Curb Alert

So, I was once obsessed with the Nate Berkus show and all the style, decor, and DIY tips that came out of that handsome man's mouth. But I began itching to do EVERYTHING on his show and was wishing I had a house of my own...it didn't help that I became a mother of 3 instead of 2 demanding children. Now, I catch it whenever I can. Anyway, Nate used to have many a guests who transformed their spaces with a lil paint and elbow grease and I always wished I had a piece of furniture I loved enough to fix up, but quite frankly, we bought everything new and it's still holding up pretty well. So when I saw a cute little chest of drawers out on my neighbor's curb for disposal, I got excited. I debated back and fourth whether I wanted to snatch it up. I've never done anything like that and I was a little embarrassed. But one rainy day, I couldn't stand to see the wood get ruined and with no one watching (I hope), I carried it into my garage where it sat for months. In fact, the neighbor recently came over to chit chat as our kids played outside and I'm pretty sure she spotted it considering I don't have much in there. Though she didn't say anything. Haha. Well, I just recently found the time and motivation to get started on it. I didn't know what I wanted. I thought about keeping it a similar cream color and touching up the hardware and design to maintain it's vintage feel - I don't actually know if it is vintage. But instead I came across a silver leaf dresser on Pinterest. I decided to try something similar since I don't have a clue how to silver leaf and don't have the patience to learn how to do that on top of it being my first time refinishing a piece.

So I made my way to the Home Depot (the first of many trips) to look at their paint selection. I picked up a white Paint & Primer In One spray and some metallic glaze from Martha Stewart's collection in Mercury (as was advised by an associate) to get a similar look. I had already fallen in love with a pair of vintage inspired knobs from Urban Outfitters and was designing everything else around them. And lastly, I found 2 handles (also from Martha Stewart's collection at the Home Depot) that went really well with the knobs. I had to make sure the glaze color, which was silver, didn't wash out the silver handles.

Some of the supplies used.

Then I got home and got started. I cleaned out the drawer and "sanded" down parts of it with a wire brush where a few stickers were plastered on. I also took pieces of a lace curtain I picked up at the Goodwill and Mod Podged it to the front of the drawers - another idea off of Pinterest. I then took it out to my back patio and sprayed down each piece separately with the white primer. Once dried, it was time to paint the glaze on. I used a paint brush as well as a sponge brush. It took a couple of coats to cover it completely and even still I was so unhappy with it. I didn't like how obvious the brush strokes were and wished I had used a metallic spray paint instead. It wasn't until everything was put together with all the hardware that I accepted the way it looked. I began to see that the steaks gave it some wear and character and I couldn't wait to take it up to our bedroom. I can't forget to add that I also used self adhesive shelf liners I found on a recent trip to TJ Maxx for inside the drawers adding a little pizazz and preventing any snags.

Before and After pictures

 You can see the imperfect paint strokes in these detailed pictures. But I learned to love them.

As much as I wanted to display it, it didn't go well with the current decor so it had to go into my closet, which was the plan anyway. The piece isn't very large so I'm using it to store my more delicate laundry leaving an extra drawer in my dresser for my clothes. :)

You have to remember that Rome wasn't built in a day. This project wouldn't be done in a day even for the most experienced seeing as it takes quite some time for the paint to dry completely...especially if you are using multiple coats as I did. I should also note that my hubby had to help me plaster the old holes and drill new ones for the door handles as the original ones were made closer together than the new handles I bought. I had chosen all of my hardware very carefully and didn't want to give up the items I chose and therefore we opted for this approach. For a beginner like me, this project was rather time consuming and I couldn't wait for it to be over...especially since I had 3 other "projects" to attend to I will refer to as "the Diva," "Mommy's Bubby" and "Be-bo." But after all the time and work put in, I am pretty pleased with my first project of this kind. I would like to do more in the future. I hope you like it as well! :)

Hope you're having a great Sunday!