Mid Century Dresser Makeover

Hey Everyone!

Regular posting should resume shortly! I'm all moved in, not settled but at least everything is in here. It may be weeks until all my clothes are off the floor but hey, slow and steady, right? Meanwhile, new apartment means a lot of new projects! So I should have some pretty cool stuff to share soon :)

First up- this mid century modern dresser. I picked the handsome man up from Craigslist months ago with my new apartment in mind. I normally don't go for this style, but lately I've been having an affair with mid century design. Did I mention it was only $35, in perfect condition? Yeah. Baller status.

I liked the original color but decided I wanted to go just a little darker. The top was laminate (sad face) but everything else was either solid wood or real wood veneer (read: stainable).

I tested one to see the difference. Then I finally was able to get outside and do the rest of the drawers.

Because the top was laminate, I decided to paint the outside. I was originally going to go with white...but for some reason I can't recall I decided to go with a medium gray.

Yes... I was watching cash cab. I need to go on that show! I was killin' it!

It just wouldn't be a complete post without an appearance by Liam.

This corner of the apartment is looking a little bare at the moment. But after I finish a couple projects I'm working on it should start to come together.

 

So how do you guys feel about mid century pieces? I'm usually more of a traditional girl but I'm beginning to stray ;)

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

PS:

Antique Chairs Pt. 2

Ok, so it's been an incredibly long time since I first introduced you to these chairs here. Well I finally got around to finishing them up (which I could not have done without the help of this wonderful, insanely talented woman), but I took so many pictures that I'm splitting it up into two posts. So here is part 2 of my pair of antique chair makeover:

Disclaimer: Lots of Liam pictures in this post. I can't help it! He loves being in the spot light!

With the help of my wonderful boyfriend (and kitty), we began tearing these guys apart.

There was a lot of this:

Which resulted in this mess:

After the crumbly-foam-pocolypse we were left with this:

We popped the backs out and saved them for future reference.

Liam found a place to lay and watch. It's not like he was in the way or anything!

I sanded off the peeling finish so I could paint.

Then I prepared my first coat. I knew I wanted to distress the frames so I mixed a gray color to be the base coat.

I distressed the base coat a little then painted over it with a soft black from Martha Stewart. After distressing I gave them each a coat of wax. You can sort of see the difference: the one in the back was waxed and the front wasn't.

Here are some close-ups of the final finish.

Love love love!

Stay tuned for the finished chairs! Hopefully I can get to the post this week! I'm still settling into my new apartment and need to get some good pictures! Then I'll be able to cross a few things off of Sincerely's 100 List!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

PS:

A Craigslist Rocking Chair

Moving in t-minus 3 days. Ahhh crazyness. I have so much packing/cleaning to do. And there have been some complications with the couch situation. Frustration!

In the mean time...

I picked this number up off Craigslist for $12. I loved that it was mostly stripped. You could tell this poor girl had been quite a few different colors in her day. Yellow, blue, white, green.

I only had to do minimal sanding to get her ready to paint. I skipped the primer because I knew I'd be doing some heavy distressing. I used a Martha Stewart pre-mixed sample in Ballet Slipper. A few bucks and I had more than enough.

It had this weird little seat. It was too small and uncomfortable to sit on. My dad cut a piece of plywood for me to use as a new, more proportionate seat.

The color is a super soft pink. I'm going through my pink phase late in life and needed to paint something pink. Sometimes I wish I would have liked girlier things when I was little, instead of Power Rangers and four wheelers. But then I would have missed out on pretending to be Blue Ranger (he was the smartest) while riding my fourweeler... 

Anyway!

I used drop cloth to cover the  seat. I had picked out some other printed fabrics but kept going back to the plain drop cloth. I wanted the heavy distressing to take center stage.

I used a super fine sand paper to distress. I've found that doing it this way takes longer but gives a more natural worn look. 

TIP: Let your paint cure for a couple days. It will distress more naturally without peeling as much.

Another TIP: Distress an area, paint over it and distress it again. This makes it look legit haha.

Sorry for so many pictures! I just love all the detail of this piece. And all the pink-ness.

Anyone else having an affair with pink lately?

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

PS: