Hand Painted Furniture

Well, I forgot to get a before photo, but I’m sure you can picture this dresser in brown.  Add a scuffed up top to complete the picture and you’ve got it.

Nice lines, solid, and well made, but past its prime.

After using Goo Gone to clean off some mess left behind by stickers, I started with a coat of Michaels’ brand of chalk paint in gray. It dried streaky (one coat is never enough, is it?)

Next, I put white and gray chalk paints together on a plate and dipped a brush in both at once, then started pouncing it on.  When dry, I lightly sanded here and there for mild distressing, and topped coated it with Polycrylic satin.

While my paints were out, I covered the old wooden box in the gray, and the hand towel holder in white, and finished both off with the Polycrylic too.

With these pieces, I actually remembered the befores!

This shot is way before, back before I broke off one arm.  Dang it.  The old metal it is made of, was too pliable.  I hope the other arm lasts, this is being used as a mask holder by the door.  I feel like hanging up my mask to air it out is better than laying it down.

Well I guess this is a sorta before shot.  I caught myself as I started to paint it.  This is a perfect little cabinet to keep by the door, the deep drawer holds things that I don’t want cluttering up the top of the dresser.

The two, small containers of paint went a long way, neither is empty.  I’m typically not a fan of chalk paint, but it can go quickly for a project since there is no need for a primer and it dries so fast you can rapidly start on your second coat.  And if you don’t mess with wax, using a clear coat instead, it is a pretty easy way to go.

And talk about drawers!  Wow, this new (old) dresser holds so much, I still have an empty drawer to fill up yet.  So far I am using two for dog supplies, leashes, etc, one for clean masks, one for garden gloves, mittens, and winter hats.  

Oh, that’s right, I still have TWO to fill.

Yea, I know it isn’t meant to be a kitchen piece, it should be in a bedroom. But it works in this spot so well, that didn’t matter to me.  It is exactly what I needed for right here.

Does anyone else deal with Corona Clutter? At first, it seemed temporary, and we were adjusting to figuring out what paraphernalia we needed as we came in and out of the house.

But after a few weeks of seeing this jumble of gloves, masks, hand sanitizers, bags, and more filling up the table by the breezeway door, I needed to find a better solution.

Not to mention the big, plastic folding table we had set up for home schooling in the other room.

So, this gate leg table was sent to replace the one in the homework spot, with the lamp along with it.  

The large white box is what I use to sort mail, and this isn’t the door we usually bring the mail in through.  So it also left the area and is in a more convenient place near the front door of the house that we typically use when checking the mail or getting the newspaper.

This is the door we use when going to the car, so I waned everything we might need for gearing up to face the virus laden public, all here in an organized way.

This little cabinet that used to be in the studio before last year’s redo seemed to be just what I was looking for.  (Shopping for something new would have been more fun, but then- if that was an option, I would not have needed a Corona Corner, would I?)

The white, wooden basket was full of supplies in the studio, but was better suited here, so those items are currently dumped out and waiting for me to figure out what to stash them into instead.

While this was all practical, it still wasn’t quite right.  It served the purpose, but didn’t lift my spirits as much as I had hoped.

So I whipped out some white paint, vintage wallpaper, and decoupage medium.

Ahhh, much better!  Lighter and happier.

The doors and drawer are there for larger items like leashes and bags. The cookie jar of dog treats sits on the pedestal. There is a chair for changing shoes.

A flower pot for sunglasses and items that need to be taken care of on errands, like checks, coupons, etc.  I sat it on a small, wallpaper box just to add a little more color.

The lidless depression glass canister that matches the one the  dog treats are in, was where I had previously stashed supplies.  But it wasn’t big enough and didn’t hide the messiness. Or the ugly, orange gloves.

It is much nicer filled with flowers picked in our ditch.

The wooden basket was ideal to fit a box of masks, a stash of gloves, and the hand sanitizer.

I am thrilled to own a box of masks and gloves.  I found the XXLg gloves on Amazon and the box of masks at the hardware store.  The hand sanitizer is home made.  I took glycerin from a soap making project, then added lavender oil and alcohol to it.
And the surface wipes are too, sorta. I took a package of wash wipes from the studio, put them into ziplock bags and poured alcohol over them.  

This pattern is one of my favorite old wallpapers and I will love having a bit of it in my house.  

To add it, I rough cut a piece with the bouquet centered, and pressed it into decoupage glue on the door,  then,I used my fingernail to crease the paper and cut it out inside the frame of the door.  This paper is delicate, so I did not worry too much about trying to get small bubbles out, they don’t bother me.

White chalk paint was applied in a dry brush style for a distressed look.  I painted right over knobs as is, and didn’t take time to paint the interior or give it a clear coat of poly or wax.  

I was in the mood for a quick and pretty fix.  And this simple project of moving things around, slapping on some paint and paper took me under two hours from the point when I was sitting in the kitchen, staring at the clutter and needing a new view, til it was done.

We might all be needing a fresh view after so much time in our homes. This little change perked me up.