so i've been too busy being the mom to blog about being the mom this week. so back in the saddle, right?
i had a friend stop by this week to check out my furniture. you see, i don't actually believe in buying furniture (well, my bank account is highly opposed to it) so almost everything in my house is hand-me-downs or garage sale/craigslist finds. it bugs my husband to no end ("seriously? more crap in the garage?"), but i can't resist a dresser with good 'bones' and it's gotten to the point that even when i look at new furniture, i think, i'd love it if it was in blue/had different hardware/put wallpaper in the shelves. besides that, older furniture is just heavier and more sturdy. so i now live in the Halfway House for Wayward Furniture. i recently painted this dresser for my older son's room. i knew i wanted it red, but i felt that bright red would look juvenile and he would outgrow it quickly. so i used a rag dipped in dark brown paint, wiped it on, and then used a wet rag to wipe off the excess until i had just the right finish. now i love it. the brown paint i used is rust-oleum painter's touch in kona brown. i found it at home depot on the same aisle as the spray paint and wood stains. i love that it comes in a tiny 8 oz. size (for about $3!!) because that's all i needed. and it's dark enough to give the red paint that rusted-out look (think mater from cars).
for my daughter's room, i wanted a bright white look for her hand-me-down furniture, and i needed some way to tie in a mismatched bed. i used an oil-based paint for her stuff -- i think oil based paint is the way to go for white paint because it covers so much better and chips less. but when i use an oil-based paint, i always get a cheap brush that i can throw away when i'm done because i'm too lazy to clean the brush. i used rust-oleum in bright white and i love it. i added matching appliques to all of the furniture to tie it all together and now it looks like a matching set, which is darling in a little girl's room. i found them at home depot down the same aisle as all the molding.
changing out the hardware is probably the most fun of the furniture re-do process, and i like
cool knobs and pulls and
my knobs for great selections. my knobs also has the coolest doorknobs ever. the only catch is that most of these places have expensive shipping unless you have an order of $75+, so i would order knobs for all of your projects at once, or go in on it with a friend to get the free shipping ('cause i'm cheap like that).
