Trash to Treasure Dresser

This is the story of our son's dresser.  Once upon a time, when Justin and I got married we had no furniture so many wonderful people gave us junk pieces that they were going to throw away.  My Dad even reclaimed our sofa from the side of the road (it was actually really nice and you would have never known it was once trash).  Thinking back, I think the only furniture items we purchased for our first apartment was a recliner and a mattress - not too bad.  One of the many pieces we received was a dresser - it was half painted, dinged up and had ugly old handles.  I remember being very excited to redo this dresser and I worked very hard and gave it a lovely new coat of white paint (and spray painted handles).  Over the years the dresser served us well and I used it as somewhat of a crafting outlet as I re-painted it several times.  Somehow, some way the dresser made it's way back to it's original state - half painted and dinged with ugly handles.  How did we neglect it so?  In our previous house we did not have a dresser for Silas, we were using an antique cabinet we had but we knew we wanted one for him when we moved.  I thought about several options - all of which included a purchase until I remembered our old junky dresser.  I was so excited because this meant no money would have to be spent, I was not excited however over the condition the dresser was in.  Last weekend I finally got around to showing this dresser some love and it is ready to make it's blog debut, looking all shiny and new - woohoo! (I just can't help myself, I must rhyme when I get the chance).  So here are my steps for the updated dresser - I must add that everything I used to remodel this dresser was something I already had from a previous project so this was a totally free redo!

Before Shot

1.  First step was to putty in all the unwanted holes (I'm a fast learner)

2.  After the putty was dry (actually it never dried bc I Justin bought some kind of weird putty, but it worked all the same) It was sanded and cleaned to remove all of the dustiness.
3.  Next I just used a roller to paint the body and drawers of the dresser and a smaller brush to paint over the smaller details - I did two coats altogether

Yes, I will confess that I never use a drop cloth while painting - I know, I'm living on the wild side.

4.  I decided to add some color so I used some left over paint from the wall color and applied it with a edging brush and I also used a little paint from the gallon I bought for the bathroom that I haven't gotten to yet - this time I used a small sponge brush since I was painting a small area.  I just free-handed the painting, no tape.

5.  After all of the painting was finished I still felt like it needed a bit more so I pulled out some letters I had painted before he was born for his room and hot glued those babies on.

6.  The last thing was the glass knobs that I had stolen from another dresser that we had previously gotten rid of - so free, free, free

After Shot

I really love this little dresser now and it is so much fun giving junky pieces new life and purpose.  For some reason this trash to treasure remake reminds me of the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15 (it's a stretch but bare with me) -    
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”


You see, there is rejoicing over us when we find our salvation in God, when we discover his grace and forgiveness and repent.  Just like the tiny coin that was lost and found was such a treasure to the woman, we are precious treasures to be found in Christ.  I want to leave you with one of my favorite song lyrics from a song by Andrew Peterson and I pray that everyone today will know the joy that is found in Christ when we are made into a new creation - His treasure. 

So I find that all this time
Beneath the surface, I could shine
Like all the gold a king and queen could measure
See, even just a penny is a treasure

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Bye, Bye Master Cave

We knew immediately when first touring this house that we would be painting the paneling in the master bedroom as soon as possible.  The paneling that existed in this bedroom was the cheapo fake kind - not real wood.  The thought of sleeping in a dungeon cave just didn't sound too appealing to us, but maybe for some it would - to each their own.  Our master bedroom - if you can really call it that is small to begin with, so the paneling wasn't helping the overall smallness factor.  Instead, it was making the room feel like it was shrinking in on you.  After buying the house we quickly got to work on painting our master bedroom and to my surprise painting paneling wasn't that different from painting regular walls, it was quite simple.  So, if you are thinking of painting your paneling don't fret, it's not hard!  And, you will be totally blown away at how much bigger and brighter your room feels after.  I actually feel like the painted paneling gives the room a beach cottage type feel and I love the beach so that is a plus for me (I promise -no beachy themed decor will pop up here.)  Here are the steps we followed for painting our paneling:

Step 1:  Fill in all those holes!  (We learned this the hard way from previous painting experiences)  Holes = ugly finished walls.  It's harder to see holes in paneling so do a thorough check and just fill them in with a putty and sand them up when dry.  After sanding you need to wash off the dust so your walls are nice a clean and ready for paint.

Step 2:  Prime them up.  We used an oil based primer, and I think you need it for paneling, so you can be extra sure you are covering up all the darkness and any stains that might exist.  Don't worry if it looks a little streaky or see-through, one coat will do the trick.

