These nightstands are- Still Awesome!!!

I have always wanted matching nightstands for our bedroom. I figured if I was going to get them they had to be one cheap and two fit into my car. I came home with these hideous nightstands from the 70's. I picked  them up at a used furniture store for $20 each. I've never refinished furniture before, so my husband thought I was crazy. But he joined in the transformation. Before the weekend was over, they were finished and we had a great time!

Ugly what was I thinking?

I love them and I knew we could do it!

There were a few challenges. Do we keep the doors or ditch them? Another challenge was that  it rained that weekend, so the humidity caused the drying times to double. We ran out of spray paint and had to run back to Lowe's. They didn't have anymore of the color we needed in stock. That lead to a search all over town for one more can of the right color. Grrrr.......Also the tops didn't stain as dark as we wanted. I originally wanted to glaze over the white, but I was over my budget and just left them white. So, as a first project I learned as few things. Patience, patience, and some more patience! Total spent on the stands and supplies was $80 making them $40 each! Not bad considering the ones I had picked out at the furniture store were $250 each. And I wouldn't have been as proud as I am of these. 

Here's what we did-

1. wash with vinegar and water solution to disinfect (so gross someone else's nightstands from the 70's)
2. sand lightly on the bottoms and all the way to the wood on the tops
3. use oil based spray primer on bottom only (wow they already look better)
4. paint bottom (I used spray paint also)
5. stain tops (why is this not getting as dark as I want?)
6. polyurethane tops (stinky!!)
7. let them dry, let them dry, and let them dry some more
8. change hardware

Yeah! We're done!

So, what do you think? Are they still awesome? Leave a comment.

This school desk is- Still Awesome!!!

Remember those old school desk we use to set in? The ones you could put your books in under the seat. Why is it we all have dreaded memories about school days in those desk, but we still think they're cute? Why do we want our children to have one of them?

I'm not sure, but I had this idea to find a antique school desk for my daughters room. Everyone on Craigslist either wanted too much or the deck wasn't "old' enough looking for me. After searching on Craigslist for weeks to no avail. I had to look elsewhere.

I headed out for the trendy antique shop part of town just knowing everything would be priced to high. And what do you know this beauty was setting outside the first shop I stopped at.

Yah, I know what your thinking "beauty?". Yes, beauty. I saw potential. But how much would it be? I had seen worse desk on Craigslist in the $40 range. And I was not about to lay down that much for a before picture. I slowly briskly walked up to the desk trying to hide my excitement. And there it was- a tag saying $5!!! You are kidding me? Only $5? EXCITEMENT ! EXCITEMENT ! SOLD !

So when I got it home here's what I was in for.

Pretty bad, well it got worse. I discovered the desk was covered in some sort of wood layer (sorry i'm not a furniture expert) that was coming off. Yikes, what do I do now?

Please, children do NOT set down!

Okay, so I did the only thing I could think of, scrap it off and get down to the natural wood. Good idea, bad idea? Who knows, not me I'm not a furniture expert like I said. My husband wasn't home at the time so I just found some of his tools and went for it. Like the crowbar? Every woman at sometime in her life should find a reason to use a crowbar! Enough said. 

I headed to Lowe's grabbed a can of metallic paint and found pink paint someone returned that was in the bargain bin. And here's how she turned out.... 

scroll down slowly.....

scroll down slowly.....

drum roll please....

I'm so proud... I'ts only my second furniture redo. Like I said, it was suppose to be for my daughters room. But I must confess, I'm so in love with it that it now sets in the corner of the living room. I can just look at it all day. She has used it so much more than I would have imagined. Mommy is happy, girl is happy, daddy wants to know why I used his crowbar. 

Have you ever refinished or painted an old piece of furniture? If so leave me the link in the comment section below. I'd love to see it. 

So, what do you think? Is the school desk still awesome? Leave a comment. 

What is this blog about?

This blog is about things someone gave away that I think are still awesome. I'll post about things I find at Goodwill, garage sales, thrift stores, and even on the curb!