A Lemon Of A Cabinet Turns Into Gorgeous "Geraldine" Furniture Redo

Do not buy furniture.  No furniture needed.  No room for furniture.  Furniture not selling well.  Stay away from furniture.  Furniture is on the DO NOT BUY LIST.  Why, oh why, don't I listen to that inner voice?

So then last weekend I came home with this monstrosity.  I paid $50 for it early in the morning while it was barely daylight, and went back to load it late afternoon.  With the clear light of day I saw: 

the glass doors weren't shutting snugly, the two bottom drawer fronts were warped and unusable, the top had a piece of fiberboard nailed to it for whatever reason; the bottom legs had been cut off (so the cabinet looks more like a hutch top than a cabinet);

and a section of wood had been torn off the left side.  So....not only was this a large piece of furniture, but basically it was a lemon.  I beat myself up for an appropriate number of days while I let it lay dormant in the back of my van.  Then I took action.

Day 1:  I took the shelves out to powerwash them at the carwash (after peeling off the faux wood shelf liners.)  I replaced the screws on the door hinges, and then the doors actually closed.  I took out the offensive drawers and threw them away.


I selected a piece of wood to attach over the gaping openings (choosing this piece of wood made me commit to painting the entire cabinet.).  I decided not to remove the offensive fiberboard from the top since I was painting it (who knows what hornets nest that would have uncovered).  That was enough mosquito bites and mental anguish for one day.

Day 2:  I used a paint stir stick (which I whacked to size with a paper cutter), plastic wood, and a few screws to "repair" (I use the word loosely) damage on the side enough to be able to paint it. Should have done a "how not to" video here, HA.

Cut and attached the piece of wood over top of the drawer openings.  Painted the fiberboard top with an oil primer (so no chance of bleeding through the paint.)

 Lastly I custom mixed the two shades of green that I had decided to layer on the exterior.  I added a plaster of paris mix to these to make them into a chalk paint that would adhere well to the cabinet.  (You can find a "recipe" for this anywhere on the internet.)

Day 3:  Sanded down the "plastic wood" so that it was smooth.  Painted four layers of paint:  Gold (dry brushed it on, only hitting "high" areas.  Very dark green (same as gold, except hitting all "low" areas). Dark green all over cabinet.  Medium green all over cabinet.

Day 4:  Sanding to distress cabinet.  Of course my elderly orbital sander died in the middle of this.  So I had to spend the morning at a hardware store.  More sanding to distress.  Some hand sanding, which I hate.

Then I got out the Minwax Early American stain and did a quick wipe on - wipe off over the whole piece.  It aged it a bit, and I liked the overall color better with the stain. In above photos I had used the stain on the right door and bottom, you can see the big difference.

 The lemon turned out pretty well, I am naming her "Geraldine". 

(She ended up getting LOADS of attention at the Platte City Antiques Show.)

Bought for $50 (with buyers regret) and sold for $130.

Dressing Table -- Furniture Redo "GLADYS"

I picked up this little dressing table last November, hoping to stash enough furniture away for the long winter ahead.  She was extremely sad -- one leg completely off, drawer full of unspeakable gross stuff, worn and scratched.

I had one nice November day to work on TWO pieces of furniture.  So, I had to work fast.

After doing surgery on her leg, I painted the whole piece a light coat of sunny gold.  When it was dry (it dried quickly because the coat was so light) I painted the whole thing with a light coat of white paint.  This also dried quickly.  Then I distressed it to let some of the gold first coat and dark brown original surface peek through.

I painted the drawer interior two coats of the sunny gold color.  It could have probably used a third coat, but the day was waning. 

I gave her two very fancy drop pulls, she deserved some nice jewelry after what she had been through.  I named her Gladys after a character in a book I'm reading.

Upcycled Hodge Podge Desk Furniture Redo -- "ERIKA"

Meet Erika, an uncycled hodge podge of a desk that I purchased at the Fur & Feathers Flea Market (click here to view that post). 

The upcycled part of this desk happened long before I met her.  I think there are bits and pieces of at least three pieces of furniture incorporated in to her.  (We have to remember, this generation didn't invent upcycling -- we just slapped a name on it.)

Erika had some different types and shades of wood, so the two light coats of white chalk paint helped alleviate some of the disjointed feel.  It also really highlighted the incised areas of decoration.  I also did a light distressing, and liked how well that turned out.

"Francis" Buffet Furniture Redo

When I attended last Saturday's auction (click  HERE  for post on auction) I repeatedly told myself I should not buy furniture.  Do NOT buy furniture.  DO NOT BUY FURNITURE.

