A couple walks into their home after 1 hour and it is perfectly decorated and styled and staged...certainly I can do that in 2 months.

HA!!!! 

Maybe if he had an endless budget...but he doesn't so I have to focus on the essentials with a few "froo-froos" thrown in for good measure.

Saturday I scored a "free" sectional couch. It will be an awesome piece if an upholstery cleaner can get all the nastiness and dog hair off of it...for now it is in the storage shed along with patio furniture, garden tools, kitchen stuff I have picked up and of course his "college day" collection.

I do have a garage full of "projects" and a few of those pieces will work beautifully in his new house...IF it will ever stop raining and I can get them all repaired and painted!!! For now it is just a collection of "junk" that is stressing my OCD tendencies.

Actually I pulled a lot of it out into the driveway Monday, went for supplies, and got home just in time to drag it all back into the garage before it got soaked. Curses. 

I worked Monday and Tuesday building and repairing and cleaning...making wood tops, gluing busted drawers, puttying splintered veneer and misplaced hardware holes. All the stuff you can do when it is raining and you can't drag everything out and start assembly line painting.

One piece is a neat little three drawer chest I scored while emptying out one of my apartments....

It certainly had it's issues. Laminate top, busted drawers, splintered veneer, and an AWEFUL finish! 

Number one rule...if it is broke fix it PROPERLY! No sense in "making it pretty" if the veneer is going to continue to peel or the drawers don't function.

I removed all the "loose" veneer, puttied and sanded. I repaired all the drawers. And because I think this would make an awesome bedside table in Matt's new house, I replaced the top with a stained wood top....

I chalk painted and distressed the cabinet with one of the sample pots I bought when I was looking for a wall color for my bedroom. I kilzed and painted the drawer fronts with another sample! Nothing goes to waste!

And of course new hardware.

Again, I think it would make an awesome bedside table but I have a few other little projects up my sleeve Matt may like better. Nice thing about having a room in a vintage market...if he doesn't love it, someone else will!