Trash or Treasure Special Edition ~ Darling Chest Revamp

Happy Tuesday y'all!  My sweet sister Janie just closed on a new house and she's already been hoarding thrifts like a champ.  I taught her well.  You don't get to vote on this one, it's a keeper for sure.

Take it away Janie!

Thrift store and garage sale perusing has been a past time of my Mom's and sister Lauren’s for as long as I can remember.  All of my childhood furniture was a repainted version of something that was my Mom’s when she was little, or a used piece she picked up somewhere.  I literally do not remember us ever buying a new piece of furniture until we moved to a different house when I was about 12 and my mom bought a new couch and coffee table.  I really thought we had hit the big time!  But everything else growing up was a combination of reupholstered wingback chairs that belonged to my grandmother, a 100 year old baby grand piano family heirloom, tables, buffets, dining sets, lamps, all passed down from generations before me. 

So now that I am purchasing a house of my own for my little family, my first instinct is not to head to the nearest furniture store, it is to use/reuse what I have inherited and hit up my local goodwill! 

For my first project, I am planning the entryway of my future house and I knew I wanted some kind of chest instead of a console or something similar.  I wanted something interesting to greet anyone who walks in the front door, something lovely, and something useful, that I can put things in and display some things I love.  So when I spotted this adorable little Dorothy Draper knock off in my local goodwill for $14 (!!) I had to scoop it up.  It was in pretty sad shape, but that would not deter me.

First order of business was to replace the top, since it was this flimsy piece of I don’t know what that I knew wouldn’t serve the purpose I needed it for which is to hold nice things on top.  I can’t have a sagging dresser in my entryway!  So my husband and I stopped at Lowe’s with the top of the dresser in tow and bought a slab of wood that measured the same width. 

                         

The Husband got to work with his electric saw ( I’m terrified of that thing ) and cut the board to size and installed it on top of the dresser.  Then we got to work removing the hardware and drawers, and securing any loose pieces with a hammer and some nails. 

Next step was to clean it.  I just used some cleaning wipes and cleaned it from top to bottom.  Next I got ready to prime it with Zinsser’s Cover Stain primer.  This primer will stick to any surface and leave it ready to be painted and absorb the new color.

  

(Ed. Note: Though she appears to be a little girl, Janie is actually a grown adult with 2 children.  She'll be carded the whole of her life.)

                                   

After priming it, it just needed a light sanding with a medium grit sanding wedge and it was ready to paint.  I chose a bold color because I know I am using a neutral wall color.  I love bold accent pieces and I love gold trim on anything!  At this point I’d like to stop and thank my sister Lauren for always saying that we should decorate our homes with things we love without worrying about anything else. (Ed. Note: AWW! I helped.)  I love bold colors…so that gave me the confidence to go for it.  J So I painted the entire piece this gorgeous aqua blue (Valspar’s “Filoli Garden Pool”).  I also used an additive called Penetrol that eliminates brush strokes and allows for smoother painting.  The gold designs on the drawer were spray painted a metallic gold. 

                              

(Ed. Note: She didn't address this, but we discussed the fact that this was somewhat of a misstep.  Live and learn and then paint the accent after the piece is painted to maked life a little easier.  Here's a great tip from Little Green Notebook~ Krylon's Gold Leaf Pen!)

So after a couple of hours of drying and adding a second coat where needed, and a few more hours of drying, my piece was ready for a few layers of  protective coating.  This is to just protect the piece from scratching, etc. 

While the protective coat dried, I spray painted the hardware with the same metallic gold I used for the drawers.  

(Ed. Note: Caffeine FREE Diet Coke?  I feel like I don't know you at all.)

                                    

The hardware went back on and voila!  My new entryway piece that I absolutely love. 

Isn’t she gorgeous!  LOVE.  

Here is the cost breakdown:

Dresser:  $14

Wood for top:  $7

Gold spray paint:  Already had (a can runs around $4 and will last for many small projects)

Zinsser Primer:  Already had (a quart runs about $5 and a gallon runs about $16, you can use it on many, many projects)

Quart of Paint:  $14 

Total cost $40

Considering I already had some of the supplies that I’ve used on other projects, this was a great and inexpensive makeover. I’m really grateful to my mom and my sister for showing me my whole life how fun and special it is to make an old piece of furniture really yours by sprucing it up your way and, my favorite part, spending little cash.

Of course I totally agree!  Thanks for sharing Janie!  Baylor and I are scooting up to Virginia this weekend for a visit, so I'm going to force Janie to style this bad boy up to share with you all.

She deserves to be linked up:

"I'm going to have peanuts & sprite on the plane.  No, TWO peanuts!  I can have yours."