sh*t i would buy

i was on craigslist again. in part to look for an apothecary chest/spool cabinet for my sister-in-law (no luck) and in part just to see what’s for sale. it’s a sickness. a procrastination sickness. if i had the space, the time and the money, here are the gems i would snatch up in a heartbeat.

this hutch has great lines and great pulls.

i would shine the pulls up and paint the back for a pop of color like the inspiration below. $125 is a great price for a piece this large.

via

i can’t explain why, but i absolutely love this card catalog (someone please buy it for me).

asking price is $150, but would try to bargain. in the end i would get my way and then give it a fabulous ombre paint job like the dresser below. how amazing could that be?!

via

yes, i own a campaign dresser. and it’s been sitting in my basement waiting for me to paint it for months. but i don’t have a tall one that would work great for my undergarments and jewelry. and $50 is a fair price. if i’m not careful i may become a campaign dresser hoarder (there’s also a shorter dresser and a desk for sale too).

i’m not liking that wood tone so i’d paint it. orange could be interesting…

via

for $30, it’s hard to pass up this side table with the lovely ring pulls. i only wish there were two.

i don’t know what that finish it is, but it has got to go. a white paint job, perhaps with some darker accents, would be oh-so-perfect.

via

if only. especially that card catalog. sigh.

have you picked up any craigslist finds lately? jealous.

{justine}

kitchen island dresser {the reveal}

well! i have certainly made you wait long enough to see my finished dresser-turned-kitchen-island. i didn’t mean to. life got in the way (doesn’t it always). and i was waiting for pictures on the broken computer. and when i got access to said computer, they weren’t there! the travesty. so i’m missing some process shots, but who needs those anyway? the good stuff is the final product shots, right?!

anyway. enough excuses. let’s start from the beginning.

the moment i saw this image on pinterest i had a mission: recreate this for my my one-drawer kitchen.

{via}

it took me a few weeks of craigslist stalking, but the perfect kitchen-island-dresser specimen was finally mine.

once home, i removed the drawers and hardware, gave the dresser a light sanding, wiped it down with a tack cloth and began priming. i first used zinsser bulls eye 1-2-3 primer, applied with a foam roller (and brush on detail parts).

the foam roller application left me with air bubbles and i wasn’t happy. it could have been the foam roller i bought, it could have been my technique, but whatever it was, my idea for a smooth, fast application was crushed. i was also seeing an orangey-brown tint come through on certain areas on the top and back. hm. i hoped another coat of primer would fix both issues. i sanded and wiped again and applied another coat of primer, this time with a brush.

she (look at those legs and those curves–totally a she) was starting to look good. until i started to see orangey-brown tint coming through still. i couldn’t figure out what it was, even after googling, and feared that it would come through my color coats. there was minor panicking but then young house love had a perfectly timed post about painting their kitchen paneling and seeing the same tint come through. i didn’t pick up the same primer they ended up using, but i did switch to an oil-based, stain-blocking primer: zinsser cover stain.

one coat seemed to do the trick. thank gawd.

my next battle was choosing what color. i picked up about 20 paint cards, including turquoise, yellow and orange-red shades (here is where i would insert a photo of my options, but it’s one of the missing photos). after staring at the paint chips in different lights and different times of day for literally an hour or two cumulative (with ryan in the background saying “just pick a color!”) i chose benjamin moore’s tropicana cabana.

before, during and after purchasing my quart i second-guessed myself (i hate making decisions. have i said that before?) but i had to move forward. before taking the plunge and painting i once again sanded my dresser with extra-fine grit sandpaper (220 grit) and wiped it off to ensure a smooth, dust free finish. per the centsational girl’s painting tips i added in some floetrol to my paint to help minimize brush strokes (it did seem to minimize but didn’t  eliminate them).

i painted two coats of tropicana cabana (sanding between coats with 220 grit) and followed it up with two coats of varathane’s water-based (not oil-based as it can cause yellowing over lighter colors) polyurethane in a gloss finish (again sanding between coats) for protection since she would be getting a lot of use in my kitchen.

three coats of primer + two coats of tropicana cabana + two coats of poly (and a whole lot of sanding) later i was very proud of refinishing my first piece of furniture and was in love.

{this photo is probably the truest to the color}

not too bright, not to light, not too blue.

just right.

the curvy legs make me happy.

i love the (non original) handles that came with her so they stayed.

so, if you couldn’t tell, the photos above were taken in my dining room since it’s one of the only rooms that gets some sort of natural light at any time throughout the day. here’s the dresser in her everyday role – as my kitchen island.

i think the color works perfect in my kitchen as it brings in some brightness and lightness to an otherwise dark (cabinets and no natural light) and boring kitchen.

i debated installing a butcher block counter top from ikea on the top but instead opted to keep my humongo cutting board on the island for a less permanent solution (as we’re renting and i would like to use this as a regular dresser in the future). it works perfectly as another workspace, and is probably the main workplace now for preparing food. one night both ryan and i were both using the cutting board, each of us on a side, and that was exactly as i had hoped it would be used.

