BEFORE & AFTER - Tall Black Dresser

I present to you my first Kauai furniture project. I know, you probably thought the Nautical Side Table came first, but it didn't. I got this tall dresser from a couple one of my first weekends here, and it was in great condition: solid wood, but a little dated. Those knobs... I didn't even get a good "before" picture because I was so eager to get those knobs off. It looked like a pretty standard style dresser, and when it was all finished it looked very "normal," compared to my usual pieces. 

Interesting though - I'm pretty sure this piece was custom made because the original wooden knobs were not a standard size. I could not for the life of me find any knobs to fit, not even online. So I had to buy a standard size and Kit helped me drill new holes and fill in the old holes. 

The inside of the drawers were so clean. The wood was gorgeous.

I taped off the edges really well (pat on the back). Honestly I was so impressed with my lines. 

Since I can't stop painting things black, (see here, and here, and here and here), this one got a coat of black chalk paint, topped with a metallic sheer brown, called coffee. I think it was a random Martha Stewart paint purchase.

Minimal distressing. I like to see a little wood in every piece. Just to remind us of what it's made of.

A few coats of furniture wax later, and it sold to a lady about to have a baby. 

What color would you have painted it? I've gone black and am having a hard time going back!!

Aloha, Rebecca

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Before & After: Nautical Side Table

There's a particular thrift store around here that, well, scares me a little. Let's just say I don't think they're actually in the business of thrifting, and they come up with outrageous prices off the top of their foggy heads. (Am I being mean? Not naming any names!) I finally went in there because I could see some wooden gems in their lot, and thankfully walked away with this cute side table:

It's most recent stain/varnish/glue (who knows) was warped from the sun, so this was definitely going to have to be on the shabby chic side of the spectrum, which is not my frequent style. After sanding my brains out I realized the rippled varnish was not going to give in, so I whipped out my Long Island Sound maps. (Remember when I got them here?) 

I got Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint from Home Depot in the color "vintage" and painted the whole outside in that. 

Then I did the inside in black chalk paint (drawer inside also). 

I modge podged the maps on the 3 horizontal surfaces. The bubbling was a little tricky (sorry, no tips on that issue) but I pushed them out as best as I could. I modge podged over the maps, then waxed the whole thing with clear wax. Remember - Measure twice, cut once! I wasted a square of this precious map :(

Oh yes, and it got a new knob. Faux crystal. 

Kit wants it next to his side of the bed, but sorry hubs, it's for sale. 

(Comment or email me if you're interested: ivyandco@icloud.com). 

I must say, I'm really enjoying buying, rehabbing and selling from the Garden Isle! 

Aloha, Rebecca

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Before and After - Tall Chippy Blue Chair

What's your stance on purposely chipped paint? 

If you love the look, then this a piece for you.

Take a look up close at what the Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Ironstone did on top of the sanded rattan:

Here's what was going on before. Seat cushion wasn't even attached when I bought it for an overpriced $15 from Salvation Army (seriously, their prices are ridiculous). And even though we're in Hawaii, no one needs another aloha print rattan chair to buy off Craigslist, seriously. 

I love this wood grain fabric, (I used it on this dresser, click here), and knew I wanted to use it as the seat cover. 

I have the matching red/black version of that fabric, which I used on the bottom just for fun. It's never going to get seen.

I'm actually not a fan of the chippy look, but I've always knows it was a risk when using Milk Paint. This is first time in 2 years it actually happened! 

I sealed it with Miss Mustard Seed hemp oil and furniture wax. 

This chair is for sale on Craigslist and Etsy for $65. 

Seat is 17" wide and 15" deep. 
Seat to top of back rest is 12". 
Floor to seat is 24". 
36" tall total. 

I think it's about bar stool height. It's tall. 

So ditch the excessive Hawaiiana print, and add this tall chippy blue chair to your home. :)

Aloha, Rebecca

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The Piglet Chair - Before and After

I know what you're thinking. It looked pretty good before!! Well, up close, it didn't. It was one of these worst paint jobs I'd ever seen. It was done in a flat mint, and dirt and dust were just caked all over it, with no way to wipe it off. All the grooves had drips and clumps. Please don't let the pictures and your love for mint deceive you. Trust me on this one.

Ivy always tries to sneak in my pictures.

I gave it a quick run down with a satin pink paint called piglet. Kit liked it like this, but honestly there were just too many imperfections in the wood for it to pull off perfection. 

So out came the typewriter (that's the name of the black Miss Mustard Seed paint I use). And I sacrificed my hands by applying it with a rag. 