Then this buffet came up for sale.  Poor timing, at the very end of the auction.  The van was already packed.  But my husband managed to put it up on top of the van.  And off the Beverly Hillbillies went once again.

I squirreled it away in the shed for the winter, like a big nut.  A "to do" project for next spring.  Then I received a phone call on Sunday saying that I had sold an unheard-of three pieces of furniture from my booth.  So, the big nut was schlepped out of the shed after less than 24 hours.

I got a great deal on it because the dark brown paint (sorry, did not get a photo of it in this condition) disguised the nice lines of the piece.  Thankfully, it was a nice solid piece that only needed cosmetic help.  I painted it a light avocado green on the exterior as the "base" color (first two photos) (as always, the paint is all chalk paint so that I didn't have to do much prep work).  I really wanted to leave the interior the dark brown, just to get the piece done faster...but I couldn't make myself do it.  The interior was painted a darker avo green.

Then I painted a light coat of a creamy white paint on top of the base light green.  That way I could do some sanding and have a good amount of the green peeking through, with a bit of the dark brown bottom layer.  And did I mention that I added the decorative backsplash all by myself?  I was lucky to have it stashed away for just such an occasion.

So, on Monday all I had left to do was the hardware (the original was SO ugly).  I had a couple nice handles, but they were slightly smaller than the originals.  So I had to drill new holes, and I bought cheapo ordinary washers to hide the holes on the outside.  The washers were too shiny for the brushed nickel handles so I gave the handles, knobs and washers a spray of hammered nickel.  Really am liking the results.

I named her Francis, because she looks a little old-fashioned and hard working.

Make*A*Mess*Monday

A quick summation of junking last weekend:  Friday I went to a church sale.  Saturday morning my husband and I went to the weekly Saturday morning "Tiny Town Auction" -- check out one of my posts on the Tiny Town Auction here.  Sunday after church we drove to an estate auction at a different little town.  Check my next post for the ebay worthy items that I picked up.

Others needed a little TLC and my Mondays are notorious for sanding, sawing and slopping paint around (after I painted this ladder celery green I literally slopped white paint on it). This past Monday morning was pretty hot and humid (plus I have a major poison ivy outbreak) so here is a quick tip to beat the heat (or at least tame it):
-- Before I went outside I soaked my cotton T-shirt in cold water, squeezed out the excess and put it on.  It wasn't pretty, but it did the job.  I also had a bottle handy to spray more water on as needed. --

Frames from the church sale, which included a couple nice big ones.  I am in the habit of painting all of my frames white. 

The little cloche holders I had purchased from the church sale and were originally green.  I spraypainted them, the previously white hat, and the wooden box all flat black in preparation for Halloween.

Little ladder that I purchased at the Sunday auction.  I watered down the celery green DIY chalk paint (with about 2/3 of it being water) to give the ladder some sheer coverage.  The birdcage I spraypainted flat black also in preparation for Halloween.

When I was done with the celery green chalk paint I actually painted the jar that I had stored the paint in, on the outside with the residual paint from my paintbrush.  It ended up kind of cute!  Check out my furniture redo post later this week to see my last celery green project.

Some of these guys were the little Disney dudes that hung out with Snow White.  Some were gnomes.  All were ceramic and came from the Sunday afternoon auction.  I painted over the (eeegad) purples and pinks -- that way they were dressed in with greens and red.  And all were all transformed into Christmas Elves.

Did I mention I painted them at 4 am because I couldn't

sleep due to getting a steroid shot for my poison ivy?

These guys looked so blissfully restful.

I pulled an all-nighter and still feel like I could

run a marathon.

Chalk Paint Monday -- Coffee Table Redo

Monday we had a break in the weather.  We've been in a cycle of rain or threat of rain for weeks now.  So time to get out the chalk paint and go to town (actually just go to the back patio.)  I had purchased around 20 frames at the auction I attended Saturday (click here to check out last weekend's vintage finds).

All needed painting -- I used two shades of DIY ivory (one was a Behr mistint called "Rain Forest Dew" - love the name).

I also bought a small coffee table at the auction -- which also was a perfect chalk paint candidate. 

It fit my criteria for furniture:

cheap * well made * lightweight * vintage * character

I love how the paint made the decoration pop.

 

And I dug out some terra cotta pots and metal planters that needed a swipe.  Of course I couldn't resist the impulse to do some stamping on them, sadly no picts.
 

After I used it to dry the frames,

the 6' ladder also got dry brushed.

Once you make a mess, you might as well go whole-hog.

