Thrift Shop Finds

So, in addition that wonderful little stool I re-covered, and the table (yet to be revealed), part of my thrift shop weekend was finally finding a dresser. Yes, since the end of August I have literally been living out of suitcases, save for the things that did fit in the tiny two closets. So finding a dresser (and being on my furniture makeover kick) that was cheap and re-doable was just my thing. America's Thrift Stores, $42.19 later, I owned this guy!


Not bad for $42!

Sorry for the poor quality photo, camera phones only do so well. So, for those of you that know  me well enough, you know I drive a Civic. So, how on earth praytell did I get this thing home without knowing too many folks in Athens? I did what any normal person would, of course! I set off to the nearest U-Haul, rented a cargo van for two hours, got a friend of mine to come help, drove all over town in a too-large van, and go this baby home! Resourceful, I know.

All this newspaper lined the drawers. Yes, it says 1978. Kind of cool! There was also an old manila folder addressed to someone in Masnfield, Ohio, from the University of Dayton. Note the Mansfield newspaper. This guy's travelled!

This was after about two seconds of sanding. They originally looked like water ring stains, then I realized they were stickers stuck to the top!  Boo. They were a pain to sand down.

Sanding drawers. Fun times.

I learned my lesson with the nighstand - these handles also happened to be 3 1/8". Because the silver didn't do it for me, I used the simple makeover way! Spray paint! They're black now. And pretty. I just bought four knew pulls for the top drawers, that match the nighstand knobs.

 

Getting blacker! I think this was only the first coat of paint!

Talk about WORK to sand down. Note to self: when I have a real house and lots of furniture that I want to makeover, just invest and buy a belt sander. It'll make your life easier. Though I did get some good arm work outs in!

Two coats of paint (paint, sand, paint) and polyacrylic coating (paint, sand, paint) this sucker is usable! You have no idea how excited I was to be able to put clothes away!

So as you can see, the silver handles and knobs are a little 70s art deco for me, not quite my style. This dresser actually came with a huge mirror attached that was actually quite heinous, so I convinced the thrift shop guys to remove it for me and told them they could keep the mirror and sell it again separately. Whatever! So this baby took quite a few steps. After starting the work on the nightstand and the table, I knew I was in for a LOT of work with this guy. And after a few days, I was ready for it. Maybe I was just ready to finally be able to unpack more of my life. Yep, that's it.

The photos don't really explain the whole process, but you can get the jist of the work at least. She's pretty now. Room photos to come, it's lookin' good!