Step 3:  Get your paint rollers out and watch that cave disappear.  One issue with paneling are the grooves, so you will need a brush handy to fill in any spots that the roller doesn't get.  After you let your first coat of paint dry, give it a second - this is when it starts looking really good.  Just a note, we used Olympic no VOC paint and it worked beautifully.

Step 4:  High five, let out a sigh or a laugh, lay on the floor where your bed will be and admire you new walls (that's what my dear husband did) or whatever it is you do when you finish a project and enjoy it.  You're done!  It's that easy.

Now, on to the picture portion of the post - the before and afters.  Disclaimer - we are still in the early stages of decorating - aka we have no decor going on in this room.  We are however working on that so we will share new things as they come along.  But, in the meantime we are quite pleased with a new fresh wall color.

Before

After

This is the other side of the room (which also was our storage station while we were working on the kitchen)

And After (Yes that is a shell and it doesn't count as beachy themed decor, just saying)

 So the next pictures are part of a design dilemma we will be facing soon - it's called the pull down attic is in our bedroom and it is equipped with a chain pull.  Nice isn't it?  We have lots of ceiling friends here.

So what about you?  Have any paneled rooms you are itching to paint?  Do you possess awesomely wicked painting skills and would like to share them here with us?  Comment and share!

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Cabinet Bling - The Square Method

So yesterday you got a little sneak peek here on some projects we've been working on around the house. One of the projects I have been most excited about was finally finishing our cabinet revamp and adding the bling - the hardware.   This has been a work in progress as Justin has added two or three more cabinet knobs a day when he has a few minutes here and there.  That's just how we roll.  Side note, our blinds are going up the same way - a new day, a new blind, I guess by Friday we should have them all up in our kitchen and living room.  Back to the knobs - Let me give you a reminder of what the cabinet hardware looked like before -

Country Chic?

This is an example of how wonky our cabinets are, take a gander at the hinges on the left - I think they were overlapping.  Also, for some reason we have two small doors here on the end while every other door is wide and single.  Someone was trying to be a bit too creative I say.

First off, it was a grand adventure trying to find hinges that would fit appropriately, let's just say it included 4 trips to Lowe's where I ended up buying something, returning it and ended up buying it again mixed in with a few frustrating moments that all came together with a hinge that we do really love.  Some things I learned, bring a sample of your old hinge with you to the store, not all hinges are created equal - some are inset, some are overlay and finally old cabinets are totally off center and crooked.  The next big search was trying to decide what to replace the cabinet handles with- since handles are not made in this size anymore, of course.  We ended up choosing a lovely knob I found at Lowe's for a mere $.87 a pop and a different style drawer pull that adds a little more interest I think.  After Justin painstakingly re-hung our uneven jerry-rigged cabinet doors we made an executive decision that we would eventually be replacing all of these cabinets down the road.  They really are just a wanna be carpenter's dream and our current nightmare.  After we were satisfied with the cabinet door alignment we waited several weeks before adding the final touches with the knobs and pulls.  This is when I walk in to the kitchen and find Justin already on the job, I ask him "How are you making sure all of these knobs are straight?" (fair question since I knew how hard it was getting the cabinets straight).  His answer was - "The square method".  At first thought I assumed he meant a square tool, like one of these 

but no, he meant a square - like a piece of paper square.  Here is Justin's square method guide to hanging cabinets knobs straight:

1. Determine where you think the knobs would look the best
2. Create your paper square (Justin used an index card) by placing your knob in the place you would like it and measuring (starting from the top of the cabinet) the distance from how far over from the top of the cabinet and how far down from the side of the cabinet  - this will give you your two measurements you need for your square 
3. After you have your square, line up the square flush with the inside of the cabinet to mark the spot on each square corner 
4.  Drill your hole and screw in your new knob



We ended up not painting the inside of our cabinets since we will eventually be replacing them  - don't judge.

There you have, the square method of hanging cabinet knobs, we not only diy our projects, we diy our methods.  Justin did a wonderful job, and I love admiring our cabinet bling - even though we are still a few knobs short.  Some final pics of the kitchen cabinets, for now - 

I would say they are a far cry from how they used to look.  If you want to see some more pics of our cabinets before, I have put up a House Tour Page for your viewing enjoyment or you can check out my original post here.  So what about you? Have any diy methods you have created lately that worked?  Comment and Share!

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