The Little White Stand

My intention was to take the drawers out of these stands, paint them, decorate them, then use them for display. But after the drawers were painted and I saw how pretty they were, I decided to go ahead and update the stands as well.  

Before I show you the "before" and "during" I will show you this picture of the "after".

I will say this was a really fun project because the start of this project was really bad and I knew it could be really good.

These stands were originally part of an Art Deco vanity, most likely with a low shelf and a large round mirror in between them.

These were right inside my storage shed. I can't hardly get in it any more, there is just too much "stuff". So instead of going out and spending money on more "stuff" I plan to work on some of the "stuff" I already have.

Here you can see where the stands were once connected to the vanity. Also, one caster is missing. I see wood putty. I think I started working on these a long time ago. I probably decided they needed too much work and gave up on them.

Before I painted the drawers, I removed the felt liner that was in them. Then I cleaned and sanded them. The veneer was bad on the fronts so I removed it. Then more sanding, then paint. I will have to fill a few holes in the drawer fronts with wood putty.

These are the original lion's head drawer pulls. I have always loved these but I've decided I might not even use them. I might go to Hobby Lobby and buy some real pretty ones.

At the bottom of this side the veneer was wrinkled. So I glued it and added weights to hold it down, then let it dry overnight. The plastic bag keeps the glue from sticking to the weights. When I removed the weights I noticed the veneer was still a little bit puckered so I laid a towel along the edge and ironed it. This melted the glue and made the veneer lay flat. Even though I am going for a shabby chic look, I still want it to be the best that I can make it.

The veneer on the top has to completely come off. It is really bad.

This is an easy process with our Wagner heat gun. After I heat up the gun, I just hold the nozzle close to the veneer and melt the glue underneath. Then, while it is still hot, I lift it off with a putty knife.

I borrowed Mr. Shabby for the photo shoot.

At this point we really had to make sure we were doing it right because our supervisor, Lucy, was checking our progress.

After the veneer was removed, I had to fill some places with wood putty. I let it dry overnight then sanded the entire top smooth.

Remember now, the finished piece will be pretty.

It turned out pretty good. I would be lost without my little Makita hand sander. Next, I will prime it.    

On the side we added a thin strip of wood then filled with wood putty. The thin strip of wood was actually a paint stirrer cut to fit. It was the perfect thickness that we needed. Then more wood putty, more dry time, then more sanding. Whew! I see why I gave up on this piece before.

       

Found one!! I got lucky and found an old caster. It is even scruffy and matches perfectly.

At this point, it is pretty much all repaired and primed. Now, I'm going to tell you something that I shouldn't admit. I have a large, sturdy work bench that rolls around, where ever I want it to go. So why am I working on this twittered up little table? Because my dream work bench is loaded down with "stuff". hehe    

I probably shouldn't have painted the inside of the drawers pink. It sort of narrows the buying field. Oh well. I found a shade of pink that I really love. It looks like raspberry.

Here it is after I painted it with DIY chalk paint. I just took some of the satin latex paint and added about 1/3 as much Plaster of Paris. I'm not sure what my next step will be. I might add a brown glaze and I might distress it. I haven't made up my mind yet. But I'm sure I will stick with the Heirloom white for the outside and the raspberry pink on the inside of the drawers.

I am only partly finished with the first stand. If I add glaze or distress it I will wait until the second one is done then finish both of them at the same time.

The nearest Hobby Lobby is about an hour away from where I live so I will wait on the knobs for now. The ones shown in the photos are borrowed.

At this point, I am happy with the progress.  

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From Pretty Ugly To Pretty Pretty

I bought this old, dirty radio cabinet awhile back thinking I would give it an updated look. I sort of let it lay around for awhile waiting for some inspiration. Well, a few days ago I set up at The Fancy Flea, a vintage home and garden market, in Lakeland, Florida and as usual, I  came home full of energy and inspiration.

This piture shows the finished piece.
In the next picture you will see the "before".




At this point, I had cleaned the underneath and primed the base using black DIY chalk paint.
To make the chalk paint you just add Plaster of Paris to your paint with a little bit of water. I experiment until I get the consistency I want.
It looks like some kids had played hangman on the front of it.

Right away I could see this piece had potential.
Even though it was beat up pretty bad, it was sturdy and I like the way the doors swing open all the way around the sides.

This is the first time I ever primed an entire piece black.
My intention was to prime black, finish with white, then distress letting some of the black show through.
During the project I changed my mind on the color.



Nothing ever goes as planned. I intended to paint the insides then have Mr. Shabby For Sure add the new back.
I came to work one morning and he proudly showed me he had added the new back.
It made the paint job a little harder but I never said anything.

When I got to this part I changed my mind on the color.
After I painted the inside white, something was bleeding through. I spritzed the spots with Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint and loved the color immediately.

Here it is after I added Gliddens eggshell paint + primer.
I took the cap from the Rustoleum spray can and had it color matched at Lowe's.
Then I made a glaze using watered down burnt umber paint.
I experimented with the proportions until I got the color I wanted.
After I glazed it I distressed it using 80 grit sandpaper.

This is what it looked like when I added the glaze.
I would add the glaze then quickly wipe it off.
If it dried out while I was wiping it off I just gave it a swipe with a damp rag.

I love how it turned out.
I know it is clean inside and out and it is ready to use.
My plan was to paint the hardware but the original color of the handles turned out to be perfect.  

I love the color combination using heirloom white paint and burnt umber glaze.
This paint job looks naturally old.

The black primer turned out to be unnecessary.
I didn't do a heavy distress and none of the black ever showed through.

Here are the products I used: Glidden eggshell Heirloom White paint + primer. (I was only going to buy a quart but decided to buy a gallon. It's a lot cheaper in the long run). I bought the black paint at Walmart. The Rustoleum I bought at Home Depot. The Folk Art burnt umber I bought at Walmart, too.
80 grit sandpaper.
I finished the job with 2 coats of Johnson past wax. I've had it for a long time and forget where I bought it.




Sometimes people see my painted furniture and ask me why I would ruin a perfectly good piece of furniture by painting it
I'm sure you've all heard it, too.
I'm pretty sure if I hadn't "rescued" this piece it would have ended up in the landfill.
I worked on this piece everyday for a week, allowing each application to dry overnight.
It was a lot of work but I couldn't be happier with the end results.

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