If you came to the Seabury Craft Fair this past weekend you would have seen it displaying my train case full of burp cloths. 

 

This chair is on sale in my Etsy shop. Head on over to check out all the details. (Those burp cloths will also be up for sale soon.)

Have a wonderful day in Hawaii nei… or wherever you're from. :)

Aloha, Rebecca

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Wizard of Oz Dresser

What kid doesn't love The Wizard of Oz? By the age of 10, I had the entire cassette tape (with songs and dialogue) memorized. I'd recite it on long road trips across various continents, driving the people in the car nuts! (Sorry guys). My daughter now loves the movie and her reaction to my skill of knowing the whole thing by heart is in stark contrast to my childhood experience because she readily accepts it and begs me to recite all the dialogue and sing all the songs. I LOVE IT. 

In my first few months of blogging, I came across this post over at Inspired by Charm, called "Ode to Oz." I have never forgotten it and still think it is one of the most clever ideas ever.  

source

Everything on this cupboard alludes to The Wizard of Oz. Perfection.

Ok, back to my dresser.

Down below you can see it peeking out of the corner in Ivy's room

Here's a head-on shot, totally under-exposed:

This dresser belonged to my aunt and she had it since she was 18 years old. We ended up with it after she moved back to the mainland and I promised her I would keep it in the family and in great condition. It worked in Ivy's room for a time, but the drawers were hard for her to open and she couldn't really reach the top ones. Also, what 4 year old needs 6 drawers for their clothing?

So I decided I was going to put it in my room. Some of the paint was chipping off and the gorgeous key holes had been painted right over, and it just needed some TLC and new life. So I started to peel back a little of the paint, and discovered we were dealing with 3 coats of paint!

Top layer: cream. 2nd layer: bright yellow. 3rd layer: forest green. 4th layer: solid wood.

This stuff did not want to come off. I fought it and fought it. Splinters, cuts, chemical burns, sore shoulders, you name it, I endured it to get down to the wood. I actually left a little bit of the green on it in places, and then dry brushed some off-white (shiloh) because I wanted it to show through under the black to give it depth. It was so fun to sand those key holes because they came out bright shiny gold.

For some reason I'm painting all our furniture black. Well, this is only the second piece I've done, but I'm a little obsessed. I've been using Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in Typewriter. Here's a link to the other dresser I painted black: click here. I covered up the key hole with painter's tape and used a razor blade to cut perfectly around it so I could paint smoothly. Look at that workmanship!!

In comparison to the body of the piece, the drawers were a piece of cake. To get the 3 coats of paint off the body, I had to call in the authorities.  

My dad had out every tool he owns. I learned a lot about power tools that day.  

I discovered a little bondo/wood filler on the bottom right of the piece, but other than that it was pretty awesome all bare like that!

I dry brushed on a little more shiloh, on top of the splotchy green, then covered it all in black. 

The inside of the drawers needed some attention as they were rough and had some stains. I used clear shellac and some cute fabric to line the inside. I also painted the outside sides of the drawers in shiloh to give it a clean look when you opened and closed them. That white thing on the inside is washi tape covering the sharp end of the knobs so it doesn't tear my clothes. 

These knobs are the Green Faucet Metal Knobs from Hobby Lobby. On sale now for $2.99!

I used Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil on the entire piece, then went over that with her Furniture Oil. I LOVE her Furniture Oil. I'm still getting used to the smell of the Hemp Oil. It's very earthy. :)

So here it is in our master bedroom. 

That black and white photo on the wall is from Urban Outfitters.

The pink Maui print is from Ashley Johnston Design.

It's at the foot of the bed, flanked by pieces of my husband's art, which we just moved in there. I have the Grey accent chair I blogged about here to the right of it. 

So, why call it "The Wizard of Oz" dresser? Here's my reasons:

1. The name "6 drawer dresser" is boring.

2. Those green knobs are something I could see Uncle Henry using on the farm

3. It came to me in a very mono-chromatic cream color, and it's now black, alluding to the first 17 minutes of the movie which are completely sepia toned.

4. Once I dug a little deeper I came across a layer of yellow paint: the Yellow Brick Road

5. The Yellow Brick Road led to the green layer of paint, the Emerald City

6. Once I went through all of that, we're back to the safety of our black and white sepia home.

And that's the story of my Wizard of Oz dresser.

One last tip. Per my husband's advice, I've been using a bar of soap to make sure my solid wood drawers go in and out with ease. It works like a charm. Anywhere on the drawers or on the body of the dresser that's going to slide wood to wood, you slide the soap along it. Make sure it's oil free. Scented is ok. :)

Aloha,

Rebecca

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