Newest Project

So... about three weeks ago, a friend led me to a blog about refinishing old crappy furniture.  I searched the blog for days while on vacation and was determined to find something I could try the process on.  About a week ago, I stopped in at Goodwill and found a crappy old nightstand that clearly no body wanted.  It had been marked down at Goodwill and there was still a garage sale sticker on it as well from the previous owners.  I pushed it to the front and had an employee help me get it into my car.  Despite the fact that it was old, ugly, and ruined... it is SOLID wood, so quite heavy.  I picked up this number for $4.99... I figured, worst case scenario... I make it uglier and return it to Goodwill in the end.  Here are before photos:

It has two drawers... I had just already taped on of them off when I took the photos.

The top was especially bad... red paint splatters and totally scratched up.

So, in this blog... the lady talks about not really doing any sanding.  I love this philosophy.... I HATE SANDING!  But I did sand the top down just a bit... It was in horrible shape.   The day I really wanted to get started on the project, it was raining... SO... because I can't wait to do anything... I taped drop cloths all around my front porch and did the priming there.  I used KILZ primer... no sanding... and it worked like a dream.  Two days later... after it stopped raining and I was able to track down the right color spray paint... I took it out back and sprayed the heck out of it this lovely green color.  I used Krylon paint... the blog suggests that you use the standard Krylon, but I used some latex version because it was the only green I liked.  It wasn't the best paint (because it's better for you and the environment actually), but it did work in the end.  After the green, I took it inside and did a glazing technique on it.  I have never done this before, but it was indeed easy (as promised on the blog) and it turned out STUNNING!  Here are some after photos:

What do you think?

Worth the $4.99 price tag and the paint costs for sure.

Looks good... and the cats like it too... good outdoor viewing.

Now I need to find some good handles for the drawers... I am thinking something like this:

 or

My problem has been being able to find the right size... I am keeping my eyes open and can't wait to finish off the project.  

Moral of the story:  I LOVE this new trick... if anyone needs/wants a new end table or little piece of furniture to add some character to any room I would totally give this a try... or if you don't want to try... I'd be happy to do it for you... for a fee that is.  :)

Happy recycling... ~Erin