Old Dresser, New Life

Last fall, when my Dad moved, he downsized.  For the most part he donated any of the furniture he either couldn't fit into the new place or didn't really want anymore, keeping only the nice stuff.  In September he was about to donate my brother's old hand me down bedroom dresser but thankfully I ran an interception just in the nick of time.  For I had had a flash of inspiration you see.   

Here's a picture of what I started with.  Well, it had white knobs to start too but I forgot to take a photo of it before I removed the darn things.  Anyway, you get the idea.  Not terrible, but not exactly anything to write home about either.  I'm sure both of my parents thought I'd lost it when I'd told them I was going to invest any amount of time, energy, resources, or money into this old dresser.  What can I say? I know potential when I see it.

I've been talking about redoing my living room for years - years! - now.  I am proud to say I'm finally, albeit slowly, making progress.  And I knew this dresser was going to be part of the magic.  One of the things I'm lacking in my apartment is storage.  Granted, I have a couple of decent closets, but...well, I also seem to have a lot of things that need to fit in those closets.  My point is, any chance I get to invent more storage for myself is a truly welcome thing.

So, I had this thought.  Why not use a dresser - with drawers aka bonus storage - for my TV stand in my living room?  Add to that the fact that I was really ready to move away from the cranberry and tan color scheme in the room, simply because I'd been living with cranberry and tan for years on end in apartment after apartment, and I think we'd both agree a revamped dresser couldn't possibly be a bad decision.

Here's what I've had as my TV stand in several apartments since 2004:

I have nothing against this little red table, for it has served me well - and is now serving a friend quite well - over the years.  I just needed a change, little table.  Plus, those boxes.  Great pattern or not, I was just so tired of looking at boxes every time I sat on my couch.

Step one of this revamp, after I'd convinced two friends to help me haul the thing up three flights of stairs was to sand it.  I used a super fine sander, just enough so I knew new coats of paint would stick.  I like to think my middle school shop teacher would be proud.

Next, I painted it.  With what I thought was the right color.  Turns out, it wasn't.  I took this photo after only applying one coat, but even then I already knew.  Too white, too boring, too bad I dropped $15 on a quart of paint I'll never use again. (Anyone need some Meadow Light?)   

I'll be honest. This whole dresser redo took months longer than it should have.  Couple together the fact that it was around the holi-daze when I started this whole ordeal and the fact that I was really quite crestfallen over my poor paint color choice and maybe you'll understand why I just got around to finishing the thing this past weekend.  

So I'll leave you in suspense no longer.  Here she is!  I imagine an interior decorator would tell me I picked a hell of a weird TV stand, but I don't care.  I have a vision for the rest of the room (ahem, a work still in progress) and I am SURE this little pop of aqua is going to look awesome with the rest of the items I'm slowly deciding upon and purchasing. 

(Please ignore my beat up floors.  A rug will go there eventually.  You'll see.)

I had to go back to Home Depot to get a better paint color, after my too white debacle.  I was a touch nervous looking at the aqua shade on the paint chip, but in the end, I'm thrilled I went one color block lower than I'd originally anticipated.  It's aqua without being AQUA, you know what I mean?  Grays and yellows are the other colors I'm working with and I envision the whole room coming together quite nicely in the end.  Stay tuned for that.  At the rate I'm going you'll only need to wait another 300 years.  No sweat.

So.  Details.  I bought the glass knobs for a steal at a store I love but can rarely afford anything in, Anthropologie.  I wandered in there after Christmas looking for deals, found these knobs on sale, and snatched them up before anyone else could walk in and discover my treasure.  Originally marked at $8 a pop, I got them for $3.  Which, if you're doing the math means what would have cost me $64 ended up costing a mere $24. 

In the end, I estimate I probably spent just over $50 total on this dresser.  In addition to the hardware, I had to buy the sand paper, the (wrong) can of paint, and then another (right) can of paint - though I learned with my second paint purchase that one of those $5 "test" jars was totally enough to paint the thing...so that was a win.   Nothing thrills me more than a bargain, gang. Nothing.

I hope you all like it as much as I do. This was only the second piece of furniture I've ever re-done on my own, in my life, and I have to say, once I knew I was on the right track with the color and shook off that initial defeated feeling, I really enjoyed it.  In fact, I've got a tiny little bit of paint left.  And my brushes are at the ready. Anybody got some furniture I should get my hands on?