it also provides much needed storage space. here’s a look at what’s hiding in the drawers:

{dish towels and miscellaneous tools on the left and bags, tinfoil, wax paper etc (and…taco bell sauce) on the right}

(obviously this is real life and not styled)

{cupcake pans, pan lids and miscellaneous larger items}

{paper plates and lots of tupperware}

i love it. let’s take a final before/after look.

before:

after:

here’s the breakdown for my project:

dresser: $60
primer: $25 (with 3/4 of a gallon and 1/2 of a quart left for other projects)
sandpaper: $2
tack cloth: $1
paint: $11 (with 1/2 of a quart left)
poly: $10 (with 3/4 of a quart left)

$109 total with lots of primer, paint and poly leftover, or about $79 in actual materials used. not too shabby for a new kitchen island that would have cost me $200-$400 buying one in a store.

love.

{justine}

linking up to primitive & proper, the lettered cottage and remodelaholic

hindsight is 20/20

i couldn’t decide what to name this post:

crap.

weathermen can suck it

i should become a weatherman because you don’t have to know what you’re doing but you make good money

whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy god whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

i’m so stupid

ok, they’re crappy, but they’re what i came up with at 4am, laying in bed soaking wet, trying to fall back asleep. that sounds kinda bad. but there’s a story.

it starts off with craigslist stalking. and then ryan and i borrowing a friend’s ginormous tahoe (thanks again fritz and holly!) and driving to highland park last night. to take this baby home:

(craigslist photo. no, i do not own stuffed animals.)

a campaign dresser! for me! just what i wanted!

the next part of the story involves being locked out when we dropped it off at home (since our keys were with our car at our friend’s house). so we put it on our patio, dropped the tahoe off, picked up our keys & car and made it back home. we considered moving the dresser to the basement, but since it was 10pm, it was really heavy (i already used all my strength carrying it out of the house, into the car and out of the car), and there was no rain in the forecast, it stayed on the patio.

3:30am. i was awoken by thunder and lightning. and rain like this:

{via google images}

aka heavy downpour. aka raining cats and dogs. aka potential death of my dresser.

sh*t. i ran to the basement to find something, anything to cover the dresser  (even though it was already soaked. i was half asleep and ryan wasn’t getting up to move it inside). i found my drop cloth that claims it’s waterproof and another cloth slated for the garbage pile. i ran outside, spent forever trying to get the dang drawers in the dang dresser because they just. wouldn’t. fit. finally they went in and i covered it (just the bottom part of the dresser, mind you. the top piece wasn’t as loved), but not before i looked like i jumped in a pool in my pajamas.

when i checked the dresser this morning (after hardly any sleep because i couldn’t fall back asleep),  the news wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good. it was filthy. the back was warped (which can easily be fixed, and, it’s the back). and there was some puckering of the laminate on the drawers. it wasn’t in the best shape to begin with and i was going to paint it anyway, but i may have more work than i thought. you know what i hate more than work? more work.

in hindsight, i should have taken the drawers into the basement during the downpour. in hindsight, i should have brought the dresser in the basement in the first place. even though there was no rain in the forecast.

lesson learned: move the sh*t inside because weathermen suck and you need to plan for the worst.

anyone else do something dumb lately? or get caught in the rain? or on a positive note, finally find what you’ve been looking for?

{justine}

p.s. it’s been sitting outside in the 95 degree heat drying today, and ryan says it’s looking better, so we shall see. i’ll keep you updated on the tales of the campaign dresser as i make progress. first will be cleaning. then repairing. then figuring out what color (that may take a while). then removing the hardware for cleaning. then priming. then painting. then poly-ing. ummm, don’t hold your breath

mission dresser: success

my mission: a dresser no longer than 44″ and between 36″ and 38″  tall, with some legs (not flush to the floor) to turn into an island in the kitchen for much need counter and drawer space.

my inspiration:

(previously mentioned here)

the search was a little harder than i expected. many dressers fell short of the 36″ minimum height i wanted (counter height). and then there was the one that got away early in the search because i wasn’t able to pick it up in time. i went to a flea market, went to a couple thrift stores and i stalked craigslist for three weeks and finally had success.

i picked this beauty up last night. i’m in love. the 2 1/2 hours in the car (chicago traffic to and from the burbs) was well worth it.

she’s a beaut, clark. (name that movie)

the glass knobs are not original, but they’re pretty and match the dresser well.

i seriously can’t tell you how happy i am i finally found a dresser, a perfect dresser: 42″ long and 36″ high. in great condition. and for $60. i may have done a happy dance and leg kick.

now the only question is what color to paint it. while i actually don’t mind the wood, it’s not in perfect shape as the previous owner stripped white paint off and there’s touches left. and my vision was a painted dresser all along. we’ll just see if i can make a color decision…and then actually paint it.

what color would you paint it? (help!)

have a great weekend!

{justine}