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Friday, June 18, 2010

dresser / buffet re-do...

So lately I've been a little obsessed with re-decorating - with an emphasis on painting. Painting furniture, lamps, walls and fabric.
In the midst of this madness, I decided that I needed a buffet in my dining room to hold all of the clutter that normally accumulates on the dining room table and other assorted flat surfaces in the house. In my quest I found this very southwestern-y dresser for $25 on Craigslist. I'm not one of those people who is always finding incredible buys on Craigslist, so this was very exciting for me. I should note that it's owner was on the OTHER side of town, so the drive to and from our new dresser/soon-to-be-buffet was about 1 1/2 hours round trip. DH had other things going on and was fuming.
The dresser was really not my style, but it seem sturdy and full of potential...
{please ignore my disgusting garage - I would blame my husband, but it's not his fault}







I sawed off the zig-zaggy southwestern cut-outs around the bottom, slapped on a coat of paint (or four), added moulding around the bottom to cover the old cut-outs (the moulding was left over from our recent bathroom remodel), and added some brushed nickel pulls (which cost more than the dresser itself!) and here's what I got...

...with so much storage space I can hardly stand it! :)


The lamp was a $1 find at a school rummage sale. "Before," it looked like this - nice lines, but a little worn out:




and with a few coats of brown spray paint it now looks like this...



Not crazy about the shade, but it was handy. And the paint was left over from my recent wheat pillow attempt...which didn't really turn out the way I wanted, but I'll try again.


The botanical prints are actual plates from an old botanical illustration book. I got them on ebay several years ago - they are all originals from the 1860's. They had been hanging in my daughter's room, but I thought they'd look better over the new buffet!


Re-decorating frazzles my husband a little...but he's hanging in there.
I'm linking to:





17 comments:

Lisa at Paint in my Hair said...

looks great! i would never have thought to cut off the zig-zags like that, but it really made a difference! I'd love to see the rest of the room it's going in.

Kimberly said...

Wonderful improvements! That chest of drawers is great!

Found you from Frugal Friday.

xoxo,
Kimberly

Decorchick! said...

This looks amazing!! I never would have thought to cut off the zig zags either. Brilliant! Saw your link on Inspired Room. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed with this transformation - who would have thought a Southwestern dresser could have such a cool new 'do? (Saw you.r link on The Inspired Room)

Erin said...

Great eye looking past the details that date a piece. Love how it looks now!

Jean said...

the dresser is a gorgeous transformation. looks like a Pottery Barn piece. good job.

Megan Gunyan said...

GREAT job! It turned out so well. I love the pulls and molding on the bottom. ;)

Pam Kessler said...

It's amazing that that it the same dresser. Glad you changed out the hardware - love the brushed nickle look against the white.

Amanda @ Healthy House on the Block said...

This looks fantastic! Removing the zig-zag part definitely adds some sophistication- good thinking! It's beautiful!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

What a fabulous find! I love the white - It looks amazing! Fantastic job! Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase! I greatly appreciate it. Hope you have a wonderful week. ~ Stephanie Lynn

Kayleen said...

OHHH, this is so great! I love that you hacked off those southwestern accents along the bottom. I find those on a lot of pieces like that here in the desert. Good to know that they have potential!

Rebecca@This Present Life said...

Wow! What a HUGE transformation. It looks beautiful! When I saw the "before", I have to admit I never imagined it would look sooooo different. This wasn't just a "re-do", this was a transformation. Love it!

The Nester said...

Girl, look at you sawing and molding and such! It looks wonderful!

Unknown said...

Great makeovers!
Thanks for sharing @ Anything Related!

Kate said...

Awesome makeover! Good job getting rid of those awful southwestern zig zags. :)

Thanks for linking to my Flaunt it Friday party... please come back soon!! :)

Shelly @Crafty Creative Studio said...

Fantastic! I love the transformation!! Another lesson in never being afraid to cut a bit of wood away. :)

Ray* said...

Looks so good! Love those kind of hangles.