On Tuesday I shared with you some changes that we helped my parents make to their bedroom.
Part of those changes include some furniture painting. It’s been awhile since I completed a furniture make-over. I missed it. I find painting furniture therapeutic which is weird because I hate painting. I’m a complicated human being.
First up, the dresser…
My mom purchased it from a co-worker for $25. The dresser was made by a family member of the co-worker. It was in great condition but you can see some knots in the wood. I filled them in with a little Elmer’s wood filler and sanded them smooth. Mom wanted a punch of color so we went with Sherwin Williams Coral Reef. We used their ProClassic Interior Enamel. This was the first time I used this type of paint for furniture and I really like it. It self-leveled and covered well. The knots disappeared!
I wasn’t sure about the knobs at first. Mom loved them. They are growing on me. I would probably replace them with a glass knobs but only because I like to make things difficult. This dresser ended up fitting in well with the cottage theme Mom had in mind.
Next up was the nightstands. I pre-warned Mom that it would be difficult to find a pair of matching nightstands. Finding anything that resembled a nightstand was difficult in middle-of-nowhere Iowa. We did end up with these two nightstands that we were purchased from two different antique stores…
They were close enough in height and similar looking. We went for it. The one on the right had obviously seen some better days but we weren’t scared. A little sanding, primer, and paint and we had these beauties…
I love a good furniture make-over! Especially when I don’t have to pay for it.
Have you painted any furniture lately or do you think painting wood is a crime? What’s your favorite type of paint to use on furniture? On a random note, tell me what you’re reading so Mom and I can stock our nightstands with good reading material!
Linking up to: Primitive and Proper
that dresser is SO fun! love that color!
ReplyDeleteI am a HUGE fan of painting wood - I know some of the men in my life cringe, cry, and turn into man-sized infants when I take to painting the wood! haha I love the coral! And a good book is The Help - I will be reviewing it on my blog next week, but I LOVED it!
ReplyDeleteWow! I love the color combo on the dresser, the knobs are super cute as-well. I like the lamps on the tables!
ReplyDeleteFun dresser! I'm with you on the knobs - did you show her some glass ones? It's kind of hard to decorate for someone who isn't me b/c I want to make all the choices like it IS for me, ha! Looks like you did a fantastic job of bringing in exactly what your parents wanted! =)
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on the piece of furniture and the wood on whether I would paint it or not. Your Mother's pieces turned out great.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE to read too, so I couldn't resist sharing with you and your Mother titles of books that I recently read and really enjoyed. They are: Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls; Sharp Objects and Dark Places, both by Gillian Flynn; State of Wonder and Run, both by Ann Patchett; Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout and White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. I hear great things about Room by Emma Donoghue and The Submission by Amy Waldman (I just started reading it).
Being an (former) Iowan, I like to read authors from Iowa. If you do as well, you may wish to check out Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors, A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (her only book that I've liked) and one of my favorites, What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges (an oldie, but goodie).
I hope you enjoy them!
PS I read about the Iowa State vs. Iowa game - WOW, that must have been an exciting game. I'm a ISU grad, but am still sorry that you're team lost. There are plenty of Iowa grads in my family so, either team counts as a win to me.
I'm taking next week off to do a few projects around the house - I'm going to take on painting furniture for the first time. I'm nervous, but hopeful.
ReplyDeleteThose look awesome! I agree aout the knobs! (And the painting furniture vs painting walls. I am obviously super flexible about design choices and a joy to work with.)
ReplyDeleteAs an Iowa grad, I was appalled that ISU won (and what's with playing your in-state rival so early? Down here in the South they wait until the bitter end of the season...), but as far as reading materials, I just finished The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson & the World's Greatest Royal Mystery, which I thought was excellent, and now I'm reading Neverisms:A quotation Lovers guide to thinkgs you should never do, say, or never forget. Which is just a fun read it when you can kind of book
ReplyDeleteThey came out great. I really love the bold color you guys chose for the dresser.
ReplyDeleteI have no issues with painting over wood. Sometimes wood is ugly.
love the unexpected color choice, keeps things lively!
ReplyDeletealso those lamps are great in that color too!
i think the to paint or not to paint question with wood is purely taste based and varies from piece to piece and person to person. i love refinishing wood with stain and poly to give it new life and bring depth, but i also love the full transformation paint can give!
Love the transformation of all the pieces! From a gal who paints furniture daily, I LOVE chalk paint.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that if the wood color works - keep it, if not update it with paint. It needs to work for you -forget the rules!
Fun dresser color! I hear great things about Annie Sloan paint, but I usually just use Valspar for everything... but I liked Home Depot's selection of paint when I went in there last, so I may make the switch.
ReplyDeleteI've chosen you for Versatile Blogger. See my blog for details.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes yes. Paint it all coral. It looks great!
ReplyDeleteI saw a previous commenter suggested Glass Castle. I LOVED that book!
They came out beautiful!! Love them, they look like brand new items!!! Love the color and the knobs too!! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThese turned out amazing! Today we actually start the process of painting our dresser yellow! Hopefully we have as much success as you did!
ReplyDeleteLOVE those nightstands! How amazing!
ReplyDeleteNice post... I liked your blog and there is lot of inspirations... I have got some ideas form your blog... Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeletewall art ideas
Your blog inspire me a lot..I have got some idea from this blog..
ReplyDelete