31 May 2014

Garbage To Gorgeous for FREE!!

Goodness, where do I start? Well, First of all, Let me wish you all, albeit late, A Happy Easter!...Happy Mother's Day!...Hopes that you had a good and safe Memorial Day weekend! Yes, I know, I have been away for a little bit, but that didn't stop me from creating, cooking DIY'ing (probably not a real word, huh?) Either way, I am back at it again and sincerely hope that you have hung in there with me!  Ok, let's get to it!

Did you see the title? Garbage to Gorgeous for FREE? That's a wonderful fact of this wonderful little treasure that has now become part of my home. 


Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, depends how you look at it, this beautiful little dresser was found on my very own street side next to the garbage cans, ON garbage pick up morning! I know, I couldn't believe it either!! In all fairness, it looked nothing like this. So, let me show you how it got this way, after I snuck down in my robe and saved from the garbage truck!

What I originally found was this!


I know!! Completely different right? All the same solid wood, tattered, stabbed many times (I think they used the top of the poor little thing as a butcher's block) and to top it off some kids had gone to town on it with their large marker pens! 

Still, what a cute little dresser.
What I usually find at the GW or other thrift store is in good enough shape that chalk paint will cover any imperfections. Not this little one. So, I got out my sandpaper and went to town on the really bad parts and cleaned up the rest.


Finally, I was ready to paint!! I was so excited to get to this point I can't even tell you.  I have done alot of work with Behr's version of AS Chalk Paint. This time, I was thinking I really wanted this piece to have that authentically antique feel and look. So, I added a little leftover "peanut butter paint" I had on hand, to tint the white into an older creamier white. I was very pleased with the results. If you are trying this, yourself, I used approximately 1 tablespoon of the colored paint to 8 ounces of chalk paint. 

The drawers out, I began! Side note here:  You are going to notice a little variation in the colors on these images. It's all the same, just the difference of day or night, when the photo was taken. I, rarely, like to use the flash for the images I share with you.
With the drawers and the front done, I slid them back in for convenience. (And to see how it was coming along)  Progress + Incentive is a wonderful thing and quickly turns into a motivator to keep on going!!  

   
Once the painting was done, it was time to get my finer grade of sandpaper and start "distressing" the dresser, being mindful of where normal where and tear would occur, I lightly sanded the corners and heavily used spots. Because this wood was so blonde, after sanding the stain and varnish off, I decided to rub in some wonderful Old English Dark wood oil, for a more authentically aged piece. I took a picture of it here, with just the top drawer done, so you could really see the difference.


By this point, I couldn't wait to see it all done, so I worked on it for another hour or so and ended up with this beautiful little treasure!! I'm so happy with the way it turned out! What do you think? 


Do you look on the curbs for treasures to make over? I highly recommend it. It is the ultimate in recycling! Plus, no need to spend money, if someone else is, literally, throwing it away!  I hope you enjoyed my project as much as I did!! Many more to come. 

Thanks so much for coming along my journey with me today! Many Blessings to you and yours!
~Theresa 
I'll be sharing this fun little find with:

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