(Do they say that outside of the Midwest?)

2012 Archives #3 -- Gabrielle Dresser Furniture Redo

This also was one of the first pieces that I documented, even though I've been rehabbing furniture for years.  And this little empire beauty (I do so love empire dressers) is pivotal because it was my first chalk painted piece!  I actually used a DIY recipe, it turned out great and I was a convert.

A little distressing to the edges.

 

I was a good girl back then and waxed the heck

out of the finished pieces.

A successful resurrection --

I called her "Gabrielle".

Christmas Suitcases

Here are a couple of projects that went into my antique booth at the RUsty Chandelier:

This suitcase was something my husband had picked up at a garage sale on his way to work.  It was a sad faded blue, so I didn't feel at all bad about slapping a coat of paint on it.  (You have to admire how chalk paint sticks to any surface.)

It also gave me a chance to use a vintage metal

"Happy New Year" stencil I picked up.

 

A "stacked" vintage Christmas tree in my antique booth.

I started the "season" with three metal skate "suitcases",

but by the time I thought to make this "Christmas Tree" I was down to only one.

My True Love Gave To Me: SEVEN OLD WINDOWS

My husband is a great one for roadside rescues.  I think it has something to do with his penny-pinching ways.  A couple weeks ago he managed to get SEVEN of these in his little car.  They were kind of big and plain so I considered pricing them and throwing them in my outside booth "as is".  But they did have great green chippy paint.. I thought about making one into a chalkboard...so you might as well do an assembly line.

They were very dirty and they had to be cleaned inside the house because of the cold weather.   Which means a lot of the dirt ended up on my floor, which I also had to clean. 

Each window received an old metal handle and two other rusty adornments on the top.  I faithfully screwed each little thing on, because I HATE it when glued-on trinkets fall off.

Each window received three coats of chalkboard spraypaint (after I painted the first one with chalkboard paint and I realized it would take forever for 7x3 to dry).  This meant I had to tape them off, which was a pain.  But not as much of a pain as dashing out in 20 degree temps to spraypaint each window three times.

I was determined not to purchase anything for this project, so not all of the hangers match.  So some received chains, some rusty wire. 

Primed all with chalk.  Decided to just create three with chalkboard Christmas artwork.  That way I can wait until after the holidays to sell the others.

Roadside Rescue -- Drop Back & Punt PART II

I won't go into all that happened on Part One of the rescue.  Let's just say it was not pretty.  Part Two would probably be considered the punting segment of this project. 

This is the dresser in it's original condition. 

Ironically, the original finish would have looked just fine with the burlap drawers.

 

But now, I am stuck with a hammered pewter finish. 

Face-palm.

 

I painted on two coats of English Gray Chick chalkpaint (which actually looks more tan than gray).

I tried a little distressing, but ditched that idea because it seemed to bring out some yellowish hues.

The burlap was very hard to trim once the mod podge stuff was dry.  But the drawers fit closely to each other, so it had to be pretty precise.  I also had several sessions of supergluing different areas.

 

I spent ANOTHER $7.95 on more spraypaint for the handles -- this time wanting them to be more brown.  So altogether I spent about $30 and a lot of time and frustration on this "free" dresser.

 

Sunday Highway Sale Finds - A WOW Chandelier found on 10.26.14

Daydreaming driving home from church...nap or pick up the house?  Is that someone setting up a sale by the highway?  Yes, you should definitely make a U turn. 

First thing we saw was a very cute little dining table.  Turns out that it FOLDS OUT to double the size.  How much for the table and chairs? $20 for it and the two chairs.  OK, we'll take that.  So much for boycotting buying furniture until I sell some pieces.

Three very cute salt and pepper shaker sets.  I am way too impulsive when it comes to shakers, and make way too little profit from them.  But I have been very good at controlling those impulses this year.  Sir, we'll take these three sets.  Can I leave these here until I'm done looking around?

Hiding on the ground in an ugly trash bag -- a huge chandelier. Old enough to have a cloth covered electrical cord. The nicest one that has ever come my way.   And how much for this chandelier?  He says not much, he just really just wants someone to take it away.  I am your girl.  I failed to take "before" picts.  Gold finish with dirt, loads of vintage dead lady bugs, discoloration and rust.  (Not the cool kind of rust.)  A little cleaning.  Some DIY chalk paint.  A little white spray paint to cover chain and center glass parts. Spray poly to protect painted areas.  Cleaning each crystal prism individually.  Reassemble.  Add plug.  Add lights.  Add WOW.

It was a sparkling finale to the 2014 junking season.