Vintage Dresser Makeover

Meet Chloe...

Isn't she magnificent?  

I love her curvy shape...and her little short stubby, curvy legs...and the wheels...swoon!

A place in time...

An Heirloom Classic...Re-vamped!

First of all I want to thank Courtney at Between U and Me for having me as a Guest Blogger!  If you haven't seen her stuff you need too like NOW!  I struggled with an idea on what I should post about today.  After much speculation, I decided it was time to dive into some serious Chalk Painting!   I was over-the-top a bit nervous with this project as it is a family heirloom.

We’ve had this cabinet for years.  It has sat un-noticed, stuck in a dark corner forever filled with our DVDs.  It was functional.  That’s about all I could say about it.  While I did like the looks of it, I wasn’t in love with it.  I did love the little glass knob on the door; however.  And the beadboard on the back and I REALLY loved the shape of it.  But more than looks, I loved the history of this piece.  You see, it belonged to Mr. AKM’s grandmother.  If memory serves correct, his grandfather actually made it.  I love the way it smells of old wood…not musty and gross…but rather more of history, time and use.  Sometimes I would just run my hand over the top to feel the indentations and wonder how they got there.  The glass on the front cracked during a move across the country.  I went to have it replaced but they could not match the glass.  The glass is the original glass from the early 1900’s.  It’s not smooth like glass is now.  You can see small ripples or waves in it.  I love that about it so I opted to not replace it but instead stuck a piece of tape to hold it together.  I am hoping to find someone that can repair the glass as opposed to replacing it someday. 

So why paint it?  Well, there is this wall in my dining room that has been BEGGING for something to fill it.  I’ve looked all over the place for a small table or hutch but nothing seemed to fill the “void”.  When one day it hit me…I mean like literally HIT me.  Like I opened the cabinet door and it fell over and hit me kinda thing.  Not cool.  But while I was picking up the spilled DVDs I realized what AWESOME potential this had!  It’s like it called out to me…Paint me!  Paint me!  Who was I to deny it it’s true self? So, I did just that, I painted it!

So let’s get on with the pictures shall we…because we all know that is why you are really here!  It’s ok…I can handle the truth.  Here it is.  The piece de resistance (say it with a French accent).  Go ahead, try it again…piece de resistance.

Isn't it GOR-geous?  I am seriously in love with this piece now.  I mean like over-THA-top in LOVE!  I know the lighting is a bit off...Daylight savings has seriously messed with my photo ops!  

How did I get to this most awesome piece of awesome-ness you ask?  Let me give you the dets.  It all started like this....

Sand...sand...sand...then vacuum all the saw dust off...then sand some more and vacuum again.  Not a fun process I must admit but totally worth the efforts.  I chose to only sand the top since I was using Chalk Paint on the base.  No sanding necessary for that!  LOVE ME SOME CHALK PAINT!

Once the sanding/vacuuming was complete I wiped the entire piece down with a tack cloth to remove all the remaining dust.  I then applied two coats of Minwax Dark Walnut stain to the top only.  I wanted to preserve the original look of the cabinet by doing this. Then I moved on to painting the cabinet itself.  I used Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint in Old White.  I rolled on the 1st coat using a sponge roller then brushed on the second.  This is the finished look before sanding/distressing it then after.

WOW!  Are you loving this as much as I am?  After all the distressing I applied a coat of Annie Sloans Clear Wax with a cheese cloth then buffed.  That was it!  So totally easy!  Mr. AKM decided he wanted the doors to stay the original color as well since we were leaving the top and the shelves that way.  I was a little on the fence with that idea until he put them on...

And then some photo love for you...

Its like it was meant to be...the perfect cabinet and the perfect spot! 

And one last look at the before and after.  LOVE HER!

So tell me...what do you think?  Do you prefer the before or the after? 

Linking up to these parties

Finding Fabulous

Chic on a Shoestring

Shabby Nest

Whipper Berry

Debbie Doos

The Girl Creative

Skip to My Lou

Craft O Maniac

Blue Cricket Design

Organization...

Central Station

We all share the same problem of trying to keep our life, our kids, husbands, dogs, neighbors, fish, school, work, etc. organized and scheduled out to some degree.  Ok, that is a bit excessive, but you all know what I mean!  And if you don’t struggle with this, please come to my house and show me how to overcome this!  I need you like yesterday!  As a mom and wife we are always expected to be the Mom Extraordinaire…aka SUPER MOM!  We are expected to know when, where and how everything is projected to happen.  I can pretty much tell you exactly how everyone else’s life is planned to the second but I have no clue what I am doing from one moment to the next.  LOL!  My day changes based on everyone else’s needs/wants!  With that in mind, I have come up with my own “Central Station”. 

This is the keeper of all things related to our daily life’s…calendars, kids’ progress reports, school projects, dr. appointments, reminders, etc.  If it can have a push pin or a laundry clip attached to it…it can go on the Central Station board!

Each person has their own square to post in.  How cool is that!  Now I don’t have to worry about losing someone’s papers.  Woohoo!  Easy breezy stuff! 

So how did I do it you ask?  Well, it started with this.

The people that owned our house prior to us put these little frames into the kitchen window to hide the cross beams.  They looked really cool in there; however, I like to open my windows and I could not with these in place, so out they came.  Then that sat in my attic for 3 years just waiting to be used again.  I knew at some point I would find a use for them…and now I have!  While I LOVED the turquoise color, it did not go well in my kitchen so I decided to change it up a bit.

In came Annie Sloan’s Old White.  At first it was a bit to “white” for my liking so I sanded it to bring out some of the turquoise color and the wood grain.  Still to bright for me…so I rubbed on some of my favorite stain – Minwax Dark Walnut. 

Squeal!  LOVE IT!   I love that I still get to enjoy some of the turquoise color peeking through don't you?!

Then came adding the cork board to the back...but WAIT!  That just wasn't going to do it enough justice.  It needed MORE!  I had some chicken wire leftover from my jewelry display that I made.  You can find that here if you haven't already read about it :)  So I had Mr. AKM staple that to the back for me like so...

I'm swooning here!  Then came the cork board...I only added one sheet but I wish I would've double layered it for extra thickness. (Note to self...next time double layer cork board). Got that?  CHECK!

Once the chicken wire and cork board were added, it was time to put some sort of backing on it to support it all.  I was thinking of a 1/4" sheet of plywood but all we had was 3/4".  Since I was trying to avoid spending any extra money on this...the 3/4" went on! 

It ain't pretty and it's thicker that I wanted it to be but hey, its going up against the wall and NO ONE will ever see it!  So there!  Dont' judge me it on its looks...but on its functionality instead.  On a score of 1 - 10...I give it a 9.5 :)  Not bad if you ask me!

So after all our efforts...here is the end result

 I love it!  It is exactly what I was going for.  And to make sure that each of us knows whose block is whose...I painted letters to correspond to the 1st letter of our names. 

This area isn't quite finished yet, but it's off to a good start! 

So what do you think?  Think you could do this?  Is this something you would want for your "Central Station"? 

You'll find this partying at the following places...go join the funt!
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
The DIY Showoff
Skip to My Lou
The Girl Creative
Savvy Southern Style
Blue Cricket Design
Seven Thirty Three